ABSTRACT
When individuals of deep conscience and spiritual authenticity can no longer accept contradictions they observe in the world around them, they have often turned to prophetic actions to object, prompted by what is known as “sacred discontent” in religious traditions. Esteemed literary scholar Herbert Schneidau has argued that the avant-garde is essentially the modern secular heir and iteration of sacred discontent. This essay explores these twin traditions and their intersection in contemporary art. The prophet Isaiah publicly walked naked through ancient Israel for three years to symbolize the “nakedness” of Israel’s political alliances with her enemies, while Yayoi Kusama’s troupe danced naked at the New York Stock Exchange to symbolize America’s hypocritical alliances during the Vietnam War Era. Ezekiel defiled himself by eating bread baked on a fire fueled by human dung, while Chinese performance artist Zhang Huan sat naked on a filthy public toilet full of human dung to protest the government’s neglect of poor neighborhoods. Aesthetically brilliant, frequently transgressive, symbolic performative actions that speak “truth to power” or critique corrupt societies to shock their publics into wakefulness represent a profound link between this ancient religious prophetic tradition and contemporary art practice.
