About Headlessness (2013)

Headlessness is an important term to me and acting in Headlessness does count for me. As an artist the notion of Headlessness – which is an absolutely positive notion – guides me and drives my work, from start. The term Headless is shared as well by Art and Philosophy. Headless does not mean stupid, silly or without intelligence, Headless does not mean being ignorant, I am not an ignorant artist – because as an artist, better not be ignorant! I am and want to be a Headless artist. I want to act in Headlessness – always. I want to make Art in Headlessness, work in a rush and with precipitation. I never want to economize myself and I know that – as the artist – I often look stupid facing my own work, but I have to stand out for this ridiculousness. If I want to give a new form, I have to do it in Headlessness and to produce in Headlessness means to be ridiculous and even to be “the stupid one”. I want to rush through the wall, head first, I want to make a breakthrough, I want to cut a hole or a window into the reality of today. I think that in today’s complex, cruel, incomprehensible but also graceful, beautiful and hopeful world, to be static, to “keep the level”, to be for security, for tradition, for identity will definitely lead to loss. I am for movement, for intensity, for exaggeration, I am for Headlessness, for the decision, for insistence, for the offensive, for the dream.

Other terms for Headlessness are: Blindness, restlessness, acceleration, excess, stupidity, generosity, non-economisation, expenditure, exaggeration, self-transgression, precipitation, energy (Energy = Yes! Quality = No!). And at the opposite terms such as: anxiety, naive ness, harmony, capitalization, analysis, provocative ness, security, quiet, correctness, obedience, consumption, are to me absolutely negative notions today. To stay disobedient, non resigned and non reconciled, means to act with passion and Headlessness. To agree is an enlightment, it’s a gift, it’s a tool, it’s a weapon. To agree means trying to act in the reality and trying to fight reality in order to change it. In all of my works I want to give form to Headlessness. I also want written clarifications about my work to follow this notion. Nothing is more boring than something definite, something sure, something safe because it just isn’t the truth. The truth can only be touched – in Art – with Headless, hazardous, contradictory and hidden encounters.

As an example of Headlessness I add my recent text “Why Is It Important – Today – To Show And To Look At Images Of Destroyed Human Bodies?”.

Thomas Hirschhorn, 2013