Carve Your Apologies In Your Wrist. Let The Guilt Drip From Your Fingertips.

This past week in class was a very interesting one. I enjoyed talking about performance art and the value of the camera. I do agree that the camera is a neutral entity that achieves distances that we, the viewer, cannot... meaning that it can show us things close up or far away that we wouldn't normally see with the naked eye. We use this all the time in everyday life (or I do at least)... at church, we have huge projector screens where we can display camera shots of what's going on on the alter so that those in the back of the sanctuary can see what's going on. I also love using a telephoto lens to zoom in really close to see things far away at a better distance.

I thought the performance by Marina Abramovic called "Lips" was different. It was ok to watch and different from other performances I've seen, but it wasn't something that I would spend money to see or sit and watch for more than a minute or two. Also, her endurance performance "Expansion Space" was.... hardcore? I thought Joshua Sofaer was really funny in his "Embarrassment: A Bare-Buttocked Lecture." Also, Sheryl Oring's idea to write letters to the President with a typewriter on the sidewalk was just brilliant. I'm sure she invited many people to explain their views. Genius!

One of the most distrubing performance, I thought, was Sonic Youth's mutilation of the piano. I understand that they were making a point that the object was useless and that it was all just performance art... but the piano isn't useless. Music is art, a beautiful interpretation of art. I am a musician so seeing them nail down the keys that I use to express myself was heartbreaking. I found it moving, but I don't think that taking a perfectly good, useful instrument and torturing it should be considered the norm for the art world. They may have been expressing themselves and coloring outside the lines, but their manipulation of the canvas destroyed my own personal expression of my art.

I also understand the video installations like "End After 9" and "Zen For Film" were considered art, but it definitly not my cup or tea. It's pointless and waste of time.

Now, about self mutilation. I have to agree with Sarah on this one. I'm not weirded out by many gross things, but this is just stupid and shouldn't be considered art. I mean, hanging yourself from the ceiling of a room by putting rings and hooks into your skin is just stupid. I don't understand how that expresses yourself, that's just hurting your body. Like Orlan... why get the surgery if you don't have to. That's so dumb. Ug. I mean, I know that the body is now considered the ultimate canvas that can be manipulated; it's an evolutionary architecture and an object, but I don't agree with that at all. My Christian faith tells me that my body is a home for my soul that will eventually ascend to Heaven, and that I must take care of it because it was intrusted to me by God, just like it's my responsibility to do my part to take care of the environment and my family. It's just my opinion, but I don't agree.