The Pedophile Terrorist and The Fight on Box Hill

Happenings (during the 1960’s) brought to the public performance art shows that bombarded the spectators who had the responsibility of putting in order what was happening. So if you where there what you made of it was up to you. Performances of this nature were highly successful especially through many New York galleries at that time.

In time the events from the Performance Art represented through Happenings died down. In one respect it was because the novelty died down but also it was because much of its experimental nature was stolen by the off-Broadway theatre. However, during the strength of Happenings though it appears that these Performances were termed ‘events’ by those who attended them. That is exactly what a Performance Art is: an event. A place where through the greater levels of conservatism within the culture of society there can be a sudden upsurge of attitudes and enthusiasm which allows individuality to break free.

I have been so taken by the aspects of Performance Art but had personally discovered the art form after I had experiment with the discovery of characters within my own identity. This had begun through creative writing. It led to going up on stage at open mic venues. The more I developed and liaised with like-minded artists the more the strength of Performance Art took hold.

The essence of Performance Art is endurance. Joseph Beuys (around the time of Happenings) involved himself within the creation of events that saw him engage in extraordinary feats of endurance where he stood on a box for twenty-four hours at a stretch. Here he would perform a number of complex actions at arms’ length. Furthermore, for such a performance he fasted for several days before hand.

The characters that I have developed such as “The Watermelon Man” and

“The Octopus Man” also are Performances that must endure physical strength. “The Watermelon Man” is often performed in situations where there is extreme cold such as in “the Seoul Winter HBC Festival of 2006”. Here, it was staged out doors on a night of 20 degrees Celsius below freezing. To add to this there are the rock solid watermelons which I smash on my head. “The Octopus Man” needs to endure physical extreme also through the tugging of ropes that extend from my waist during a dance movement tug-o-war to music with the audience.

Be sure to catch “The One Who Does Not Exist” Perform along with other characters developed from many Melbourne artists, including Melbourne Poet “James Jackson”, multi-media, filmmakers and musicians will come together during the Melbourne Fringe Festival on the 29th September 2009 at 303 Bar in Northcote. The show is called: “The Pedophile Terrorist and the Fight on Box Hill.”

Written By Frank Barresi
theonewhodoesnotexist@gmail.com
www.theonewhodoesnotexist.blogspot.com