As anticipation builds for the 2026 Met Gala, a Vogue feature highlights artists who have innovatively incorporated their bodies into their work. The article ties into the Costume Institute's 'Costume Art' exhibition, which explores fashion as an embodied art form alongside the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. It profiles performers and creators from the 1970s to today whose oeuvres provoke thought on embodiment.
The upcoming Met Gala, themed around art and the body, coincides with the Costume Institute's spring exhibition 'Costume Art'. This show places fashion in dialogue with other artworks from the Met's collection, prompting a look at body-centric artists. Published ahead of the event, the Vogue piece surveys figures who redefined embodiment through daring performances and self-portraits. Marina Abramović sat silently for 736 hours in her 2010 MoMA show 'The Artist Is Present', locking eyes with visitors. Chris Burden staged perilous acts like the 1971 Shoot, where he was shot in the arm, and 1973’s B.C. Mexico, surviving 11 days without food on a Baja beach. David Hammons created his Body Prints series in the late 1960s by greasing his body and pressing it against paper with pigments. Frida Kahlo depicted her spinal pain in 1944’s The Broken Column, her body pierced by nails and braced, as described by Margaret A. Lindauer. Ana Mendieta’s Silueta series molded earth with flowers and fire; her 1985 death from a Greenwich Village window fall still draws protests chanting “¿Dónde está Ana Mendieta?”. Yoko Ono’s 1964 Cut Piece let audiences snip her clothing, probing power dynamics. Catherine Opie’s 1993 Self-Portrait/Cutting showed stick figures carved into her back, while her 2004 Self-Portrait/Nursing displayed 'Pervert' on her chest. Gina Pane lay over candles in 1973’s The Conditioning, later recreated by Abramović. Carolee Schneemann pulled a scroll from her body in 1975’s Interior Scroll. Laurie Simmons photographed her naked form, as her daughter Lena Dunham recalled in her 2014 memoir. Annie Sprinkle’s Post Porn Modernist Show from 1989-1996 aimed to openly discuss sexuality, with the artist stating, “My whole purpose is to bring what’s hidden out in the open so people can look at it and discuss it.” Carmen Winant’s Body Index compiles diverse body tracings, reflecting on gender and surveillance.
