(Arienne Thompson, 2014)

Last week we had our last presentation, it was on Shia Labeouf, particularly, whether he is a performance artist or not. During this presentation I found myself feeling very uncomfortable with the narcissism of his “pieces”. We are encouraged to watch and look at Solo Artists who we think may help inform our work in some way, and if needs be to take inspiration from their work. Labeouf however seems to copy the work of others, for instance: Marina Abramović’s Rhythm 0 (1974) and Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece (1965) were the ‘influences’ behind Labeouf’s 2014 piece, #IAMSORRY . The piece consisted of Lebeouf sitting in at a table in a room in  Los Angeles’ Cohen Gallery with a bag over his head, on the bag in marker – I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE – was written. Before going into the room participants were asked to take one of many objects from a table and take it into the room with them.

  “LaBeouf’s entire artistic position seems to be a commentary on originality — or a lack thereof — ripping off those who did it first was probably the point” (Time, 2014). Even if this was the case it doesn’t sit well for me, it feels as if he is merely exploiting the movement of conceptual art and these Artist’s vulnerabilities, that their performances showed, for his own self-serving needs.

This is a perfect example of what I do not want to do, I do not want the show to be 12 minutes of self-indulgence and a personal pity party.

I do however think Shia LaBeouf is a good ACTOR but by using his fame to redo what others have done and to do it no justice, I find his work useful in telling me what NOT to do.

WORK CITED:

Thompson, A. (2014) Shia Labeouf: I was raped. USA Today. Available from, http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/28/shia-labeouf-i-was-raped/19608751/

Time (2014) This Is What Happens at Shia LaBeouf’s #IAMSORRY Exhibition. USA: Time. Available from http://time.com/7200/shia-labeouf-iamsorry-art-exhibit/ [accessed 17 March 2016]