Communication Breakdown Cont....

For my performance art I wanted to stress how much face to face communication we have lost with technology. In the business world, one can communication strictly through email avoiding personal communication completely. Who needs a hand shake when you can have letterhead? When you hit the dating scene not much changes. Dont have the balls to ask her on a date, well just shoot her a text then boys! Although my dinner date using stictly text messaging is an exaggeration of personal communication it also touches on the cell phone becomign your sixth finger. Im completely guilty of this myself, but you would be hardpressed to find a college kid who isnt armed 24/7 with their cell phone. I think the old phrase "boys cant live with them, cant live with out thme" should simply be substituted with cellphones.

Communication Breakdown

performance art

I now have a new found respect for those "weirdos" that hang themselves from trees and practice endurance by slamming their bodies into seal beams. Prior to this class these stunts seemed like nothing more then a cry for atttention but i now realize the time, dedication and elaborate thought process that goes behind each work. In my digital arts class i actually did a presentation on nam june paik, a man whose significance i failed to understand. His massive tv sculputures are uncomprehensible when you see them in pictures. Watching his documentary gave me an understanding of his wacky personality and just how amazing a hundred tv sets was 30 years ago. Yoko Ono is another performer that I knew of, yet didnt realize her importance besides being married to a beatle. The performance, cut off, makes a strong statement for exposing internal suffering as well as fights the staple gender issue. On a lighter note, kinda, Bob Flanagan brought humor into performance art. Fighting for his life, bob found performance art to be the perfect outlet. His sometime comedic, groteque and depressing stunts were always an expression of him and the disease that defines him.