I Like America and America Likes Me

In 1974, German artist Joseph Beuys arrived in America for the first time. Upon landing at the airport, he was transported by ambulance directly to the Rene Block Gallery in New York City. He emerged from the ambulance wrapped in a grey felt blanket and was then placed in a room with a wild coyote where he spent the next three days.

According to kidsofdada.com: "The coyote’s behavior changed throughout the three days, becoming sometimes cautious, detached, aggressive and then friendly." Also, at one point, "Fifty new copies of the Wall Street Journal were added to the closed space, which the coyote acknowledged by urinating on them."

After the three days were up, Beuys was again wrapped in the felt blanket and was returned to the airport.

Beuys called this performance art piece "I like America and America likes me."

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 03, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Performance Art, 1970s

Artist Lays Egg

Chuck mentioned a few weeks ago that French performance artist Abraham Poincheval would soon be sitting on a dozen eggs until they hatch. He's now well into the process of doing that and has hatched nine eggs already. [Heat St., News24.com]

Poincheval hatching eggs

Back in 1946, the legendary PR man Jim Moran did something similar. He sat on an ostrich egg for 19 days until it hatched, to publicize the movie The Egg and I.

Jim Moran with egg

But the most famous case of a human incubating an egg may be from 1958 when Mrs. Ella Petry carried an egg in her cleavage for 21 days to prove that she could hatch an egg that way. It started as a dare in her neighborhood pub. And yes, the egg did eventually hatch.

The Louisville Courier-Journal - June 4, 1958

Mrs. Petry's stunt was recreated in 1969 for Lord Snowdon's TV documentary "Love of a Kind" that explored the strange relationships between people and their pets. The documentary then sparked an extended debate in the British press over whether it was actually possible for a woman to incubate an egg that way. Would there be enough warmth? The scientific director of the British Egg Marketing Board eventually weighed in on the debate and said yes, it should be possible. In fact, it was apparently an ancient custom among peasant women in Italy to do exactly this. The gender of a chick hatched in a woman's bosom is said to foretell the gender of the woman's next child.

Daily Sketch reporter Erica Wallace recreates Ella Petry's incubation stunt. Life - Dec 12, 1969

Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 22, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Publicity Stunts, Performance Art, Farming

Eunoia II by Lisa Park

Mana Spotlight: Lisa Park & Eunoia II from Mana Contemporary on Vimeo.

Article here.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 02, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Avant Garde, Performance Art, New Age, Brain

St. Pancake Day

The Dutch cartoonist Jan Kruis, recently deceased, was responsible for proclaiming November 29th of every year to be the "Sint Pannekoek-feest," and getting the whole country to play along. The main tradition is to wear a pancake on your head.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 21, 2017 - Comments (1)
Category: Eccentrics, Food, Comics, Performance Art, Foreign Customs, 1980s, Europe

Frank Zappa, Steve Allen:  1963

Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 19, 2016 - Comments (9)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Television, Performance Art, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Butter Dance

Melati Suryodarmo's Butter Dance is well known — almost 2 million views on YouTube — but somehow this classic of modern performance art has, so far, escaped the attention of WU. So for all who haven't seen it yet, here it is.

(My favorite moment is at around the 1:45 mark).

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 09, 2016 - Comments (5)
Category: Performance Art

Pipilotti Rist Redux

One of WU's most-beloved performance artists, Pipilotti Rist, is back in the news. Why not spend hours of time and the museum entrance fee to "enjoy" her work?

Or just sample it below.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 28, 2016 - Comments (3)
Category: Annoying Things, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Performance Art

Contortionist Extraordinaire

Sophie Dossi is an amazingly talented young lady! She has a great sense of showmanship as well.

Posted By: patty - Fri Sep 09, 2016 - Comments (1)
Category: Body, Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, Performance Art

A Minute of Dance Per Day

Une minute de danse par jour /sélection d'extraits de danses from Nadia Vadori-Gauthier on Vimeo.

Une minute de danse par jour 20 08 2016/ danse 585 (One Minute of Dance a Day). from Nadia Vadori-Gauthier on Vimeo.

There is just as much of this as you can take--and possibly more than you can take--at her page.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 24, 2016 - Comments (4)
Category: Avant Garde, Performance Art, Europe

TAURUS RISING at Labbodies Transmodern Festival

I do believe this is our last clip from this inspirational font of artistic genius. Long may they reign, to baffle and disgust audiences everywhere!

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 01, 2016 - Comments (2)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Performance Art