Review of Bob Flanagan (cystic fibrosis song, you tube clip)
Viewed on the 1st April 2010
An interview with Bob Flanagan about the performance and his ongoing battle with cystic fibrosis. This review is in the style of “Marina Abramovic, Elevating the public” In conversation with Adrian Heathfield. Taken from Live: Art and Performance, London: Tate
Bob Flanagan’s work has been made famous by his honest and sometimes humours narration about battling a respiratory illness. He died on the 4th January 1996 but have one chance to interview Bob for my exhibition. He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age, and illness which influenced his art greatly, yet ultimately claim his life. Whilst some of his worked featured heavily on the male form and the ideals of the male body as being macho, he shows vulnerability in his song about living with cystic fibroses merging this with interests about being a super masochist. I used research about his interests and life from an award winning documentary film Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Super masochist 1997 directed by Kirby Dick.
“Supermasochistic Bob has Cystic Fibrosis
He should've died young
but he was too precocious
How much longer
he will live is anyone's prognosis
Supermasochistic Bob is Cystic Fibrosis
I'm dili-dili, I'm gonna die
I'm dili-dili, I'm gonna die
When he was born the doctors said he had
this bad disease
That gave him awful stomachaches
and made him cough and wheeze
Any normal person
would've buckled from the pain
But SuperBob got twisted now,
he's into whips and chains
I'm dili-dili, I'm gonna die...
You get the idea before I kill myself.
I'm dili-dili, I'm gonna die
years have come and gone
and Bob is still around
He's tied up by his ankles
and he's hanging upside down
A lifetime of infection
and his lungs all filled with phlegm
The CF would've killed him
if it weren't for S & M
Supermasochistic Bob has Cystic Fibrosis” Bob Flanagan. These song lyrics derived from Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, the famous Disney song from Mary Poppins. The childlike humour that is present within his performance created by using an upbeat rhythm is masked by a haunting story about living with the disease.
Sophie: Do you consider yourself as an artist?
Flanagan: NO
Sophie: Why not?
Flanagan: Well i never set out to be an artist, i have never been well enough to be an artist I guess, have just got tied up in things “literally” he jokes and then I guess people started to write about my performances as a kind of art?
Sophie: And is this a label that you are happy with?
Flanagan: I mean yeah I guess so, I have always known that I’m never going to get better, so anything that I do that gets recognition is just a bonus for me.
Sophie: A lot of your work focuses around super masochistic How did firstly become interested with this as a hobby?
Flanagan: I was first introduced to super masochist as a hobby by a friend of mine, from the band Nine Inch Nails, it was seen as a bit of a joke at first, and something they would take up whilst away on tour. I believe they would pay for prostitutes to come to the hotel that they were staying at and take part in sex games, after a while this led to more. It freaked a couple of the guys out, but didn’t stop me. I just had this constant feeling of numbness at the thought of dying early, so almost sex was the best cure for me. Well at least the most entertaining and pleasurable.
Sophie: Surely this wasn’t the most important element in your life? Did you not have other interests that took your mind of the illness?
Flanagan: No I had always been into it from a young age, not ever going to school properly, thinking about sex was just like a ritual for me. I fell into a routine and it never seemed to stop. I would wait till everyone was asleep and then start to play, I loved the feeling of being naked all night long, waiting for the sun to come up and the breeze to come through my window, and I loved the feeling as the breeze touched my skin. From this it moved on constantly wanted to do new things, nothing in my head told me that it was wrong. I just craved the feeling that I was in the wrong.
Sophie: what did your parent say, did they ever find you?
Flanagan: I had a very negative sex upbringing no one in the family talked about it, I never heard my parent do it either. I was never told it was wrong I just never really was told that it was okay. I anything the family was more dysfunctional emotionally, I didn’t feel overwhelming love for my family, just was sad a lot of the time and felt pain for my sister who was also suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Sophie: At what point do you feel that people started to see you as an artist?
Flanagan: Err well I guess looking back I can see that some of the events that I partook in showed likeliness to things I had seen in films. When watching sex scenes I thought it was amazing, the bodies the exposure and the closeness of two individuals. In reflection I would say that this is art, after following in these footsteps I guess what I was doing was art. I liked using my body, it was wrecked so it didn’t matter if I did anymore damage to it.
Sophie: What would you say was the most prevalent point of your career or personal life?
Flanagan: I would say that towards the end of my life I was open to criticism more than ever. This is why I chose to perform the cystic fibrosis song. Although I had lost much of my health I still had my dignity and pride. Performing in an artistic manner allowed me to almost repent for the things I had done wrong previously.
Sophie: I noticed that during your performance of the famous cystic fibrosis song, some members of the audience were laughing, was this not uncomfortable for you?
Flanagan: Ha-ha well to be honest between you and me I have done some ridiculous things in my life. So standing up and single about my illness was so easy. In a way I wanted people to laugh, I didn’t give a shit about what they thought and it was a weight lifted off my shoulders.
Sophie: singing in your condition was probably a physically hard challenge?
Flanagan: My body has been completely tortured in the past. Remember that time that I hammered a nail through my penis? In comparison a bit of wheezing and sputtering was nothing. Looking back this was probably one the most low key performances that I ever took part in. It was a nice change for me to entertain in a way that was universally acceptable compared to performing super masochist in private. Never thought I would say it, but standing up there with my oxygen tank and singing that song gave me just as much satisfaction as a man or woman whipping my arse with a belt full of pins.
Sophie: can you see why people see you as an artist? Or is it an exposure you would still not liked to be linked to?
Flanagan: looking back it probably would be negative for me to reject my performances as performance art. It is almost endearing that a niche in the market holds space for me. My first love is being a super masochist yet would never turn down to take on more accessible arts if I had, had the chance.
