Cosey Fanni Tutti (born Christine Carol Newby; 4 November 1951) is an English

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...

and

Chris & Cosey Chris & Cosey, sometimes known as Carter Tutti, are a musical duo formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter (electronics) and Cosey Fanni Tutti (electronics, guitar, cornet), both previously (and currently the sole surviving) members o ...

. Tutti first performed under the name Cosmosis. According to Throbbing Gristle biographer Simon Ford, the name of Cosey Fanni Tutti was suggested to her by

mail art Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the postal service. It initially developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence Schoo ...

ist Robin Klassnick based on the title of the opera ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', meaning literally "That's What All Women Do."

Early career

Tutti was a performer with

COUM Transmissions COUM Transmissions was a music and performance art collective who operated in the United Kingdom from 1969 through to 1976. The collective was influenced by the Dada and surrealism artistic movements, the writers of the Beat Generation, and underg ...

, of which she was a founding member in 1969. Her addition changed the nature of the group, which had been mostly a musical venture. From that point on, COUM performances became events involving props, costumes, dance, improvisation and

street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university c ...

. As an installation artist, she was selected in 1975 to represent Britain at the IXth

Biennale de Paris The ''Biennale de Paris'' (English: Paris Biennale) is a noted French art festival. History The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of young ...

Visual art works and performance art

Tutti worked for two years on the Prostitution project as part of

, in which she created an exhibition about the pornography and sex industry and worked as a model for sex magazines and films. It was shown at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London in 1976. Censorship restrictions were imposed on the exhibition so that only one image could be viewed at a time. The project also involved events in which women working in the sex industry and the public could discuss issues about the industry and prostitution. Tutti also utilised her own used tampons and used nappies from Mary Kelly's work. This "aroused hysterical reactions from the British media and art establishment, unable to address the political implications of the work."

Pornography

Tutti had a long career as a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

and in the fields of

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

and

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

stemming from a desire to incorporate her own image into

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

s that she produced in this period. This willingness to consciously participate in the process of commercial image production has inspired a number of visual and performance artists. Some of her performance artwork has also drawn on her experience as an adult performer. In 1978, she appeared as a dancer in the music video for American singer Sylvester's disco song "

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" is a 1978 song by American disco/ R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released as the second single from Sylvester's fourth album, '' Step II'' (1978). The song was already ...

" with three other women from her stripping agency in London, alongside several dancers from

Pineapple Dance Studios Pineapple Dance Studios' is a dance studio complex, performing arts school, and associated dancewear, clothing, and eyewear brand, based in London, England. Origin Pineapple Studios was founded by former model Debbie Moore, who had started dan ...

Music career

Music was used in some of Tutti's performance art. The use of music led to Tutti's interest in the concept of "acceptable" music and she went on to explore the use of sound as a means of physical pleasure or pain. In 1976, she cofounded the group Throbbing Gristle with Chris Carter, Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...

. The group disbanded in 1981. Following the breakup of Throbbing Gristle, Genesis P-Orridge and Peter Christopherson went on to form Psychic TV, while Tutti and Chris Carter continued to record together under the moniker

, with the duo combining their interest and skills in avant-garde music with the sounds and structures of the then-nascent genres of

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

and electronic dance music. In honour of the dawn of the 21st century, Chris & Cosey changed their stage name to Carter Tutti, and the project pivoted to focus more on experimental ambient sounds. In 2004, after 23 years apart, all four original members of Throbbing Gristle reunited, and they issued a new 12" recording, ''

TG Now ''TG Now'' is an album by English industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 2004 through the band's own record label Industrial Records and was their first album of original material since 1982's ''Journey Through a Body''. Rele ...

''. The band continued to collaborate sporadically and began to perform live shows together for the first time in over two decades. In April 2009, Throbbing Gristle toured the U.S., appearing at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

and playing shows in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Chicago. In October 2010, Throbbing Gristle began a European tour; however, following the band's first tour date at the London Village Underground venue, London, on 23 October, their website announced that Genesis P-Orridge was no longer willing to perform with the band, and would return to their home in New York. Chris, Cosey and Peter finished the tour without P-Orridge, under the name X-TG. Carter and Tutti performed with Nik Colk Void of Factory Floor at

Mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

's Short Circuit Festival on 13 May 2011. A live album of the show, with an additional studio track, was released as ''Transverse'' in 2012, under the name Carter Tutti Void.

Later life

Tutti continues to release solo recordings, including a retrospective deluxe box set with many photos and text called ''Time To Tell'', and she continues to work as a performance artist in the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...

tradition. She co-edited (with Richard Birkett) and published (Koenig Books, 2012),

Maria Fusco Maria Fusco is a Belfast-born writer, lecturer, art critic, and events organiser. She was Director of Art Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London between 2007 and 2013 where she founded and led MFA Art Writing. She was a Senior Chancellor's ...

's ''Cosey Complex'', the first major publication to discuss and theorise about Tutti as methodology. In April 2017, she published her autobiography ''Art Sex Music''. In March 2018, Tutti discussed her life and career with actress

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom ''dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Marth ...

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's programme ''Only Artists''.

Discography

Excluding Throbbing Gristle, Carter Tutti or Chris & Cosey releases: * ''Time To Tell'' (1983 Flowmotion) * ''Nicki'' (1983 AQM) ith John Duncan and Chris Carter* ''Electronic Ambient Remixes 4: Selflessness'' (2004 Conspiracy International) * ''Mist While Sleeping'' (2010 Dirter Promotions)

ith Philippe Petit The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

* Carter Tutti Void ''Transverse'' (2012 Mute) * Carter Tutti Void ''f(x)'' (2015 Industrial Records) * Carter Tutti Void ''Triumvirate'' (2019 Conspiracy International) *''

Tutti ''Tutti'' is an Italian word literally meaning ''all'' or ''together'' and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist. It is applied similarly to choral music, where the whole section or choir is called to sing. M ...

'' (2019 Conspiracy International)

Videos

* ''A Study In Scarlet'' (1986 Conspiracy International)

Books

* ''Art Sex Music'' (6 Apr 2017,

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

) * ''Re-Sisters'' (2022)

Radio

Tutti took part in BBC Radio 4 Only Artists broadcast on 28 March 2018.

References

External links

Cosey Fanni Tutti's homepage

Official CARTER TUTTI site

* ttp://www.tate.org.uk/about/press-office/press-releases/tate-triennial-2006-new-british-art Cosey Fanni Tutti at the Tate Triennial 2006
Cosey Fanni Tutti & Genesis P-Orridge in 1976 - Media frenzy, ''Prostitution-style'' / Excerpts from John A. Walker's ''Art and Outrage''
about the exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (1976). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tutti, Cosey Fanni 1951 births Artists from Kingston upon Hull British industrial musicians English women guitarists English rock guitarists Living people British sound artists Women sound artists British erotic dancers English women in electronic music Throbbing Gristle members 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century English women musicians