Pneumoania

I went to the Art Gallery NSW today to see a performance by Mike Parr the celebrated Australian Performance Artist. Since Tuesday Mike had been wandering around outside the front of the Art Gallery in a wedding dress with gold leaf covering the stump of his unformed arm. He has been drinking water but not eating and he hasn't been interacting with the public. I arrived to find he'd packed it in due to the rain that came this morning. Everyone's reaction was the same: "What a pussy!"

So he got wet. And probably cold. And apparently miserable. What did he expect? He only had one day of fasting left to go and he would've been done but he couldn't hack it. It's tempting to say that I have no respect left for him. But I've done some endurance performance myself and sometimes there comes a point where you physically can't do whatever it is you set out to do. He may have reached that point. It's possible, I don't know. No one does. But I do know that it will be harder for anyone to take his art or his commitment seriously after this.