Haha, oh man...

I was reading the "In Defense of Preformance Art" Thing, and I have to say I am so happy right now. I am fucking happy.

"DREAMING IN SPANISH
I dreamt in Spanish that one day I decided to never perform in English again. A partir de ese momento, me dediqué a presentar mis ideas y mi arte estrictamente en español y solo para públicos estadounidenses atónitos que no entendían nada. Mi español se hizo cada vez mas retórico y complicado hasta el punto en que perdí todo contacto con mi público. A pesar de los ataques de los críticos racistas, me empeciné en hablar español. Entonces, mis colaboradores se molestaron y empezaron a abandonarme. Eventualmente me quede completamente solo, hablando en español, entre fantasmas conceptuales angloparlantes. Afortunadamente I woke up and I was able to perform in English again. I wrote in my diary: "Dreams tend to be much more radical than 'reality.' That’s why they are much closer to art than to life."

This is awesome. I am pretty sure that I am the only one that understood what he was talking about. To you who are tenacious: here.

I am debating on whether I should explain what he said or not. I think I will keep it between myself and Gomez-Pena, as english speakers can still read the most important sentences there, just that the example is lost. By doing what you really want, sometimes you have to give up something you want to say, because if you do what you want to say what you want to say, it is too personal and people will not understand.

If you express what you want to say in a non-personal way, then the message will be clear.
When you just do what you want, the point isn't the message, because if you really wanted to say something, you would choose a way people actually understand you.

As for,
"Excuse me, can you define performance art?”

My response:
"I don't want to."

That is my personal response, my personal thought is a little longer:

I believe every action preformed is art, regardless of whether who ever preforms it considers it art or not. When I "people watch", I watch preformers. Unknowningly, these preformers walk around making art. Their interactions are art, their conversations. Each is a caricature of his or herself. This is too broad a definition I guess though, how can I ask someone to fund me because when I take the bus it is art? So, I further define: "Preformance art" is any action, done deliberatly to recieve some sort of artistic acknowledgement. If I tell a joke to a friend, it is a joke if I want to be one, art if I treat it like art.

I could make the art intensely personal by showing myself going to sleep, but like Gomez-Pena, I would probably lose audience and collaborators, because they probably would lose interest because they don't understand what I am doing, it is too personal. You have to make connections, you have to make people think about something, as long as they find it interesting.

Nevermind, scratch all that.

"Excuse me, can you define performance art?”
response: [action] Punch Gomez-Pena in the forehead.