A Body to Live In Review: Tender Portrait of a Trailblazing Queer Artist

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Fakir Musafar, a unique performance artist and photographer who passed away in 2018, is largely unknown despite a lifetime of groundbreaking work starting in the 1940s. Also known as Roland Loomis, Musafar explored the limits of the body through piercing – both his own and, with willing participants, theirs. His performances involved using hooks and knives to stretch and manipulate skin, often sharing piercings and pushing the boundaries of physical experience.

Musafar was a leading figure in the “Modern Primitives” movement, a subculture known for pushing the boundaries of body modification through extreme piercing and tattooing. This practice often blended spiritual exploration with altered states of consciousness and fostered a uniquely queer community. Once unfairly labeled as self-harm or exploitative, this art form is now increasingly recognized as “outsider art,” beautifully highlighted in the film A Body to Live In by filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax. Despite showcasing intense body modifications, the film is surprisingly easy to watch because it emphasizes the deliberate and meaningful nature of Musafar’s work.

A Body to Live In Reveals an Essential Artist Ahead of His Time

The film A Body to Live In powerfully portrays Musafar through his own voice and the stories of those he impacted. It uses a rich collection of old footage and personal accounts to show how he challenged societal norms by openly discussing his work and appearing on television to reduce stigma surrounding himself and his community.

Minax is honest about the problematic aspects of Musafar’s work, acknowledging that his art existed in a time when cultural awareness wasn’t what it is today. Many of Musafar’s choices, including his stage name, would likely be seen as cultural appropriation now. This led to a significant response in 1993, when leaders from the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota tribes prohibited non-Indigenous individuals like Musafar from performing sacred ceremonies, fearing misrepresentation of their traditions – and his public performances were a key reason for their concern.

Musafar understood and respected concerns about safety in BDSM, and his life’s work emphasizes the importance of challenging assumptions about harm and sexuality. He believed that all communities, especially those exploring unconventional practices, deserve respect and the right to decide how their own bodies are treated. Musafar truly elevated bodily autonomy into an art form, and it’s a skill and principle we desperately need today.

A Body to Live In opens in Los Angeles on February 27th. It then continues a tour through North America. More info here.

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2026-02-27 04:50