A fakir is a religious mendicant or ascetic who leads a life of poverty and detachment from material possessions in order to focus on spiritual pursuits. Full definition
Another example is the Society of American Fakirs at the Art Students League of New York City, a group of students who, between 1891 and 1906, annually produced parodies of the works of artists they were supposed to revere, like John Singer Sargent and Thomas Eakins. (artnews.com)
The two Italians are similarly connected by their ironic evocation of religion, evident in Cattelan's eyebrow - raising installation with a buried fakir at this summer's Venice Biennale. (artforum.com)
Tonight's lecture at the Morbid Anatomy Museum suggests that this dates back to Weimar Berlin's era of anarchy and decadence, where fake fakirs — religious ascetics who live solely on alms — got by with their gnarly nails and pins piercing. (artfcity.com)