Van Gogh was a Dutch artist with mental health problems. At one point in his short life he did what he is remembered by many people for, when he cut his ear off. This was obviously body modification on a very painful scale.
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/bio.html
This to my mind is the heart of the matter with body modification - certainly the more extreme versions - burning, cutting etc. Is the body modifier trying to make themselves more beautiful, or are they trying to make statement and draw attention to themselves. Could it also be argued that to do extreme things to one's body - removing limbs or scarring - is actually a mental health issue? I'm not necessarily saying it is, but it would be interesting to hear what anyone else thinks. If it isn't such a thing then where do we place Van Gogh in the world of body modification??
This is funny but relevant...kind of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhlBRV3Dmlw
1 comment:
Your comments about Van Gogh remind me of a condition called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) this is a condition where the person becomes obsessed with an part of themselves that needs to be fixed and some people even go to the lengths of having limbs removed.
For more information you can view this article from the BBC website about Body Dysmorphic Disorder
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/625913.stm
Although people with BDD may react to counselling to deal with their body issues if they do decide to go through with elective surgery to change their body, no matter how extreme it may be viewed as by ‘normal’ conventions, I still believe that a person has complete control over what they do to their own body.
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