In Bad Girls and Sick Boys: Fantasies in Contemporary Art and Culture (1998), Linda Kauffman’s broad and well-researched examination of the pornographic side of contemporary art and culture — especially pertinent in the 1990s as taboo-shattering exhibitions like Post Human (1992, Deitch Projects) and Abject Art (1993, The Whitney Museum) were met by the aggressive strategies of the Christian Action Network — the writer dedicates much attention to the “sadomedicinal” art of Bob Flanagan, who lived most of his life with cystic fibrosis and who in part addressed his illness, and his erotic proclivities, by staging masochistic performance pieces along with his dominant partner Sheree Rose. Kauffman posits that Flanagan’s work is a particularly weighty, complex, and extreme example of baby-ism, a relatively unacknowledged subculture of heterosexual submissive men, who wish to “return unashamedly to the pre-oedipal bliss of harmony with the mother.” She argues that the regression is not an evasion of masculinity, however, but of “adulthood — adult responsibilities, failures, impossible social problems…” and that women are fleeing from adulthood too, through fashion, for instance. Kauffman mentions the ’90s trend of waifish pre-teen fashion models wearing schoolgirl outfits, babydoll dresses, and wielding rattles and lollipops. There is an apparent correlation — and Kauffman is not the only one to see it — between a broad cultural fleeing of adulthood, and economic hard times. The reality seems more nuanced with regard to contemporary art, however, as the early 1990s’ recession and downsizing had far-reaching import on artistic practice which led other artists down decidedly progressive, political paths (such as the group of artists termed relational) rather than regressive, escapist ones. Also, it’s not just economic hardship that leads to what could be called regressive cultural trends; there is always an array of motivating factors at a given political or economic moment. In Copenhagen in 2008, I came upon a Zombie Walk, a sort of organized public gathering, similar to a flash mob, in which scores of people dress like zombies and stalk urban spaces, often towards an eventual cemetery. To me, the phenomenon, in its capriciousness and lack of a stated political motive, seems like another manifestation of some of the desires behind baby-ism: namely, a desire to temporarily suspend both social and existential realities. Here are some things about being a zombie one might find alluring:
-never die
-total slob
-no responsibilities
-slow pace of life
-no real stress/complicated thoughts
-kind of like being stoned all the time
-usually hang out at the mall
Here’s a link to part of the Kauffman book at aaaarg.org. She is Professor of English at the University of Maryland.
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