The Feathered Prison Fan

Rebecca Horn has a fascination with the human body and what it can do. Because of her isolation, when she got back to work, she found herself thinking in terms of "images of confinement -- cocoons, swaddling, bondage, prostheses" (Hughes). She has such a large mind of creativity, which allows her to imagine these objects to let the society see the romantic, new surrealist way of looking at the body. She puts a twist to the natural feminine opinions of the body, with adding more than just desire, passiveness, and romance (Hughes). Again, with this obsession with healing and protection, Horn displays this more hidden view of the body. With some of her earlier work, she displayed the women's body more open to the eye, with less clothing, and body wraps. This particular performance, The Feathered Prison Fan 1978, shows less of that, showing the audience a "cocoon", feathered like, object protecting the body.

This performance caught my eye because it was so different from the usual Horn performances. Yes, it displayed the healing obsession, but like in the title, it's more about the body in prison. "It is oblique, magical and ironic, and has none of the in-your-face tone of complaint (men are colonizing thugs, women are victims, and a display of wounds is all you need to make a piece of art) that renders the work of so many of her transatlantic sisters so monotonous" (Hughes). This statement I believe says it all. Although people believe she is far from feminist, she still gives off an opinion in her work. This goes with the performance above, stating that she feels as if she needs to hide, as if she's a "victim", and needs protection, help, etc. The title alone, with the word "prison" intact, gives a easy perspective that the human body should be cherished.

I feel a remorse when I watch this video. It almost makes me feel uneasy, hurt, and scared myself. That a artist can show this much sentiment towards the human body, it just fascinates me. It scares me in the sense that most women really are victimized, and unsafe, for example, walking in a street at night alone, and that at any moment can be assaulted and almost scorned for life. Any natural woman has an instinct to protect her body, which if this body is broken, her soul would be also. You tend to see a pattern with Rebecca's work, and it's hard to figure out at first, but after seeing this specific performance, it becomes clear what she is trying to make the audience see. The human body is a gentle, tender, easily hurt, piece of our self, and if this is hurt, our inside (heart, soul, mind) is hurt along with it. So it's so important to keep our body safe from harm, and protect it, from things that may break it. The Feathered Prison Fan demonstrates this perspective completely.

Hughes, Robert. "Art: Mechanics Illustrated." Time Magazine. 13 Sept. 1993. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979201,00.html.>