Intervention 2 - Violence To Be Acknowledged

 Violence To Be Acknowledged

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyLxaa-7abI

    "Violence To Be Acknowledged" is a performance piece that I had preformed for several hours at one of the busiest bus stops in my city. Inspired by Rhythm 0 by Marina Abramovic and Cut Piece by Yoko Ono, "Violence To Be Acknowledged" gives power to passersby on what they would do. The performance revolves around me standing with a sign that simply asks " Would You Strike Him?" I would not state a single word until the passerby has made their choice. 

    

    Despite being in not on the rain, but also standing with my friend for hours, very little individuals gave much if any attention to me. However, a few did ask if I was going through a rough time or if this was a sort of social experiment. My intention lies purely on whether individuals would take the chance to attack an individual, not needing to see their face or know who they are. As Abramovic commented on her own performance piece, "What I learned was that... if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you..." That was something I wished to test myself. So I stood as still as possible, offering the plastic sledgehammer I had brought and allowed anyone that wished to to strike me wherever they pleased. I was very well aware of the injury that could have led to, but I had to test Abramovic's comment.

    I am unsure whether it was due to the proximity to a local police outpost or because people were overly cautious of my headwear, but not a single person chose to strike me and rather spoke to me about the purpose of my piece. "For most of us, hurting others causes us to feel their pain. And we don’t like this feeling"(The University of Dublin). As far as I could tell for the two hours I had stood there, no one had chose to strike me. While I was slightly let down, I was very grateful that I didn't have to deal with someone that was very excited to strike any especially sensitive areas. 

    One exciting moment of the entire experience was the moment where we had a police officer walk up to us. While I was unsure on whether he arrived because a masked male was standing in front of bank was holding a sledgehammer or because of other matters, he felt the need to approach and comment on what I was doing right in front of a bank. I explained it all while he examined my tools to ensure I wasn't using a real sledgehammer on myself or others. Certainly a moment that will be hard to forget.

Work Cited

Abramovic, Marina. Rhythm 0. 1974. https://vimeo.com/71952791

Trinity College Dublin. "From psychopaths to ‘everyday sadists’: why do humans harm the harmless?" 2020. https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/from-psychopaths-to-everyday-sadists-why-do-humans-harm-the-harmless/