Beauty of the Body

Artists and researchers come together on stage for an informal discussion about multiple aspects of the beauty of the body.

Guests

Hélène Gugenheim
Author and performer. Following her graduation from the École du Louvre, Ms. Gugenheim joined the editorial staff of Métiers d’art magazine, where she met numerous experts in crafts and artisan practices, movement and materials. It was at that time that she discovered the Japanese practice of porcelain repair known as kintsugi, which served as inspiration for her performance entitled Mes cicatrices, je suis d'elles entièrement tissé-e, in which gold is applied to scars, signifying the blend of strength and fragility that makes us human beings. Her works arrange words and bodies to create an embodiment of multiple intimate truths.

David Le Breton
Professor of Sociology at the University of Strasbourg and member of both the Institut Universitaire de France and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study (USIAS), Mr. Le Breton is the author of several books. They include Anthropologie du corps et modernité (PUF), Disparaitre de soi. Une tentation contemporaine (Métailié), Marcher. Eloge des chemins et de la lenteur (Métailié) and more recently Rire. Une anthropologie du rieur (Métailié).

Amanda Wachob
Amanda Wachob is a New York City-based artist who is internationally known for her innovative and conceptual work with the tattoo medium. Her canvases include fruit, leather, linen, and skin. She has done projects with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design, The Clyfford Still Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and The Whitney. Pioneering the watercolor tattoo movement and actively bridging the gap between tat-tooing and fine art, she has been named one of the 50 most creative people in the world. She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums worldwide.