So the opening tonight was really fun. Many LiveJournalers; xbearxrx, bigreddee, cadwallin, rootbeer1, theotherdon, yi_dian_dian, xenohomo, kitchenbeard, nextsaturday, deaconcub, sfgarry, lindyboi… and many others, all poking their fingers into Dean’s piece, clearly marked “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH,” and not touching Nayland’s, which I had to encourage people to stroke. No one found the hole, but Chris and I were photographed by Kevin and Dodie poking various digits through it. All in all, I am very happy with the show. I’m hoping that more bear-y people show up, as the show repositions the bear body in quite a different light, not the usual pornographic space, but from the perspective of a formal appreciation of the form. BC’s piece was the biggest crowd pleaser, and he’s not even an artist. He’s just so smart. He should ditch this IT crap and become a conceptual artist.
At the last minute a naked woman showed up at the show and hung out near Dean’s piece. She was too late to get any real attention, at least a half hour after the show officially closed, but we all stood around her anyway, taking pictures. Live nudity scares and fascinates me, all that flesh that’s usually hidden suddenly so vulnerable and exposed, yet totally out of reach and subject to a completely different set of dynamics and rules for interaction–live theater that you’re suddenly confusedly a part of as both performer and spectator.