Fact or Fiction: Does it Matter?

UPDATED ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29 at 5:17 P.M.

According to a Miami New Times article, the Miami-based blog ArtLurker published an interview today with an out-of-state artist who created a "rape tunnel." And what is a rape tunnel? It's more or less exactly what it sounds like: a tunnel you crawl through and get raped when you reach the end of it.

Shocking? Yes. Appalling? Yes. Is it likely to get the artist arrested? Yes.

But it's just too bad it isn't actually true, according to the Miami New Times. After a bit of investigating, the reporter of the story found out that the rape tunnel never existed and, in fact, is a wind tunnel by a company named Gevers Aicraft, Inc.

But the plot thickens! As of Monday, 10:09 p.m., a visit to ArtLurker's blog shows that their host account has been suspended! Thus far, no explanations have been given by either ArtLurker or the Miami New Times.

So, does life imitate art or does art imitate life? More importantly, does it matter either way? ArtLurker or ArtJerker? I personally don't care whether or not ArtLurker intended to 'pull a fast one' on its readers or if this was some type of factual error. Or, it could be that the blog decided to stir up controversy and/or stimulate conversation to facilitate an examination on the topics/issues that make us feel uncomfortable. Few people ask enough questions.

And though, as the Miami New Times pointed out in their article, art stunts/fakes on this scale have been done before and better, I believe this might be a first for Miami. Beyond that, let's face it: there's nothing new under the sun. So please grant me this brief moment where both my imagination and curiosity run wild.

UPDATE: ArtLurker's blog is back online!
UPDATE #2: ArtLurker admits that the 'rape tunnel' was an "entirely fake art project" intended to "spark conversation on the state of art for a few hours". Read what else the blog had to say here.

Sleeplessly Waiting for Sleepless Night 2009

Ok, so Miami Beach's Sleepless Night is still over two months away, but I'm really excited about this year's line up. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about: Sleepless Night is a yearly event hosted by the city of Miami Beach that boasts of, more or less, 24 hours of FREE art, music, film, theater, live dance performances and more. That's right folks, FREE! But, best of all, the performances and artwork displayed are often risky and thought provoking.

According to Sleepless Night's Web site, there will be over 130 events this year and about 13 hours of entertainment spread throughout four different areas: North Beach, Collins Park, Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive to Washington Avenue.

I've been studying the this year's schedule of events and have spotted several that I don't want to miss. Here are a couple of them to pique your interest:

Edouard Duval-Carrie’s UNDER THE CONGO MOON moving sculptures and Ra Ra Parade
Internationally reknown Haitian artist Eduoard Duval Carrié promises to create quite a
show with the performance he is calling “Under the Congo Moon.” Duval Carrié explores
the theme of migration in his artwork; for Sleepless Night, he will create several large
sculptures of voodoo gods and have them “migrate” down the streets of Miami Beach in
an exciting parade with music from a live band. The motorized parade begins with a
preview at Ocean Terrace and proceeds to Ocean Drive.

NIGHT SHIFT: 9 Installations curated by Jerome Sans
Jerome Sans will act as both a curator and DJ for the Night Shift exhibition commissioned
by the Bass Museum of Art and the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council. Nine prominent
South Florida artists present site-specific installations on the Collins Park lawn around the
museum and east of Collins Avenue. Pieces range from the giant Earth sphere that visitors
can view from the inside-out to a live, outdoor soap opera.

Ray Lee’s “Siren” performance/installation
Ray Lee is an artist, performer, and composer who works with electro-magnetic radiation to
build large scale sound installations. Siren is a fascinating 45-minute show combining
theater, sculpture, light and sound into a suspenseful, one-of-a-kind experience. Audience
members move around the room, sit or stand, and lose themselves to their changing visual
and aural perceptions.

