For almost 50 years, New York-based artist Charles Atlas (born 1949) has been a leading figure in film and video art, creating seminal works documenting dance and performance art, involving choreographers such as Merce Cunningham and Michael Clark, as well as the fashion designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery. His network of collaborators and associates largely coincides with his circle of friends: many of his works from the 1980s and 1990s are portraits of fellow protagonists of the New York underground scene and the contemporary milieu, employing a sub- and pop-cultural idiom to scrutinize aspects of bio-power and the politics of bodies and identity. The publication features commissioned essays by art historians and curators, reflecting on Atlas' strategies and the themes that have shaped his oeuvre over the years.

For almost 50 years, Charles Atlas (b. 1949, St. Louis, USA) has been a leading figure in the domain of film and video art, creating complex video installations and seminal films documenting dance and performance art. He rose to renown with collaborative projects involving choreographers such as Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) and Michael Clark (b. 1962), as well as the fashion designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery (1961-1994). This publication features specially commissioned essays by art historians and curators, reflecting on Atlas' artistic strategies and the themes that have shaped his oeuvre over the years. Published on the occasion of the exhibition at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (17 February - 13 May 2018).