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Extravagant Bodies: Abjection in Art, Visual Culture and the Classroom

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Art, Excess, and Education

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Educational Futures ((PSEF))

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Abstract

Individually, collectively, and culturally, bodies ooze, spurt, and explode beyond their boundaries. Psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva (Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (L. Roudiez, Trans.). New York: Columbia University Press, 1982) explains that this excessiveness elicits not disgust but abjection, a state of simultaneous discomfort and pleasure, of fascinated victimhood. She identifies abjection as a prerequisite for ego formation and psychological development. Scholars have argued that the abject can apply to the sociocultural body as well as the personal. Within that social body, the abject appears in art, popular media, and children’s toys, creating a zone of transgressive pleasure and a powerful space of resistance. Weaving together K-12 interviews with a broad look at fine art and contemporary sites of visual culture, this chapter looks at the generative potential of extravagant bodies that push our limits and redefine our boundaries.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more on Topp’s Garbage Pail Kids: Topps. (2012). Garbage Pail Kids. New York: Abrams.

  2. 2.

    For more on Cabbage Patch Kids: http://www.cabbagepatchkids.com/

  3. 3.

    See the Joke Shack’s wide variety of fake poo: http://thejokeshack.com/fake-poop/

  4. 4.

    Doggie Doo: The Game produced by Goliath: http://www.doggiedoogame.com/

  5. 5.

    For example, Treat Street Poopers (http://www.myfavoriteco.com/poopers/poopers.html) or Candy Crate Poopers (https://www.candycrate.com/pocadi.html).

  6. 6.

    Hose Nose from Kandi Kastle Inc. (http://www.nationwidecandy.com/snacks/items/651.htm). Kandi Kastle Inc. has created a number of disgusting candy products, see: Hair, J., Lamb, C., & McHale, C. (2008) Essentials of Marketing, Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, p. 319.

  7. 7.

    See Slime Zombie: https://www.hawkin.com/slime-zombie

  8. 8.

    See more on the Trash Pack™ from Moose Toys: http://www.trashpack.com/us/

  9. 9.

    For more on Poopeez™ see: http://poopeez.com/

  10. 10.

    For more on Spin Master™ Flush Force see: https://www.spinmaster.com/product_detail.php?pid=p21536&bid=cat_flushforce

  11. 11.

    For more on Monster High™ see: http://play.monsterhigh.com/en-us/index.html

  12. 12.

    For more on Skelanimals see: https://www.facebook.com/pg/skelanimals/about/?ref=page_internal

  13. 13.

    For more on Furrybones see: http://myfurrybones.com/about-furrybones/

  14. 14.

    Dictionary.com is a website that provides definitions from multiple official sources including Random House dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, and the American Heritage Dictionary, among others. While I realize it is perhaps more professional to use a single, well-established dictionary, my work is purposefully democratic and engaged in challenging hierarchies of taste. With that in mind, it seemed counterintuitive to use something for elitist purposes, particularly since dictionary.com uses officially published definitions.

  15. 15.

    Disgusting flavored jelly beans became popular after the Harry Potter™ books inclusion of the fictional Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, which were made a reality by Jelly Belly®. The beans include flavors like ear wax, vomit, rotten eggs, and earthworm. Gross flavors are now included in the Bean-Boozled line, where ten disgusting flavors are mixed with look-a-like tasty flavors, becoming a game of who gets skunk spray versus licorice. See https://www.jellybelly.com/beanboozled-jelly-beans-3.5-oz-mystery-bean-dispenser-4th-edition-/p/93965 and https://www.jellybelly.com/harry-potter-trade-bertie-botts-every-flavour-beans-1-2-oz-box/p/98101

  16. 16.

    Pester here is an allusion to “pester power,” or the ways in which children deploy buying power in capitalism even without having access to capital themselves (Nicholls, A.J. & Cullen, P. (2004), The child-parent purchase relationship: “pester power,” human rights and retail ethics. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 11(2), pp. 75–86).

  17. 17.

    For more on Millie Brown, see: http://milliebrown.world/about/

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN, USA

    Susan B. Livingston

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  1. Susan B. Livingston
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Kevin Tavin

  2. Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Mira Kallio-Tavin

  3. Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Max Ryynänen

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Livingston, S.B. (2019). Extravagant Bodies: Abjection in Art, Visual Culture and the Classroom. In: Tavin, K., Kallio-Tavin, M., Ryynänen, M. (eds) Art, Excess, and Education. Palgrave Studies in Educational Futures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21828-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21828-7_7

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