Bury Yourself in Art

Feature image: Carlos Martiel, Ciudad via artist website

Due to the boundless nature of art, artists can explore the earth and the human condition through whatever lens they choose. This includes the use of what some might consider extreme methods. Many people fear the concept of being buried alive. Scary stories of finding scratch marks and fingernails embedded inside coffin lids sound all too familiar. So artists who intentionally choose to bury themselves alive, even for a short time, strike one as both alarming and intriguing. In a world where comfort is paramount, to make a deliberate choice that results in pain, discomfort, and fear makes heads turn. These artists' own discomfort and their viewers' palpable fear become integral aspects of these buried-alive artworks.

In Self-Burial, Keith Arnatt took a series of 9 photographs. In the first, Arnatt stands on a dirt clearing, arms to his side, looking out at the viewers. Hills of bush and grass flow behind him, but he stands still. As the photos continue, Arnatt begins to sink slowly into the ground. His legs, chest, and finally, head all disappear. By the ninth photo, Arnatt has been completely consumed by the earth, and all that is left is freshly turned soil. Each photo was then broadcast on German television. Over the course of nine days, one photo was shown for just a few seconds during peak viewing times. No announcement or explanation was given to viewers. Their regular viewing would stop showing one of Arnatt’s photos and continue. Arnatt was captivated by land art and the ability of an artist to create on land but leave no trace of creation. Of land art and this artwork, Arnatt said, “The continual reference to the disappearance of the art object suggested to me the eventual disappearance of the artist himself.”

This 3-minute and 17-second video shows Mendieta slowly breathing and struggling under large rocks with only her face and hair visible. The gray rocky terrain is interrupted by patches of bright green plant life. The video is still and has no sound; it initially feels like a photo, but viewers will soon notice Mendieta's chest's steady rise and fall as she takes deep breaths. Her breath causes the rocks to shift and sometimes fall off, revealing parts of her nude body beneath. Mendieta’s work was often done outside, where her body was integrated into the surrounding nature. Burial Pyramid feels meditative as Mendieta’s body is slowly revealed from the earth. Thoughts of life, death, discomfort, and stillness occupy the viewers' minds while engaging with this work. 

Carlos Martiel has buried himself multiple times over the course of his art practice. In 2009, he performed the piece Marea, which translates from Spanish to “tide.” In this work, Martiel buried his entire body in the sand near the shoreline. Only his head can be seen sticking above ground. Silently waiting for the tide to come in, thus immersing his head in water. In 2015 Martiel buried himself twice. First, for Ruins, where he lay in the fetal position while two Caucasian men slowly covered his body in rocks until he was completely consumed by the earth. The second piece was Ciudad, a piece where Martiel was buried in a glass tank beneath seven layers of dirt and rock. Each layer of earth was taken from a site in Los Angeles where a person had been killed by police. The most recent burial piece of Martiel’s is Fosa (Pit), which was done in 2016. In this work, Martiel began this piece already buried beneath a large pile of sand. Calama women then approached the pile and slowly, by handfuls, removed the sand to reveal the artist's body. These women are specifically known for searching the desert for their missing relatives who died under the regime of Augusto Pinochet.

Carlos Martiel, Marea (Tide), photograph by Rafael Villares via Carlos Martiel website; Carlos Martiel, Ruins, photograph by Clinton M. Butler via Carlos Martiel website; Carlos Martiel, Ciudad via artist website; Carlos Martiel, Fosa (Pit), photograph by Mario Moreno via artist website

Black Cell by Lucas Davidson is an endurance performance piece that grapples with the psychological effects of solitary confinement. The piece was inspired primarily by the story of an Australian armed robber who was locked up in a windowless “black cell” for 60 days in the 1970s. For Black Cell, Davidson lay in an open-top wood box while a friend poured 264 pounds of gravel on top of his body. The only parts of Davidson’s body left exposed were his nose and feet. He lay covered in gravel for 60 minutes. Davidson had to practice this piece multiple times before the gallery performance to achieve this extended amount of time. In deciding how to perform this piece, Davidson shared, “I thought about my body and about depriving it of the freedoms we have.” The gravel used was the same as used to create prison cell walls in Australia. Davidson hopes this performance will bring awareness to the inhuman practice of solitary confinement. When Davidson performed the piece, a sense of anxiety and fear for Davidson’s well-being were palpable. 

Mike Parr was buried under a busy road in Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania. Parr laid in a 25-square-foot steel box for 72 hours. He had bedding and water but no food during this time. While in the box, Parr drew, meditated, and read Robert Hughes’ The Fatal Shore. Oxygen was pumped into Parr’s box to keep him alive while traffic rumbled over him, unaware of his presence. It took road workers two hours to carefully dig Parr out of his confines. Spectators watched nearby with bated breath, waiting for Parr to emerge. The performance was “meant to honor the hardships of both the convicts whom the British brought to Tasmania and the Indigenous people whom the British slaughtered there.” The burial was also meant to symbolize how Aboriginal history has been buried.

In extreme performance pieces like these, the audiences'/viewers' reactions and emotions to the piece are part of the art. The sense of trepidation and discomfort from watching others engage in such a common fear sparks interest. While Arnatt and Mendieta’s works deal more with land art and connection to the earth, the rest of these pieces invite further thought on how human life has been disregarded. Either way, the viewer can pause and consider the world around us.