Reach Me
CURATED
WORK
"The artist, however faithful to [their] personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
ACTION
Transgressive Artwork
No. 2-5
All iterations performed lit by a single stark spotlight, preceded by a title slide. Pieces may be presented as interludes, or together. Pieces may be reordered, but their names must remain associated with the original piece regardless of order.
INTRODUCTION
Playback of an audio-video piece precedes the presentation of No.2.
The introduction segment includes:
- A complete explanation of the themes, content, and intention of pieces No.2 through No.5.
- Legal release clause included alongside associated trigger warnings.
- An itemized list of the targeted rules the pieces intend to break and the necessary precautions taken to make their production feasible.
No.2
A pair of stagehands wearing personal protective equipment unfold an oversized tarp.
The artist walks out onto the tarp and spits on the floor, then leaves.
The pair of stagehands fold the tarp back up, and exit themselves.
No.3
The artist rolls a plexiglass box contraption onstage.
The box is hooked up to a fog machine via hermetically sealed tube.
The box is filled with fog, then:
(A) The box remains filled with fog throughout the remainder of the event.
(B) The box is vacuumed out via a second tube that snakes out of the building.
No.4
A microphone is to be placed on stage by stagehand.
The artist approaches the microphone and speaks:
(A) “I want to █████████████████████”.
(B)
Did you know?
According to federal law, it is illegal for me to say “I want to ████████████████ █████”.
In this particular case I can say it because I am packaging it in a statement about how, otherwise, I would be standing here on stage committing a felony in front of a captive audience.
Despite the fact that the president is a nazi, complete with shiny new death-camps, plans for annexation and boot-guzzling goons performing “Roman salutes”, according to federal law, it is illegal for me to say “I want to █████████████████████”.
All the while, the man works his way down his list. First, the immigrants, and transgender people, then anyone who looks like one, anyone who expresses sympathy towards them. Women, of course, are at the top of the list as well. I could stand here on stage and I could say I want to kill any number of these people. I could describe the reasons, the methods, the plan, and I would be protected under the first amendment. I could do it, and I would be pardoned by the man himself.
I will never █████████████████████, I possess neither the means nor will I be presented with an opportunity to do so, especially after I tell you that, according to federal law, it is illegal for me to say “I think someone should █████████████████████”
The whitest kids you know spoke of this over a decade ago, how it is especially illegal to do so and I quote “With a mortar launcher from the roof of the Rockefeller center, with poor security and a clear line of sight to the presidents bedroom”. That was on TV, alongside this diagram of how that could be achieved, should you consider it. All this, of course, for educational purposes, to keep the public educated on just how illegal it is to say “I want to █████████████████████”.
No.5
The artist brings a large crate onstage.
A series of objects are displayed, one by one.
Audience is polled on each object’s resemblance to a firearm.