BLOODY ART!

By Jon Hyde

“I believe that my work is honest, that it comes from a pure source. That’s why it’s important to me that my performances are not faked, not staged with blood capsules like a piece of theatre. I am trying to create something beautiful. I am trying to make the unbearable bearable.”

Franco B is pushing back the boundaries of what both the general public and the critics perceive as credible art. His self-styled ‘bleeding’ performances are controversial and have been the subject of mixed reviews and growing media interest over the past few years. Franco B gave a lecture at this university on March 1st about the nature of his work and agreed to talk in more detail about the development of his art and the long hard journey from obscurity to international recognition.

He was born in 1960 in Milan to Anglo-Italian parents. Brought up for the first seven years in an Italian orphanage, his education then began in a Red Cross school where he spent four years. Franco explained that for some years he was homeless before moving to the UK at 19 and continuing his education at Camberwell Art College in London. During these years he spent time travelling and experimenting with various kinds of lifestyles - which perhaps accounts for the experimental nature of his work. He would not tell me what the B stands for in his name, apparently it is from his stepfather who he has nothing to do with anymore.

The picture shown with this article was taken after his second performance, which occurred eight years ago at the ‘Torture Garden’ club in London. Messy, yes, but Franco B insists that no real problem occurred in this instance. I showed him the picture and asked him to explain the situation, he claims: “This was total theatre really, done for the Ministry of Sound’s fifth birthday party, in fact most people there didn’t even realize I was performing, they thought I was just one of the punters.”

Franco B’s performance style has developed over the last few years and he now performs in more of an individual context, his work being an object of fascination in its own right. The bleeding performances seem quite loose in structure; white canvas is laid out on a stage and Franco wanders across them leaving a trail of blood from where his veins have been punctured. This performance is not choreographed, so each show is unique in its own right. For obvious safety reasons the ‘bleedings’ are medically monitored and can only take place four times a year.

To a person who has not been informed about the nature of his work and what he is trying to achieve through it, it would be easy to draw religious parallels. Franco says he is a non-believer:“ I don’t see myself as a cheap Jesus, although the comparison has been made before, I try to contribute to the society I live within in a genuine way.” Franco is adamant that his bleeding performances are about giving, he makes it clear that there is no self-gratification involved within his performance, and he is not of the breed of folk that get trapped in a cycle of self-harm.

The bleedings are not the only art form that he is involved in. He paints and uses collage and video as mediums to express his work as well. Hanging from the walls of the studio where he works are some examples of his current work. After each performance he cleans the blood from his body with baby wipes and a large collage is being produced from these very same wipes, layered over each other making a bizarre sort of patchwork reminder of his performances. Franco also tells me that he is wallpapering a room with the finished canvasses that he has created on stage and that this room will itself become an exhibit.

Franco has no problem with his own mortality. He intends to carry on with the bleedings for only as long as they serve a purpose in art, as long as he feels there is a need for what he does. Franco says:“ I’m not interested in death or darkness at all, quite the opposite, I’m only interested in what we do when we’re alive. I don’t believe in re-incarnation, it’s important not to worry too much about making mistakes.”

On money, Franco B says that he recognises its importance, as it gives him the freedom to carry on working independently as an artist and choose the subject matter, but he is not completely mercenary about his profession. He is now in a position where he can demand anything from £3, 000-£5,000 for each performance, and travels internationally to show his performance work. He has performed for a tenth of his usual fee in countries that are less wealthy such as the Eastern block. He recently gave a performance in Mexico City that was done completely free of charge.

Franco B. believes it is important to interact with the public on other levels as well as just as a performer on stage. He says his recent lecture circuit at UK universities was a totally positive experience: “I wouldn’t do this unless there were really good reasons for the whole thing, we all have a responsibility to give something back."

Franco B’s next bleeding performance takes place in Belgrade on the 22nd of March.