mary coble – blood script 2008

Courtesy of Conner Contemporary Art:
www.connercontemporary.com/artists/mary-coble

In this work “Blood Script 2008” the artist continues with a mode of performance art that calls our attention to such vile terms by having them tattooed to her skin. But, without the use of ink. What results in these feats of pain and endurance, that last for several hours, are thin lines of blood oozing from the rapid punctures inflicted by the pen like device wielded by a tattoo artist. Once a word has been so inscribed it is then carefully blotted and the small sheets of paper were attached to the nearby wall of the Conner Contemporary Art booth. These are the artifacts of the performance which are undoubtedly then available for sale to collectors. Much in the way that one might have purchased the soiled newspapers anointed by the functions of a coyote in the famous 1974 performance piece by Joseph Beuys “I Like America and America Likes Me.”