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Underground > Art, Fashion & Design >

Leigh Bowery

All Acting Regiment

02:48 / 04.04.06

First of all, heres a Wikipedia article on the man.

Now, what do we all think of him and his outfits? What do we think of the Freud painting? What about him in comparison with Boy George and Bowie?

18:59 / 08.04.06

Legba, I've had a look at the Wikipedia article, followed the links in it and done an image search for the Lucian Freud painting, but don't feel like I know enough to kick off a debate by offering opinion -it would be good if you could tell us what you think about him, as I'm sure you started this thread with some ideas in mind and I and I'm sure others would like to hear them!

All Acting Regiment

23:58 / 08.04.06

Well, Wikipedia introduces him better than me, so:

Leigh Bowery (March 26, 1961, in Sunshine, a suburb of Melbourne – December 31, 1994, in London) was an extraordinary homosexual performance artist and designer of outfits that might loosely be called clothes.

He had a colourful exhibitionist career following his arrival in London in 1980, making a name for himself by dramatic performances of dance, music and simple exhibitionism, while wearing bizarre and very original outfits of his own design. He was frequently seen performing in Taboo, a night club he operated near Leicester Square. A large man, he used his costumes to exaggerate his size and the effects were frequently overpowering for those who encountered him, the more so because of his confrontational style.

In the late 1980s, Bowery collaborated as a dancer with the post-Punk ballet dancer Michael Clark, after having been the costume-designer for a number of years. He also participated in multi-media events like I Am Curious, Orange and the play Hey, Luciani, with Mark E. Smith and The Fall.

So that's the basics, you probably need to see some pictures:

Now, Freud is famous for painting him naked, in his usual "gets to the raw bleeding heart of it" style, essentially stripping Bowery of everything that made him Bowery. Freud's famous for doing this: a photorealistic technique that seems to cut through all the layers of personality his subjects ordinarilly have round them.

I was wondering what people thought about that in particular- was it a positive "truth finding" act or was it about destroying another person's creation? Was it an ecstatic searing away of the layers that bowery created around himself, and to be applauded, or do the reality-defying, cosmically terrifying images created by Bowery deserve better treatment than the affectations that "we all" put on?

Is painting Bowery without his stuff deconstructing mythologies in the same way as painting the Queen with liver spots on her hands? Or is it denying one person's escape from the dogma of the "convention"?

10:33 / 10.04.06

A year or two ago I happened upon what I presume was The Legend of Leigh Bowery, a documentary from 2002, late one night on, I expect, Arte. It was fascinating. All I knew of Bowery were a few of his costumes along with pictures of him wearing them. The documentary gave a better impression of the overpowering physical presence of the man, how the costumes played out as part of his performance and how gentle he was.

He did devote himself wholeheartedly to Freud's work. I suppose there's a good chance he'll be best remembered for that too, but that would be rather sad. Do watch that documentary if you haven't but you can.

12:43 / 10.04.06

I think Spaced basically ruined Leigh Bowery for me. I’m sure he was nothing like Vulva, but it’s such an grim parody that I can’t get David Walliams out of my mind whenever Bowery comes up. I can’t be the only one.

13:31 / 10.04.06

I remember reading that Freud was interested in painting Leigh Bowery precisely because, unlike his usual selection of models from whom he stripped away layers of personality, Bowery was someone used to being looked at, who therefore had a dynamic that was a challenge to the artist. He was painting, regardless of the lack of props, a performer who was used to being inspected and who was not, therefore, anxious or self-conscious in the same way as, for instance, his daughters. For me, this was an interesting reflection both of the artist's relation to his models and art, and also of Bowery himself-- in this context, the painting itself becomes part of his performance.

All Acting Regiment

08:30 / 12.04.06

I have to say, Spaced doesn't ruin Bowery for me. Part of space slightly soiled Guesthouse Paradiso, but no, Bowery resists that parody- and I got the feeling that Vulva was parody born of respect.

10:19 / 02.05.06

Bowry once knocked over a round of drinks that my mate clara bought in Madam Jo Jo's. Caught the tray with his stupid bloody tutu. He then refused to offer replacements, and drinks in Madam Jo Jo's were £8 a pop even then. Stupid outfits, nasty man...

20:47 / 02.05.06

Is that just based on his refusal to buy an extra round, mikemystery, or do you have other reasons for thinking of him as a 'nasty man'?

All Acting Regiment

14:58 / 03.05.06

Also, surely those bunches and folds, as well as the framework to support the multiple glasses, require a level of tailoring skill hardly deserving of "stupid"?

22:33 / 25.06.06

If i spilt your round and refused to replace it ill wager you'd formulate a pretty dim view of me pretty bloody quickly. Still i'm not saying he was a nasty man to everyone. Far from it. Maybe he was lovely to his gran, gave lots to charity and would regularily stop to help stranded families change flat tires on the side of the motorway.

Yet he knocked over a £50 round and refused to pay for it. I'm sure it didn't bother him. If it had, he probably would have bought more drinks. We'll never know for sure.

All Acting Regiment

14:00 / 26.06.06

Yeah, probably the sort of vindictive shit who has to get the last word in every time.