Monday, June 05, 2006
Rule Number One
Bay Area Indymedia has a useful set of rules for Interacting With Street Performers.
Some seems quite sensible:
Of course it's interesting to read the perspectives of a busker, but I'd appreciate guidance as to where the line sits between "street perfomer" and "talentless hack". Far too often, I see the latter posing as the former.
By far my biggest pet hate would be some 'artistes' who cover themselves in body paint, wear a towel, stand motionless on an upturned crate pretending to be a statue and call it art. They're usually not even balancing on one foot or torturing themselves (for their art of course) like this guy or some of the Italian Living Statues.
I did once see a dog provide an accurate 'review' of one such
'installation' by cocking its leg on the performer. I was actually ready to throw a few bucks into her hat but she moved and the 'dramatic effect' was ruined.
No tip.
Rule #7: Don't let your dog piss on the performer...
Some seems quite sensible:
Rule #1. Do not throw your trash, or your personal advertisements, in street performers’ cases.Then comes the ranting:
Over the last 20 years, money grubbing crafters and vendors have gotten away with murder in Seattle, as they pretend that since they bought a little space for their booth on a street, they now own the entire street space around their booths, including the air space. Many crafters actually believe they have a RIGHT to censor and control the *content* of buskers’ acts, because they *pay* to sell their shit, and we are using FREE speech. But you see, what we do is FREE, which means you don’t pay. So what the crafters are really angry at is the U.S. Constitution, not the buskers.I get the feeling that someone has been strumming a few too many revolutionary songs.
Of course it's interesting to read the perspectives of a busker, but I'd appreciate guidance as to where the line sits between "street perfomer" and "talentless hack". Far too often, I see the latter posing as the former.
By far my biggest pet hate would be some 'artistes' who cover themselves in body paint, wear a towel, stand motionless on an upturned crate pretending to be a statue and call it art. They're usually not even balancing on one foot or torturing themselves (for their art of course) like this guy or some of the Italian Living Statues.
I did once see a dog provide an accurate 'review' of one such
'installation' by cocking its leg on the performer. I was actually ready to throw a few bucks into her hat but she moved and the 'dramatic effect' was ruined.
No tip.
Rule #7: Don't let your dog piss on the performer...
