“This piece was primarily a trust exercise, in which she told viewers she would not move for six hours no matter what they did to her. She placed 72 objects one could use in pleasing or destructive ways, ranging from flowers and a feather boa to a knife and a loaded pistol, on a table near her and invited the viewers to use them on her however they wanted.
Initially, Abramović said, viewers were peaceful and timid, but it escalated to violence quickly. “The experience I learned was that … if you leave decision to the public, you can be killed… I felt really violated: they cut my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the public. Everyone ran away, escaping an actual confrontation.”
This piece revealed something terrible about humanity, similar to what Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment or Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiment, both of which also proved how readily people will harm one another under unusual circumstances.”
This performance showed just how easy it is to dehumanize a person who doesn’t fight back, and is particularly powerful because it defies what we think we know about ourselves. I’m certain the no one reading this believes the people around him/her capable of doing such things to another human being, but this performance proves otherwise.”
this is why performance art is important
So every single person who told me ‘ignore them they’ll go away’ and ‘you can’t let them know they bothered you’ and ‘They’ll stop if they don’t see you react’ and all that bull shit, my entire school career, I want you to look good and hard at this.
I want you to think about what you said.
What you keep saying.
What you are telling your children.
You are making them powerless.
This is pretty much beautiful.
Gats & Dogs
Joining in on the unanimous fashion boner that Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby has garnered, here’s Menswear Dog’s take on the opulent classic.
The movie itself is more style than substance but that’s perfect for us because we’re not a movie blog. Baz Luhrmann goes over-the-top decadent in this rendition, but makes sure to pay attention to all the little details that make fashion bloggers go gaga. From collar pins to pattern-mixing to masterfully tailored 3-piece rigs; this is less a movie and more a moving mood board for the roaring twenties…and we’re ok with that. It opened nationwide this weekend so check it out.
“It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.” The Great Gatsby, Chapter 5
