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The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist's Pickelporno (1992)

The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist's Pickelporno (1992) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 2015 Vol.15, No.2,164181, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14434318.2015.1089817 The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist’s Pickelporno (1992) Laura Castagnini* Synaesthetically, fire, simulacrally rendered via televisual representation, both symbolizes and is signalled (through the saturated reds and the images of flames and exploding volcanoes) as hot, with the heat linked (parodically: this is a very funny moment) to the ‘heat’ of consummated desire. Amelia Jones In the ‘climax’ of Pipilotti Rist’s 1992 video Pickelporno (Pimple Porno, in English), a crescendo of female moaning accompanies frenetically paced clips of bodies interlaced with footage of an erupting volcano. This sequence was described in a 2012 essay by Amelia Jones as ‘very funny’ in its parodic visualisation of the ‘heat’ of desire. Jones leaves this parenthetical comment unexplained, and continues her reading of Pickelporno as ‘synaesthesia of vision’. In this article I will interrogate Jones’ statement, drawing on Jones’ own writings as well as presenting the first English translation of an artist statement by Rist, to propose that Pickelporno oscillates between two conflicting modes of vision—embodied and distanced—to enact a multi-layered feminist parody: of representation, phallocentric pornography, and essentialism. I ask: through the lens of humour, can we http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art Taylor & Francis

The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist's Pickelporno (1992)

Castagnini, Laura
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art , Volume 15 (2): 18 – Jul 3, 2015
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The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist's Pickelporno (1992)

Abstract

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 2015 Vol.15, No.2,164181, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14434318.2015.1089817 The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist’s Pickelporno (1992) Laura Castagnini* Synaesthetically, fire, simulacrally rendered via televisual representation, both symbolizes and is signalled (through the saturated reds and the images of flames and exploding volcanoes) as hot, with the heat linked (parodically: this is a very funny...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2015 The Art Association of Australia and New Zealand, Inc
ISSN
2203-1871
eISSN
1443-4318
DOI
10.1080/14434318.2015.1089817
Publisher site
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Abstract

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, 2015 Vol.15, No.2,164181, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14434318.2015.1089817 The ‘Nature’ of Sex: Parafeminist Parody in Pipilotti Rist’s Pickelporno (1992) Laura Castagnini* Synaesthetically, fire, simulacrally rendered via televisual representation, both symbolizes and is signalled (through the saturated reds and the images of flames and exploding volcanoes) as hot, with the heat linked (parodically: this is a very funny moment) to the ‘heat’ of consummated desire. Amelia Jones In the ‘climax’ of Pipilotti Rist’s 1992 video Pickelporno (Pimple Porno, in English), a crescendo of female moaning accompanies frenetically paced clips of bodies interlaced with footage of an erupting volcano. This sequence was described in a 2012 essay by Amelia Jones as ‘very funny’ in its parodic visualisation of the ‘heat’ of desire. Jones leaves this parenthetical comment unexplained, and continues her reading of Pickelporno as ‘synaesthesia of vision’. In this article I will interrogate Jones’ statement, drawing on Jones’ own writings as well as presenting the first English translation of an artist statement by Rist, to propose that Pickelporno oscillates between two conflicting modes of vision—embodied and distanced—to enact a multi-layered feminist parody: of representation, phallocentric pornography, and essentialism. I ask: through the lens of humour, can we

Journal

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 3, 2015

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