The Tongue in Contemporary Art: Anthropology, Symbolism, and Transgression

This article explores the symbolic and anthropological dimensions of the tongue in contemporary art, tracing its representation from medieval iconography to modern performance. The tongue is presented as a complex organ associated with both creation and destruction, echoing biblical references from James 3:6,8. Carol Rama's erotic female figures with scarlet, forked tongues evoke uninhibited sexuality and primal forces, while Joachim Patinir's 'Temptations of Saint Anthony' depicts a witch with sharp anthropomorphic jaws, illustrating the nature-culture duality that underpins Freudian theories of Eros and Thanatos. The concept of the 'evil tongue' (malalingua) is linked to folk exorcism practices using scissors, as seen in Maria Grazia Carriero's works, which draw from Southern Italian popular religion. Anthropologist Lello Mazzacane documented penitential tongue rituals in 1971 at the Sanctuary of San Donato in Montesano del Salento. Gina Pane's 1973 performance 'Action Autoportrait' involves cutting her tongue, blending sadomasochism with ritualistic body art. Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1975 film 'Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma' uses the tongue as a tool of sexual pleasure and torture, drawing from Dante's inferno and medieval Christian iconography of red-tongued demons. The article concludes by linking the tongue to the Moirai (Fates) who cut the thread of life, and to Saint George slaying the dragon, where piercing the throat symbolizes cutting off evil.