English 114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760

The End?

Orlan after surgery in 1995.


Carnal Art affirms the independance of the artist, in the sense that it fights against a prioris and diktats; that is why it is engages society and the media (where it is seen as scandalous because it goes against received ideas) and will go as far as the judicial system.

One of the main points that make Orlan a feminist artist is that there is a long tradition of the surgical exploration and unveiling of the female body, and it is loaded within the discourse of male dominance, not only of the gaze, but also of erotic penetration. It is linked to a history of unveiling which Orlan willingly submits to and actively engages in. (Goode, 1997)


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This page has been explicitly designed for educational purposes and images should not be reproduced.

This page has been designed by Denee Pescarmona for English 114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760, taught by Professor Elizabeth Heckendorn Cook.

This website was created in 2003. All references were accurate and all links were operative at the time the site was created. The site has not been updated since then, nor have broken links been fixed. For current information on ORLAN see http://www.orlan.net/.