You May Clap When Moved
I know, I know. I’ve been starving you of updates from the world of performance art. By way of apology, here’s a short yet challenging piece by a gentleman named Reed Altemus, captured for posterity at the Mobius art collective’s Something Else Fest in Cambridge, Massachusetts, earlier this month. Mr Altemus, who “lives with his cat, Clyde, in Portland Maine,” describes himself as a “polyartist working in visual poetry, performance art, noise music and small press publishing.” Quizzed on the importance of his radical craft, he explains:
Traditional forms have failed us: they produce the same kinds of social situations as have ever been: we have poverty, wars, corporate imperialism, neocolonialism, racism, religious clashes of all kinds, homophobia, etc… Beethovan [sic] and Mahler have not solved the problem of violence in society; Tennyson and Poe have not given us answers to the problem of fascist dictatorships in the world. It is obvious to me that to change the world as a poet one must subvert entrenched assumptions which underlie oppressive or coercive discourses.
Yes, Mr Altemus is putting an end to war, dictatorship, violence and poverty by subverting our entrenched assumptions and oppressive discourses. See, for instance, here. He’s literally saving the world with his art. For reasons that will doubtless become clear, the following life-transforming, poverty-solving, dictator-toppling piece is called Amplifying My Clothes:
An earlier, no less dazzling performance, in which Mr Altemus spends 16 minutes wrapping an eggplant in string, can be seen – nay, beheld – here.
To be fair I think we should all be grateful that there’s a place where people who are obviously in mental distress can go for art therapy.
That’s what this is right?
Taken in another light it’s a bit like watching Hoarders, I can look at them and think there’s at least a few people in the world more effed-up than I am.
It’s a bit like watching Hoarders,
Heh. Yes, it’s all a bit ‘care in the community’.
Beethovan[sic] and Mahler have not solved the problem of violence in society; Tennyson and Poe have not given us answers to the problem of fascist dictatorships in the world
I wasn’t aware that they were supposed to.
I wasn’t aware that they were supposed to.
Ah, but while the great composers failed to solve all present and future shortcomings of human society, Mr Altemus will triumph. By scraping a microphone across his inner thighs. And wrapping eggplants in string.
On a slightly more serious note, it’s worth bearing in mind that Mr Altemus inhabits a social circle in which nobody takes him to one side and quietly explains to him his tragicomic lack of talent. Because the people around him, his peers and fellow artists, are presumably equally pretentious and deluded. There’s a failure of integrity, a dishonesty, that’s not only taken for granted, but vital.
Mr Altemus, who “lives with his cat, Clyde, in Portland Maine,”
Saw this on the internets somewhere, it appears to be legit:
Meow guys! Clyde here. I see my housemate, Reed, has been getting a bit of attention on the web.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am in no way associated with Reed Altemus. Plz stop Tweeting me about his ‘art’. Sometimes I cough up more artistic stuff, but I don’t call it ‘art’, LOL.
Reed is just a guy I happen to share a house with. I get him to open the odd can of food for me, but other than that we live totally seperate lives.
I did try to help him out once – you have to understand, Reed is a lonely guy and I’ve never once seen a woman come visit him. He thinks the whole “starving artist in his garret” thing should be attracting babes like catnip, but doesn’t realise that only works if you don’t look like Quasimodo’s fatter brother.
Anyway, I tried to show him how to get with females by loudly putting the moves on one of the local kitty chicas, right underneath his bedroom window so he could watch and learn.
You know what that ungrateful bastard did? He yelled at me for waking him up. Then threw a shoe at me!
My other attempts to help out by bringing him freshly caught birds and mice were also rudely rebuffed. Man, hiss that guy. I’ve seen what he eats. He has no business turning his nose up at delicious mouseys.
Anyway, I better go. He’ll be getting up soon as it’s nearly noon, and I like to poop in his muesli. Reed thinks it’s some kind of exotic organic additive….
….well, it is! ^..^
Meow you laters,
Clyde.
Steve 2–I totally believe in your Clydeness.
I could swear I posted a link to this…
http://vigilantlibertyradio.us/2015/06/15/roel-616-charles-c-w-cooke-debates-dominic-nanni/
… wherein Charles C.W. Cook finely minces Dominic Nanni, an arrogant 23-yr-old grad student (but I repeat myself) who frequently jousts with the starboard side of Twitter.
I guess it got swallowed by something. Maybe my inability to hit Post instead of Edit.
Steve, do you have a Steve blog? I need more.
I think Thomas of Virginia, who built the amplifier-in-a-videotape, is the real unsung artist here.
I could listen to amplified clothes all day and still beg for more.
Get your ears syringed, and you get to enjoy this sensation for over an hour. It’s like a private viewing, and free on the NHS.
Ah, the ex-Archbishop got booted upstairs (no, not THAT way)…
Lord Williams of Oystermouth. No comment.
“Traditional forms have failed us… Beethovan [sic] and Mahler have not solved the problem of violence in society; Tennyson and Poe have not given us answers to the problem of fascist dictatorships in the world.”
As GC observed above, solving violence was not their job. The composition of sublime life-affirming music; the writing of beautiful, uplifting poetry that people wanted to listen to and read was. The fact that the symphonies are still being heard, and the sonnets are still being read, suggests those traditional forms have been hugely successful. We are still talking about Beethoven and Tennyson; their names are well known all over the world, despite their being dead for nearly 200 years. In 200 years from now, what is the likelihood that anyone will ever have heard of Reed Altemus?
You May Clap When Moved
My bowels are clapping