Episode 09 (+ 1)

Ron Athey, born 1961, is a Los Angeles-based self-taught artist performing since 1981’s Premature Ejaculation noise/action collaboration with the late Rozz Williams. Influenced by the bands Christian Death and Nervous Gender, Athey came into his own forming a performance troop in the 90s, making the so-called torture trilogy, 3 works that addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis in ritualistic, philosophical, and mythological stage scenes. Martyrs & Saints and 4 Scenes In a Harsh Life were developed scene by scene in nightclubs, Deliverance (1995) was an ICA London commission. These works toured internationally including CCA Glasgow, Gallerija Kapelica Ljubljana, Eurokaz Zagreb, Inteatro XX Polverigi, Ex-Teresa CDMX, and Kampnagel Hamburg.

In 1998 Athey began making solo work, premiering The Solar Anus at Galleria Kapelica Ljubljana, onwards through 20 cities until the pivotal Undercover Surrealism show at the Hayward Gallery in London, 2006. Since then Athey has moved between solos, opera collaborations, and video. Two monographs have been printed on Intellect Press: Pleading in the Blood (2013) and Queer Communion (2021) to accompany the same-named Amelia Jones curated retrospective showing that year at Participant Inc. NYC and ICA-LA. Athey has collaborated with Carmina Escobar on her sound recording concept, Vox Claimants, a non-lingual vocal duet filmed in California high desert locations.

Athey is a 2023 Creative Capital “Wild Futures” grant recipient, for The Asclepeion, a live art installation. In April 2023 Athey is facilitating Darkness Visible, a weeklong immersive 30 person performance workshop at Communitism in Athens, Greece.

This is the second “plus-one” episode of Five Places Los Angeles. In each episode, we ask our interviewee to name someone whom they would choose to ask about the five places that define Los Angeles for them. Author and artist Lisa Teasley, whom we interviewed in Episode Five, chose Ron Athey as her plus-one. To hear Lisa Teasley’s interview and read her bio, check out her interview and show notes here.