orange you glad i said banana?

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Matias was one of my favorite profs at CalArts because he was living proof that it's possible to be critical and nurturing at the same time. There was a period of time when I thought he looked at my boobs a lot, but then I realized he was just kind of short (and gay, which made a boob obsession unlikely).

Anyway, lately he's been posting these great "25 Random Things About Me" lists on Facebook that are like long prose poems. Full of texture and nostalgia and sweetness and sharp edges. I think he's going for a hundred of them, which also seems very Matias--an ambitious and experimental project that is also meandering. He always seemed like maybe he just woke up from a nap; he had that malleable and innocent quality, though if his lists are any indication, his life has generated plenty of fascinating, not-so-innocent stories.

Fallen Fruit (various puns intended, I'm sure), founded by Matias and two friends, is a very Matias-ish project: "an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood." They lead groups of hungry people on fruit-picking expeditions around L.A. It's radical in a silly way, artistic in a useful way.

And tomorrow night, they're going to be exhibiting the, ahem, fruits of their labor at LACE. They'll be showing photos and info from a recent trip to South America and staging the "participatory performance Are You Happy to See Me?" Consider the title, and consider the fact that the banana is the focus of this particular show. Good times, no?

While I'm normally dubious of "participatory performances" (Scott Turner Schofield's show Saturday night required me to hold one half of a silky red trapeze-ish apparatus--that wasn't so bad), I think the participation tomorrow night will be mostly of the eating bananas variety. Which I do almost every day anyway, so I'm ready.

Comments

the last noel said…
Oh, man, you got stuck holding the red trapeze-thingy? I got to hold his pink tie and little soldier men.
June 16, 2009 at 1:12 AM
Cheryl said…
You lucked out. I kept worrying that I was going to miss my cue and drop or not drop it at the wrong time. There's a reason I'm not a performance artist.
June 16, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Tracy Lynn said…
I'm not allowed to eat bananas. Stupid kidney failure.

Have I mentioned my deep disdain for performance art? You can probably guess, huh?
June 16, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Cheryl said…
I'll let you know if I hear about any non-participatory art events involving apples.
June 16, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Steve said…
Is there a new banana theme to your blog entries? I'd like to mention that while I am gay, I am also boob obsessed so I wouldn't give Matias a "pass" so quickly.
June 17, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Cheryl said…
Too bad you're so tall then!

(And yes, there is a new banana theme to my blog. Why not?)
June 17, 2009 at 1:24 PM
El Changuito said…
Stephen! I'm wathcing you!! Cheryl, I suggest you do the same! From his height, he may be sneaking glances. Perv.
June 18, 2009 at 2:38 PM
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