[14:22] SaveMe Oh: this is by far the worsed(sic) performance since long
[14:22] Dancoyote Antonelli: where does art stop and exhibitionism begin?
I'd never seen Alan's work in Second Life before and he's an artist I find very intriguing, so I was really interested in attending the performance at Odyssey. Unfortunately the event was hijacked by two audience members who took it upon themselves to keep interrupting with their own inane opinions and criticisms. The problem I had, and why I was so irritated, is that if they were really serious about critiquing the work then they should have waited until afterwards. Interrupting the live performance came across like they were trying to sabotage it in order to bring attention to themselves, it was griefing, but the big difference is that classic "griefers" (e.g. Voted 5 and W-Hat) targeted pompous individuals and dodgy organisations that deserved the stuffing knocked out of them.
What was it that the artists at Odyssey were doing that caused such hostility and ridicule? Perhaps that is an interesting question, certainly Alan Sondheim seems fairly philosophical about the interruptions, even going so far as to say that they added something to the performance. I would probably be less generous if I'd been in his position. I can say as an audience member the regular interruptions seemed to be devoid of any parody or humour, and the comments were at points just plain nasty and rude, and only conspired to ruin the experience for the rest of us.
[14:22] Dancoyote Antonelli: and why do we want to look at Anan(sic) and Sandy's junk?
[14:24] sandy Taifun: Avatars are always disturbances, always irruptions of language, a lang- uage portending _the raveling of existence and essence
[14:25] Dancoyote Antonelli: well they do say that half the internet is porn
[14:25] Dancoyote Antonelli: I guess this is that half
[14:25] Dancoyote Antonelli: where does porn become performance?
[14:26] SaveMe Oh: who wants to fuck me now?
[14:26] Arahan: I dunno, a flacid penis isn't really pornographic is it?
[14:26] Sca Shilova: lol
[14:26] Arahan: all of us at the same time saveme
[14:26] Dancoyote Antonelli: not after this unappetizing display
[14:26] SaveMe Oh: I am so shocked I need to be fucked now
[14:26] Dancoyote Antonelli: you're right Arahan
[14:26] Dancoyote Antonelli: its so friendly
[14:27] Dancoyote Antonelli: not at all "confrontational"
[14:27] SaveMe Oh: omg, you think he took a pic of his own thingy?
[14:27] Arahan: I think if we're seeing the artist's genitals that's quite interesting
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: this was really the worsed(sic) I witnessed since long
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: pretentious
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: bad(sic) done
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: no sense
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: poluting
[14:34] Dancoyote Antonelli: not to mention unappetizing!
[14:34] SaveMe Oh: and ugly genitals
[14:35] SaveMe Oh: next time they should ask Igor to pose
[14:35] SaveMe Oh: at least he has soemthing(sic) to show
[14:35] SaveMe Oh: this genitals must be over 60 years old
[14:35] Arahan: well everyone else show a pic of their genitals right now and we can judge who has the prettiest?
[14:35] SaveMe Oh: yuk
[14:35] lizsolo Mathilde: yeah thanks saveme and now why dont you tell us how you really feel
[14:35] Kham: Why not leave if it offends you so?
[14:35] Dancoyote Antonelli: hahahaha
[14:35] SaveMe Oh: it was disgusting
[14:36] lizsolo Mathilde: poor saveme
[14:36] Jo Ellsmere: Why stay, then?
[14:46] SaveMe Oh: It was wonderful
[14:46] Kikas Babenco: you decide
[14:46] SaveMe Oh: the best I ever saw
[14:46] lizsolo Mathilde: i'm looking forward to seeing your genitals tomorrow
[14:46] SaveMe Oh: It made me thing(sic) over my whole life again
[14:47] lizsolo Mathilde: tho im sure u dont have the nuts
[14:47] Arahan: you don't have to say everything is wonderful SaveMe, but sometimes you could learn when to shut the fuck up :)
[14:47] SaveMe Oh: Its almost like a religious experience
[14:47] SaveMe Oh: so deep
Interruptions aside, I was at the time unsure of how I felt about the actual performance, part of that was because I didn't know if what I was experiencing was what the artists intended. It wasn't until I read back the transcript of the text chat that I started to understand it more, and being a fan of William Burroughs and Brion Gysin I really appreciated the cut-up nature of the dialogue between the artists, who were obviously exploring some very personal issues. When looking at the work as a whole you have to conclude it was actually a very brave and risky thing to do.
So, my irritation at SaveMe Oh and Dancoyote Antonelli's ignorance on that day is amplified retrospectively because they completely missed the entire point of the piece, and were unwilling, or incapable, of seeing anything of merit beyond the surface. What is most perplexing though is that they were both artists hosting their own performances as part of the same festival, talk about shitting on your own doorstep!
