Ritual Death Cults
The Sacrificial Aesthetic: Blood Rituals from Art to Murder
http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0502/blood.htm
excerpt:
In 1974, artist Marina Abramovic performed a work entitled “Rhythm O” in which “she permitted a roomful of spectators in a Naples gallery to abuse her at their will for six hours, using instruments of pain and pleasure that had been placed on a table for their convenience. By the third hour, her clothes had been cut from her body with razor blades, her skin slashed; a loaded gun held to her head finally caused a fight between her tormentors, bringing the proceeding to an unnerving halt.”(1)The same year artist Petr Stembera performed an action entitled “Narcissus #1” in which he stood gazing at a self portrait which was placed on an altar surrounded by lit candles. Blood was drawn from his body with a hypodermic needle; then Stembera proceeded to mix the blood with his own urine, hair, and nail clippings, finally drinking the mixture in front of his altar. These are just a few examples of the use of blood in performance art.