Miniature Performance Art

My friend Nancy had a big art showing at our local university on Monday, so she and our friend Peaches stayed at my house from Saturday through Wednesday. Since we were roommates all through college, you'd better believe that we had a roaring good time together...

Yup. Everything was business as usual...

Ice cream was consumed, impromptu dance parties were held, a million photographs were snapped, the traditional costume/photography/knick knack shop visit was taken, and much fun was had by all.

Is this not terrifying? I think I'm scared and scarred for life.

We even took a nice long walk with Joseph before consuming more ice cream. Sure, we said we wanted to take Joseph on a fun wagon ride... But, lets be honest here... We wanted to go on a fun wagon ride (because that's what grown women do!) and we each took turns riding and pulling. Except Joseph. He didn't pull once. Little free loader.

I spent most of Sunday helping Nancy install her piece, "Status Update", at the gallery. It was interesting to be a part of the setup process. Her work usually focuses on photographic and electronic media and it's impact on society, which is what she teaches at MICA (where she's shown other related pieces).

With "Status Update", each of the boxes on the wall represent a server and contain laser cut gears which slowly roll up different people's Facebook status updates to be stored away. All of that personal information available on the web and permanently recorded somewhere.

One of them has every single Facebook status update I've ever posted. It's fun to watch roll up. Caroline is engaged. Caroline is married. Caroline bought a house. Caroline is a mommy. Caroline can't remember what sleep is like. Caroline was thrown up on no less than 7 times today. Caroline's life rocks.

As you can see, Nancy's work is very clean and white. And the whirring noises of the rotating gears just suck you in. You don't even know it, but you are currently being sucked in.

Even Joseph is helping. Nancy's his new best friend. I'm pretty sure he'd do anything for her. He even wished her "nigh nigh" instead of just saying "bye!" at bedtime. True love.

Joseph attended the gallery opening with us to support his new best friend.

It was his first art show EVER.

To commemorate the occasion, we may have dressed Joseph up as a miniature art school student complete with emo hat, faux hawk, skinny jeans, plaid shirt, stained undershirt, and suspenders. There was some discussion of square glasses and eye liner, but I informed my dear friends that, not only would Joseph never cooperate with such a thing, Stephen would have killed us.

We let him run free throughout the gallery and do his toddler-sized art student thing. He made sure to critique everyone's work. This particular piece did nothing for him and he had no qualms sharing his opinion:

This piece, on the other hand, got a big thumbs up and many return visits:

I can't imagine why. The only reason he's not smiling and pointing in this picture is because I just told him he couldn't touch. I'm a mean mommy and don't understand my son's artistic spirit.

He was the ONLY kid there, so he got the attention of all the ladies. Anytime someone said, "Awww!", we told them that he was the performance art of the evening - an art student in miniature.

And he was definitely the cutest piece of miniature performance art EVER: