Ron Athey: Beyond the Blood

When i was about 16 i got to go to LA and i had the chance to see Ron Athey perform...I had been vaguely aware of him and perhaps saw some over photocopied photos of him in some zine...because thats how we got information back then from vague images passed hand to hand or sent through the mail in over decorated envelopes...(but i digress into nostalgia).....Seeing him changed my life and altered my aesthetic...it took my face and pressed it again the glass and kept pressing until it smashed through...I saw worlds i had never even knew existed and there was no going back...and in the center of it all like a sun stood Ron...like a tattooed god....looking at him filled me with sex and sweat....a desire i had never felt.....my young body quivered and shook in mock ecasty..... i could smell hot sweat and blood 

{it changed me}

This was the first time i saw Ron...but certainly not the last.....

Recently i had the pleasure of seeing him perform again for the first time since i was 16 and even over 2 decades later he still has such a powerful presence...in a sweaty Brooklyn art space his body was slathered and anointed with vaseline as he lay prone hooks pulling his face into a ecstatic smile adorned with the trappings of an Egyptian god....it was all so familiar but new as well....we were all a little different over the years yet things still affected me the same as when i was young.....

Prior to this i got to meet Ron for the first time last summer in London for the Meldown Festival curated by Antony from Antony and the Johnsons...my friend Johanna knows him and made the introductions...we talked of his relationship with Rozz Williams and i told him that i saw him perform and that i had a friend Jen who interned for him in LA helping him convert his VHS pieces to DVD...the thing that struck me the most during our conversation was his warm smile...he had such an air of calm confidence aroundd him it was comforting for someone like me who was a bit disarmed to be finally meeting someone who had an impact on me at such a young age....it was surreal but definatelty very REAL...

During his time here recently he had a book release of a retrospective of his work so far. "Pleading in the Blood: the Art of Ron Athey" So i went with my friend Krys {who had dated Ron in LA} and Scooter LaForge and sat for some reading from the book...I was fascinated by so many of the images as yet unseen...a young Ron in his Deathrock best....watching as tattoos slowly cover his body...seeing him covered in blood and posing in Leigh Bowerys dress...his larger than life drag persona...and his struggles with deamons within and without....it was an emotional journey and felt like a catharsis not only for Ron but for us all.... Im grateful to have been there....

After the show Krys decided to do a impromptu photoshoot with Ron for both his "Styx" series and for a piece for his tour de source "31 Days of Halloween"....I was privy once again to a smiling joking Ron....talking about how Diamanda is channeling  Cher on one song.... and just having fun talking and joking after what must have been a long 2 weeks....but Ron obliged and let Krys do his magic....

Ron Athey...beyond the blood...lays a man and an artist.... a survivor....a fighter .....with a warm smile and a wonderful laugh....

XOXO