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Action / Documentation, 1992 Performance and Art Objects

A small weather radio is turned on, constantly forecasting future events.
An entire jar of Vicks Vapor Rub is smeared on gauze bandages that are pinned to the wall.

Listerine mouthwash is gargled.

Mouth is washed, and liquid is spit on the image.

Listerine is poured on a glass plate with the image of the HIV/Aids virus.

Two large glass jars, one filled with earth, the other filled with salt
is poured quickly onto the glass plate in the tray.

A flashlight is turned on and placed in the tray
along with the rubber gloves used to smear the Vicks Vapor Rub.

The left hand thumb is cut with a box cutter knife, and blood drips on the image.

The xeroxed image is hung above the butchers tray and weather radio.

A small pan sits in the corner below the image next to the weather radio. The pan contains the Listerine bottle, box cutter, and empty Vicks Vapor Rub jar.

The xeroxed image hanging on the wall, wet with blood and Listerine.

Action / Documentation

Action/Documentation created art objects as a residue, a form of physical documentation of the process of their creation. After reading Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", I no longer felt limited to traditional materials; xeroxed images, sounds, smells, language, and time became part of my vocabulary. My work was no longer a static object, but became variable changing over time.

Xerox Image

Further Resources

Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction