“Let me say right at the start that in my opinion the first requirement for an artist is to know how to swim. I also feel that art, in the mysterious state corresponding to form in a wrestler, is situated more in the guts than in the brain, and that is why it exasperates me when, in the presence of a painting, I evoke the man and all I see is a head. Where are the legs, the spleen and the liver?”
- Arthur Cravan
Arthur Cravan, whose uncle is no other than Oscar Wilde, used to be a man with a variety of activities: he presented himself as a flaneur, a dandy, a poet, and (of course), as a transnational sexual outlaw. Furthermore he added the role of a price fighter to the things the both seemed to have in common.
It can be seen that Cravan’s excessive style of fighting and his understanding of the box ring as a certain kind of stage were a public impact and an act of revenge against John Douglas, the 9th Marquis of Queensbury, who happened to be the father of Wilde’s lover. Wilde has sued Douglas for libel. However this case collapsed in a trial of 1895, in where the circumstances led to arrest Wilde on charges of gross indecency.
Moreover it is worth noting that Douglas approved (but not actually generated) the classic rules of boxing: “The Queensbury rules”.
As an art figure, Cravan’s poetry, such as the publication of the critical magazine “Maitenant” (Paris 1911-1915), and his provocations in the public earned him the admiration of several Avant Garde figures like Marcel Duchamp, André Bréton, Pablo Picasso a.m.m. Undoubtedly he can be counted as one of the idol figures of Dada and Surrealism.
Arthur Cravan was, like his uncle, prodigiously tall. You can see how his tallness became a performative gesture in this video:
more information:
http://www.jamesreich.net/?page_id=383
http://www.atlaspress.co.uk/index.cgi?action=view_anti_classic&number=2
http://www.brooklynrail.org/2004/06/books/the-provocations-of-arthur-cravan




Wow, Vlada, great post, Craven sounds like a fascinating combination of Renaissance man and dadaist! It brings to mind the inevitable problems any gay or transgender inmate must encounter and also wonder if there is boxing on offer at Wormwood..?
I was about to post this in the stadium section because of the connection between art and sports. The way Cravan associates the body to art is unique… But I realised, that Cravan`s labour broke those “boundaries” between certain disciplines and therefore decided that he was connected to the prison in much the same way. (Or in a different way?) Interesting to see, that you relate Cravan to wormwood…
I haven`t thought about the gay and transgender problem (shame) but I was thinking about the boxing offer too. I am generally wondering how the prisoners relationship to their own body is and if their sportive activity changes after getting isolated from the outside world…?