twist and flex

In the previous post I mentioned Relational Aesthetics. This is a term associated with the artist Rirkrit Teravanija. Rirkrit associates his work to the term social sculpture. The process of fitness and sport is social sculpture as well. In simple terms people are sculpting their bodies towards an ideal that is very much based in art history a la Classical sculpture. There is also a psychological sculpture taking place within these social contexts of sport. Hierarchies are constructed(leaders, captains), there is a constant state of comparison amongst the participants, the body is often forced into uncommon positions
or process', etc. A kind of Classicism through Hellenism.






In fitness instruction videos there is a more complex social and psycological situation occuring; this is largely due to their direction outward. Fitness videos are meant to be projected outwardly for the purpose of improving an audiences own personal health, not for entertainment as most sport is. The people in aerobics and other fitness videos are usually women. Most people buy videos such as these because they feel they need help, thus a matriarchal construct begins to emerge which raises Feminist issues of control, submission, role reversal, and sex dialectics. Getting in shape has to be an individual choice, not one that someone on television can help you make. This doesn't stop people from looking for mentors or saviors however, and can account for why most of these videos are dust collectors and thrift shop staples. I collect, mostly aerobic, fitness videos as well as pictures of female body builders. I find them to be interesting examples of human conditions of what I'll call requesite desire and essential potential. It's pretty simple: humans need to desire to survive, it's inherent in us, we wouldn't be at the top of the food chain if it weren't. Essential potential refers to the need for imagination and hope in order to maintain a healthy average human psychology. The potential of a thing is the most exciting signal that that thing can emit. The potential of the body and the desire to reach that potential are the driving forces for bodybuilding as well as fitness practices. I relate aerobics videos and female bodybuilding to Romanticism which is what I'll continue with in the next post. For now, please join me in some Social Sculpture.


images on right and video by r.sullivan 2006 digital c-prints 14x11"