Photo/ Foto: Marlène Ramírez-Cancio

Folds in the Body: The Symptoms of Power

Read this keynote in e-misférica 4.2

Abstract

This intervention intends to approach, somewhat arbitrarily, the effects of the body (of certain bodies) in the political arena and in aesthetic spaces. It also posits the body as a symptom and an effect, examining the trail of power it leaves in its wake.

Biography

Diamela Eltit is a distinguished Chilean performance artist, novelist and cultural critic. Winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship and numerous other awards and appointments, Eltit was a member of the acclaimed Colectivo de Acciones de Arte (CADA) during the years of the Pinochet dictatorship, and has been an important cultural presence during the years of the post-dictatorship through her participation in journals such as La Revista de Crítica Cultural. Both as an artist and a critic, Eltit's work has made important contributions to feminist theory and she has been a regular contributor to debate feminista. In 2000, she published "Emergencias: Escritos sobre literatura, arte y política," a book of essays which brings together some of her literary and cultural criticism. Her narrative work includes "Lumpérica" (1983), "Por la patria" (1986), "El cuarto mundo" (1988), "El padre mío" (1989), "Vaca sagrada" (1991), "El infarto del alma," with photographer Paz Errázuriz (1994), "Los vigilantes" (1994), "Los trabajadores de la muerte" (1998), "Mano de obra" (2002), "Puño y letra" (2005), and most recently "Jamás el fuego nunca" (2007).