Antagonist invocations: the condensed atmospheres of artist Jonathan Meese

By Maxime Le Calvé
English

Contemporary artist Jonathan Meese brings contradictory atmospheres in his performances: he appears simultaneously as an art “dictator” and as a creative “child”. The figures that he uses to weave his own character are soaked in antagonist ideological forces (Dumont). His action can be described with the tools of the anthropology of rituals centered on performative aspects: the condensation observed triggers the emergence of a “power of art”, a force that lends itself to devotion —a force with which he may shift the perspectives of his public.

Keywords

  • ambiances
  • atmospheres
  • ethnography
  • performance art
  • Jonathan Meese
  • ritual condensation