SaveMe Oh has a big problem with even the merest hint of people being courteous or just saying hello to each other, perhaps it is simply jealousy because he is unable to form any meaningful relationships in his own life, one can only guess. He used to have a MO with his 'performance'; by targeting all the phoney groupies and lazy artists, poking and prodding them to get a reaction and pointing out what they were doing wrong and how they could be doing it better (in his eyes).
But now it seems to be less about that and more about disrupting events and preventing anybody else from enjoying themselves, even the really talented artists. The act has become rather stale and tedious, and the end result will be no audience for his shenanigans making it all even more pointless and redundant. And no, it's not about kissing each others arses or saying you love everything, that's the other end of the spectrum and I find that kind of sycophantic toadying completely nauseating. Anyway, I was taking the piss in SL when SaveMe Oh was still wet behind the ears, learn from one of the masters you rank amateur!
Despite my annoyances I have actually appreciated work by both SMO and DC in the past so I still went to their respective events at Odyssey (after all they weren't attacking me personally), I suppose I'm just confused and disappointed by their bizarre outbursts.
Thank you to Liz Solo, Fau Ferdinand and Jo Ellsmere, all the other artists, and all the avatars who attended ArthOle's ORIENTATION.
*I should point out that DC attended one of the ArthOle performances and he seemed to really get into it and played along, SMO was invited to attend like everyone else but didn't register any interest.
Obviously SaveMeOh's tolerance level has continued to diminish since our last meeting.
ReplyDeleteS/he and I had the chance to chat/argue about her inability to follow group rules (Art and Artists Network) where I was a moderator. She was summarily booted. I was verbally harassed and stalked until the episode ended in some store where she decided to beat my avatar with a baseball bat.
and yes, pics exist.
Yay, Steve!! :))
ReplyDeleteHey there Jo,
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to DC he didn't behave like that during any of the other performances, SMO continued to repeat the same dull routine throughout the whole festival, berating anybody who dared greet a friend or say they liked something. In the end I came to the conclusion that he's basically just your typical anonymous internet troll, but not even a funny or subversive one, just a bit crap and annoying.
This blog post is a statement, not an invitation to a debate. I wrote it because I just wanted to get it off my chest, I don't desire any further dialogue with him or care what he has to say, it's all a load of bollocks.
TTFN :)
Hi Steve and thanks. What ultimately bothered me was SMO's writing on Facebook he should have "smashed" our work. I don't feel generous at all towards him; it's fine if he finds my work "crap" (which he added), but threatening violent action - even if virtual - smacks too much of something like Kristallnacht to me to be comfortable. Thanks again for your comments; I wish I could have seen more. - Alan
ReplyDeleteHello up there SunShine! Keeping out of trouble I hope? :P
ReplyDeleteHiya Alan,
Yes exactly, he's taken the whole act way too far now, most of those people (me included) who previously thought he was quite amusing or had something relevant to say have grown tired of it. But really his opinions about art are invalid as he's revealed himself to be a bit of a moron.
Steve / Arahan
OK, I have to admit, up front, that performance art has never appealed to me very much. But still, I try to see it in SL and RL whenever I get a chance, just in case something happens to change my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAll of the bullshit that you describe above only encourages me to stop trying. My SL time is limited and very valuable to me, and I refuse to spend it waiting for SaveMe to expend his/her narcissistic energies. So what happens now is, I just stay home. I just know that I'll be missing something amazing enough to change my opinion of performance art for good, but so be it. Life is too short.
That's a real shame Oberon, but now at least I know why you didn't come to ArthOle's event, it was nothing personal, you just presumed it would be rubbish!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, it is not good that people are staying away from events because of one person’s antics. DC was almost as bad that particular day but at least he knows when to quit, SMO is relentless.
I've been berated by some since publishing this, even though I know I'm only echoing what many others are feeling, some people still think it is unwise to verbalise such opinions, and that I’m being disrespectful to SMO as an artist. This is nonsense of course because at no point have I even mentioned SMO’s actual art, I’m merely complaining about his obnoxious behaviour, which some may consider art but I just find unbelievably dull, annoying and tedious. My issue is with his hijacking of events, constantly haranguing people for saying hello to each other, or expressing when they like something.
I have actually been quite impressed by some of his work, there is definitely some substance there, I’ve photographed it and even talked about it on my radio show, and up until the Odyssey festival I really didn’t have a problem with him. Sure I get that the manufactured personality is a performance, and that at some point the idea was probably to hold up a mirror to the virtual art world, but it’s no longer about that, and disrupting really fantastic and rare events like Odyssey isn’t very interesting, subversive or amusing, it’s just dumb.
Amazingly though he still does have enough supporters that will stand up for him and defend his freedom of speech, and insist that he has something profound to say. Yes of course he has the right to behave like a twat until the cows come home, but I also have the right to challenge that behaviour, give an opposing viewpoint and boycott anything he is involved with. If all the people that thought the same way said enough is enough then he would soon fade away into obscurity.
I completely agree that life is too short, and I have no idea how he has the energy to wake up every day and fall into the same tired old routine. It must be exhausting.