ABSTRACT
The Lesson of Anatomy: The Life, Obsessions and Fantasies of Antonin Artaud was inspired by and included texts written by French theatre visionary Artaud in the final period of his life, after his release from incarceration in various mental institutions. In these accusatory, incandescent and disturbing writings — part stinging indictment, part tirade, part reverie —Artaud rails against psychiatry and the injustices of his own personal suffering, whilst envisioning new worlds and devising new languages. The Lesson of Anatomy was divided into four sections corresponding to Antonin Artaud's conceptions of the body: 'Flesh' –the body physical; 'Bardo'–the dream body of the Tibetan Book of the Dead; 'The Other Body'–the desire for an alternative body; and 'Asylum'–the social body. The work imagined the innovative shape of the Sherman Arena as an anatomy lecture theatre: Mike Pearson performed 'Flesh' and Asylum' as two extended solos.
