Nature Blog Network

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

A lobster and an ex-butcher

...walk into an art performance space. 60 minutes later only one walks out.

Three guesses which one. Ok...so this is supposed to be art?

Lobster (foreground) and man

ACCIDENS explores one of the foundational themes of western drama: Boy meets lobster.

You all know the story: Boy meets lobster. Boy suspends lobster from microphone cable hanging from ceiling. Boy smokes small cigar, douses lobster with water, rubber bands from lobster's claws, removes lobster from cable, places lobster on butcher's block, hacks lobster to pieces with large cleaver, places lobster on flat grill, uncorks bottle of white wine, pours glass, and enjoys pensively while lobster's dismembered body parts jerk sporadically on grill. Boy eats lobster.

Yes, it's performed in front of a live paying audience. I like to think I have a fairly liberal interpretation of art, but this...maybe I just don't get it.

Help?

3 comments:

  1. Don't get the art, but a hardened invertebrate killer such as myself thinks that dismembering a non-euthanized lobster is wrong. It would still be twitchy enough if he knocked it out with MgCl or something. Have you read David Foster Wallace's essay "Consider the Lobster"?

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  2. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read that one... adding it to the read list now though. Thanks!

    I'm all for kill it then dismember it. Dip it in butter.... but this, I'm thinking I would be wanting my money back.

    Just thinking, even though IACUC doesn't care that much about inverts, this would never fly.

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  3. This is truly disturbing.
    Don't get me wrong. I love lobster; very tasty.
    However, I have serious issues with torturing any creature for any reason. If you are going to kill something and eat it, just do it and get it done. I do not see the point in causing suffering for the sake of entertainment.
    It's truly sick, no matter what point they thought they were trying to get across.

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