Some people give their bodies to science when they die; Orlan has given her body to art while still alive. Both artist and muse, Orlan has engaged in a series of surgical operations to alter her body  in ways that question the traditional male notion of an ideal beauty. The operating room is Orlan’s atelier. Each of her “performances” is carefully choreographed. Famous designers, such as Paco Rabanne and Issey Miyake, have designed costumes for Orlan to wear during the surgeries. Poetry is read and music is played while she lies on the operating table fully conscious of the events taking place. Each surgery has been captured on video (and fed to live international audiences via satellite link-ups), and exhibited in a number of galleries. She calls it “Carnal Art.” Vials of her blood and fat, grisly by-products of the operations, have been displayed at public exhibitions. To fund the operations, Orlan sells videos and postcards of the surgical events, and accepts payment for interviews she grants. - jolique.com

Some people give their bodies to science when they die; Orlan has given her body to art while still alive. Both artist and muse, Orlan has engaged in a series of surgical operations to alter her body  in ways that question the traditional male notion of an ideal beauty. The operating room is Orlan’s atelier. Each of her “performances” is carefully choreographed. Famous designers, such as Paco Rabanne and Issey Miyake, have designed costumes for Orlan to wear during the surgeries. Poetry is read and music is played while she lies on the operating table fully conscious of the events taking place. Each surgery has been captured on video (and fed to live international audiences via satellite link-ups), and exhibited in a number of galleries. She calls it “Carnal Art.” Vials of her blood and fat, grisly by-products of the operations, have been displayed at public exhibitions. To fund the operations, Orlan sells videos and postcards of the surgical events, and accepts payment for interviews she grants.

- jolique.com