sleepwalk 2: i walk over you
sleepwalk 2: i walk over you
Performed by Brian Feldman
Outsider Art Fair at the Frames Forever & Art Gallery, Winter Park, FL
March 20, 2010</strong>
As Brian Feldman grows more sucessful in his role as Orlando’s only real surrealist, he’s adopting a more traditional eight hour day. Lasts year’s two day marathon of sleeping in public now shrinks to a single eight hour event and lacks the cadre of helpful volunteers to watch over him as the bars close and the cops start asking hard questions. This version of “Sleepwalk” inverts the original concept – while last year’s challenge was to get random civilians to walk OVER a snoozing Feldman, this year’s twist was to have them walk UNDER a somnambulant Feldman. Interestingly, this proved a greater challenge.
“Feldman on patrol”
A 10 foot construction scaffold rose in front of the “Frames Forever” gallery, a sort of tree house for a land with no trees. Feldman appeared in his fuzzy blue PJ’s with the sno-globe motif at 11 a.m. and clambered up to the platform. He wore a matching blue Hollywood sleep mask, and in this Time Constrained Performance he shuffled back and forth on his platform like a zombie in search of a midnight snack. Occasionally, people walked under him while the song “Sleepwalk” by Santos and Johnny played over and over annoying the other Outsider artists. Was this art? He says so, and who would know better?
“Another art lover”
By three in the afternoon, his walkunders sign-in board held perhaps twenty signatures. In the “Frames Forever” parking lot even more arty events transpired. Doug Rhodehamel crafted a pile of paper bag mushrooms and plugged his “Spore” project. Local sketch artist Thomas Thorspecken documented the day, and a number of artists painted and schmoozed and drank beer from a keg or gin from a hip flask. Buffalo quail Wings were sold, and the reported taste was “Chicken, with a touch of frog.” I passed. Occasional lost Winter Park Art Festival aficionados wandered into the party. Feldman shuffled on and on as the first really warm day of 2010 baked his sun screened bald spot. I had other obligations, but returned just prior to the 7:00 pm wrap up.
By 7 pm, there were about 40 signatures on his board and the other artists were striking their booths. Without the support staff of prior events to explain the event, few civilians had walked under the scaffold or signed the board. While the reported should never interfere in the event, I took the reasonability to tell Feldman it was time to quit. He immediately lay down and went to sleep. I hope the dehydration wasn’t too bad.
“A spent Feldman”
An hour later I drove past the Outsider Art Fair and Feldman was still in the pose I left him in at 7, but by 10 pm the scaffold was gone as was he. The Winter Park Art fest continued on with hundreds of serious crafters selling arty earrings, odd looking glass dust collectors, the occasional representation oil or ironically self-referential three dimensional mixed media collage. At the Outsider Art Fair the commerce was slower but the parking easier. Most of the visitors knew one another – I discussed a recent reading with a budding playwright, a fellow blogger asked if I was going to fill in for a retired competitor, and Feldman detailed the mechanics of an upcoming project. Art was made, but consumed principally by other artists. The food truck left early and disappointed but the beer held out till sunset. Art beats commerce, two falls out of three, and Art goes on to the semi-finals.
For more information on some of the participants of The OutSsder Art Festival, please visit the following links:
