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That's an interesting possibility--for others to "intervene" in the
performance. Perhaps one could even stage a counter performance or a
parallel performance making use of the water somehow, filling jugs to give
to street people on hot days, etc. I wonder if people will jump into it at
all. From what I hear on the Live Art list regularly, it sounds like people
in the UK are pretty ballsy about their performance art. Here in Minnesota
where surface politeness is one of the highest social values, you'd never
see John Cage being assaulted for a silent performance or a Dada riot over
offensive poetry.
*****************
The prescription drug thing is weird to me, since I grew up with epilepsy
and had to take Phenobarbital twice a day from the time I was 3 until I was
18. So it's not that big a thrill to me and frankly, it doesn't even occur
to me to take aspirin unless I'm in unbearable pain because I just got so
sick of taking meds every day of my childhood. Drugs and doctors and all
that are a last possible resort in my world. Maybe it's my stoic Midwestern
"buck up" attitude . . . I've known people in serious depressions that can
use the boost out of it, but I doubt that's the majority of people being
prescribed this stuff. And no one questions of course what kind of world
we're making that everyone has to be so stoned all the time to get through
the day. (Come to think of it, it's probably the makers of prozac that are
behind all of the staunch anti-drug laws enforcement!) Forget the war on
terrorism. Code Orange got you down? Have some Xanax. Don't be blue.
It's bad for the economy. Think positive. You're an American. God loves
you. Have some Prozac.
*****************
Speaking of posting articles--there is a really great commentary in the new
issue of Theater magazine about the Department of Defense funding
performances of Macbeth for the troops. I'd like to post that widely on
every listserve I'm on and so I actually wrote to ask for permission to do
so. If they say yes, I'll download it and post it here. It goes really
really well with this book I've been slowly getting through by Francis
Stonor Saunders called "The Cultural Cold War" on the CIA's funding of the
arts from post WWII through the cold war and beyond. Seems like they're
ramping back up. If Laura Bush can't get the poets to come to tea at the
White House, they'll find some other way to detooth the arts.
-----Original Message-----
From: Performance Studies international Extra
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Theresa K Smalec
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 10:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSI-EXTRA] ARTIST TO WASTE 15 MILLION LITRES OF WATER
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response to that list *
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Hi Laura,
Good points. You're right that Tim Jeeves might
possibly be McGowan's "ironic" publicist, though he
sounded way too pissed off about the piece for me to
believe he's complicit in it. I liked his effective
use of the F-word, though: it's hard to incorporate
that word into everyday postings, yet he did so
with grace and style. :)
I also agree with you that you can be conscious that
you're doing something unsound, as opposed to being
oblivious about it, or in denial. That's perhaps
what IS rather interesting and deeply unsettling
about McGowan's works: he makes visible what we
would prefer to leave invisible, and forces us to
really "see" it. If I walked around NYU, I bet I
could find plenty of broken/running faucets,
toilets, etc... it's just that no one has bothered
to do a "performance" about those items, inviting
people to come in and have a look.
Also, people COULD plausibly "intervene" in
McGowan's piece by shutting the water off, or
kicking his ass, other whatever. There's always a
way to "shut down" a performance that offends you,
and usually it just takes a word or a call to the
police, or a call to the Environmental Protection
Agency. (Well, that is being totally optimistic, but
seriously: why can't visitors to the gallery just
turn off the water)?
The Prozac/Zanax thing is also really troubling. I
know many people on meds who don't even know why
they're taking them, and don't want to ask their
doctors why. They just do what they're told, even if
the medication actually makes them more anxious.
I think that's a problem in itself: doing what
you're told without asking why. It's a political
problem as well as a health problem, because if you
can take a pill without questioning why you need to
take it, then you can also vote for a resolution
without questioning what's at stake, or defraud
investors without questioning why you're shredding
documents, or jump off a bridge, or kill someone.
That's a little extreme, I know. But I think it's
true that if more people just realized that pills
don't take your anxiety away, then maybe they would
accept anxiety as a "normal" part of life. If I
thought pills could cure me of my anxiety, I'd be
the first one in line...
Anyhow, have I got a Performance scandal for you!
It's about 9-11, though I don't know if the link is
up yet in the tabloids. I have a hard copy of the
newspaper, but don't really feel like typing it out
tonight. It's really great though: I am dying to
know what others think of it. I'll see if I can find
a link and post it here.
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