Miami Light Project presents Julie Dossavi
Miami Light Project is excited to introduce South Florida to
dancer/choreographer/musician Julie Dossavi. The French performer’s style is a unique
blend of contemporary African dance and street culture. In a series of solos and duets,
Dossavi plays with dance and music in an abstract yet seamless way.

Animate Objects Physical Theater “Bounce Theory”
Animate Objects Physical Theater’s new show “Bounce Theory” combines aerial dance
and athletic aerobics with Ocean Drive as the backdrop. With an electrifying pulse,
Bounce Theory takes dancers to the sky in aerial hoops, trampolines, pulleys and stretchy
elastic bungee cords forty feet above the sands of South Beach for a truly mesmerizing
spectacle. Bounce Theory’s cast of scientists conduct gutsy experiments with disregard to
gravity in an oversized physical laboratory/playground. Animate Objects Physical Theater
stopped traffic at the 2007 Sleepless Night event and promises to provide an equally
entertaining show this year.

The Dream Engine “Heliosphere”
Spiraling and spinning and seemingly weightless, an acrobat suspended beneath a giant
color-changing helium balloon explores the uncharted space between the beach and the
sky.

See a full schedule of events here.

Eye Candy - The Jackson Twins

From the artists:

Our work pays particular focus to ‘the twin’, what it is to be an identical being – to in essence, share an identity with your double. We explore the worldwide fascination with twins: in terms of the pop culture fixation of the ‘evil-twin’, the depths of the twin in folklore (the doppelganger) and the themes explored through psychology and psychoanalysis (nature versus nurture, ESP, Frued and Rank’s theories, etc).

As identical twins, we have always been interested in exploring issues concerning identity and twinship within our artwork. Whilst working individually, we both turned separately to photography and digital media as our main tools for creating artwork. We initiated our collaboration part way through our BA studies in 2002. During this time, our efforts started to centre solely upon our own identities and we developed an interest in altering our appearance – adopting new identities as a way of compensating for ‘sharing’ a singular identity.

Poem of the Day - by Helen Adam

Grains of Sand Sing
What is the holy secret this planet hides?
That the race of man has forgotten, or dare not guess?

Queen of Cups Answers
It is something to do with silence and loneliness,
Something to do with sunlight and idleness.
Something dying that lives only to bless!
But I have forgotten, forgotten, or dare not guess.

Grains of Sand Sing
Something to do with sunlight and loneliness,
Something to do with silence and idleness.
A holy and hidden secret powerful to bless!
We have all forgotten, forgotten or dare not guess.

Queen of Cups
Nothing to do with striving against one's fate
Nothing to do with raging in love or hate.
There is a secret calm as the evening sky
Empty of clouds when the first star trembles high.

Grains of Sand
What is the holy secret this planet hides?
A child may find it at last by the deep sea tides,
Or in some meadow at dusk exploring alone
The House of the Broken Heart, or the haunted stone.

Queen of Cups
It has something to do with silence and idleness
More than a little to do with loneliness.
A holy and hidden secret powerful to bless,
Answering all Earth's prayers with one word "Yes!"

I'm Back!

I arrived in Miami on Saturday and have brought back a couple of pictures from the portion of my trip where I visited Santos, Brazil, which has the largest port in South America. The city is chalk full of charming beaches, antique churches and lush green mountains. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time I was there. But nonetheless I enjoyed my visit and the city's endless canals and cobbled stone roads. Take a peek and click on the pics to enlarge them. It makes a big difference!

On the bus ride over to Santos there was a lot of fog, making Brazil's countryside look surreal and mystical.





Just one of the many canals in the city...



I visited four different churches but their names escape me.







Inside one of the churches.



Miscellaneous Pretty Things...













One of the best things I did in Santos was to take a ferry ride that goes over a mountain and allows you to see the entire panorama of the city. It was breath-taking but scary since the ferry looked like it was built in the 70s and hasn't been touched since then!









The sun finally showed up the morning I left the city! So the picture below is the only one I have with blue skies.