Performance Art
I just got back from my first performance art exhibition ever and it was a pretty cool experience. Michael and I decided to go because a classmate of his was premiering a couple of pieces. The title of the show was "Tongue" and it was certainly an original experience. When we arrived at the art museum we were told we had to wait in the lobby until it was time for the show to start. A few minutes later a man with a bullhorn came out, following another man who was wearing cloth and tape around his waist and had the word "Tex-Mex" written on his chest and "taco" written on his back. The tape-dressed man stood silently on two cans of vegetables while the man with the bullhorn shouted "taco!" and "diversity in action" over and over again and invited us inside.
Once inside, we looked at the durationals and installations. We saw a video on blood diamonds ("Battlelines and Freetown?"), a clothesline full of underwear and dead fish ("Smells Like. . ."), and then we finally spotted our friend, Matt. He was slowly undressing, soon revealing a white, ruffly pair of panties. He proceeded to act out putting on a dress, stockings, gloves, high heels, and makeup. Soon after he was finished dressing, he became upset and acted as if he was pulling off each article of clothing, full of anger and humiliation. He put his regular clothes on and came to talk. While standing around, we had our shoes polished ("Maid-in-Pink") and were offered cookies and doughnuts shaped like penises and breasts ("Wanna Cookie?")
After talking to Matt, we headed upstairs to see the performances. Some highlights included shattered glass flying into the audience, a 10-12 foot tall singing vagina, two nearly naked girls coating each other with clay, and a performer tripping over a power cord and leaving everyone in an uneasy darkness for several seconds. Perhaps the most unusual performance was a goggle-wearing topless girl in a skirt who shouted "it's only natural" repeatedly and pulled on her nipples, while walking around in blue paint. At the end of her portion, she was picked up, revealing that she had nothing on under the skirt, and carried away.
Matt's final piece was downstairs on the way to the reception. He was wearing a small school girl outfit with platform boots and had draped himself in an American flag. He stood in front of a screen that showed a video he had made that showed H-bombs, Matt putting on makeup, and a variety of other images, and he sang, eventually throwing the microphone stand and the flag to the ground.
So it was definitely a pretty interesting experience. Although a few of the performances made me feel a little uncomfortable (namely the ones with flying glass and the the "it's only natural" one), it was really neat to see people expressing themselves and putting so much of themselves out there without worries about what others would think.
Once inside, we looked at the durationals and installations. We saw a video on blood diamonds ("Battlelines and Freetown?"), a clothesline full of underwear and dead fish ("Smells Like. . ."), and then we finally spotted our friend, Matt. He was slowly undressing, soon revealing a white, ruffly pair of panties. He proceeded to act out putting on a dress, stockings, gloves, high heels, and makeup. Soon after he was finished dressing, he became upset and acted as if he was pulling off each article of clothing, full of anger and humiliation. He put his regular clothes on and came to talk. While standing around, we had our shoes polished ("Maid-in-Pink") and were offered cookies and doughnuts shaped like penises and breasts ("Wanna Cookie?")
After talking to Matt, we headed upstairs to see the performances. Some highlights included shattered glass flying into the audience, a 10-12 foot tall singing vagina, two nearly naked girls coating each other with clay, and a performer tripping over a power cord and leaving everyone in an uneasy darkness for several seconds. Perhaps the most unusual performance was a goggle-wearing topless girl in a skirt who shouted "it's only natural" repeatedly and pulled on her nipples, while walking around in blue paint. At the end of her portion, she was picked up, revealing that she had nothing on under the skirt, and carried away.
Matt's final piece was downstairs on the way to the reception. He was wearing a small school girl outfit with platform boots and had draped himself in an American flag. He stood in front of a screen that showed a video he had made that showed H-bombs, Matt putting on makeup, and a variety of other images, and he sang, eventually throwing the microphone stand and the flag to the ground.
So it was definitely a pretty interesting experience. Although a few of the performances made me feel a little uncomfortable (namely the ones with flying glass and the the "it's only natural" one), it was really neat to see people expressing themselves and putting so much of themselves out there without worries about what others would think.