Research on Artaud

One of the practitioners the 'Experimental' term focuses on is Antonin Artaud, a man renowned for being controversial in theatre and turning the world of early twentieth century theatre upside down. Artaud was born in France in 1896 and the influences of the nature of his work can be seen established from an early age: he contracted meningitis at the age of four and this gave him several dire side effects including chronic depression, a stammer and a temperamental nature. This led to his parents sending him to a sanatorium to seek help for him, something that affected him greatly. In one of his most famous quotes Artaud stated, 

              "I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with a psychiatrist, every morning at the time of his visit, made me want to hang myself, realizing that I would not be able to cut his throat."

This quote demonstrates exactly what mental state Artaud was in at the time when he was writing and gives a small insight into the experiences Artaud had whilst he was in the sanatorium. Mental illnesses plagued him throughout his adult life and due to his illnesses, much of his work was created whilst he was on intense pain killers, as well as having a heroin addiction. 

The work that Artaud is most well known for is his creation of 'The Theatre of Cruelty' which reinvented the definition of theatre, stepping away from the naturalistic and romantic eras of art which happened prior to Artaud's work to almost the complete opposite. Artaud was concerned with surrealism and experimental theatre which deviated from regarding the sole purpose of theatre being 'to entertain' and moving more towards 'to represent' and 'to shock/disturb'. Artaud was also one of the first dramatists to break the fourth wall and test the boundaries between audience and performer, something very interesting as the naturalism movement was occurring at the same time in amongst practitioners such as Stanislavsky and Chekhov. 

Artaud was not solely a dramatist; he was an actor, poet and artist, evidently someone dedicated to expressing themselves through the means of art. As Artaud's work was so unique and innovative at the time he was working, he faced much criticism but continued to make the work the way he wanted to. However, lots of Artaud's work was never documented as he only wrote one book: 'The Theatre and it's Double' 1938, and he did not write down much of the content of his practical sessions. 

From doing this research on Artaud, I am extremely interested to delve into his work further although I am slightly sceptical as to the nature of the work we will be doing surrounding him. I  have the feeling that this term, especially the work on Artaud will challenge me in a way I have not been challenged already on the course, but equally, I am looking forward to this challenge. I think it is very sad that Artaud lived the life he did; suffering for all of his life and dying at age 51, but already he has taught me that art can help people overcome their adversities, something that has never stood out to me as much as it has with Artaud.

The pictures above are of Artaud at two different stages in his life; when he was in his early twenties on the left and a few years before he died, when he was in his forties on the right. I found it shocking that Artaud was not older from looking at the picture on the right, but to me it gives an insight into how much he suffered with mental illness and trying to portray this strife successfully through art.

Sources:
http://www.leninimports.com/antonin_artaud.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/antonin_artaud.html#cyVQfJ1yfrX6zLO8.99
http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/theatres/artaud,%20antonin.htm
http://www.biography.com/people/antonin-artaud-9189906
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/144642/Theatre-of-Cruelty
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