This weekend, Bushwick artist Lisa Levy will be sitting naked on a toilet for 10 hours in front of an audience as part of an interactive exhibition she says is intended to poke fun at self-serious artsy types, herself included, and help the art world lighten up. She originally thought of the exhibition as a way to call out pretentiousness in the art world after waking up one morning after seeing pretentious, self-important arts pieces for several days beforehand. Although it’s getting her a lot of attention, Levy insists that it’s supposed to be a sort of “personal expression”.
Levy will be stripping down for five-hour increments at Williamsburg’s Christopher Stout Gallery on January 30 and 31 as part of a test to see what will happen if she puts herself out in front of people in a position where she’s open to them. While Levy sits on the toilet, audience members will take turns sitting on another toilet across from her to stare. The show is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek take on the 2010 performance of Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” exhibition, in which she sat silently staring at various patrons at the MoMA. Yet Levy thought that Abramovic’s approach was “haughty and imperial”; Levy wants to do something that’s more human in the interaction, laying herself bare to take away any sort of seriousness from the exhibition.
The exhibition is officially called “The Artist is Humbly Present”. While Levy is trusting that people will be respectful, she nonetheless recognizes that how people will react will be a bit unpredictable, which she says will be part of the fun. Levy said that the idea comes from the old mantra that picturing somebody naked is a great way to stay cool during moments of stress. While Levy acknowledges that some people could be a little nervous sitting across from her, she says that’s their own problem, and thinks it’s funny how self-conscious people get about being naked, something she hopes to play upon for this show.
Maria Haymandou 