Charles Atlas

For almost fifty years Atlas has been a leading figure in the domain of film and video art, creating complex video installations and seminal films documenting dance and performance art. Atlas rose to renown with collaborative projects involving choreographers like Merce Cunningham (1919–2009) and Michael Clark as well as the fashion designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery (1961–1994). His network of creative collaborators and associates largely coincides with his circle of friends: many of his works from the 1980s and 1990s are portraits of fellow protagonists of the New York underground scene and the contemporary milieu, employing a sub- and pop-cultural idiom to scrutinize aspects of biopower and the politics of bodies and identity.
The publication features specially commissioned essays by Elisabeth Bronfen, Raphael Gygax, Jennifer Harris and Martin Jaeggi, reflecting on Atlas’ artistic strategies and the themes which determined his oeuvre throughout the years. In a special section dedicated to Charles Atlas, collaborators and friends share their memories, anecdotes, and stories.