Penn Jillette shares an "art moment" that brings tears of joy

[Darren Dirt]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penn-jillette/celebrity-apprentice-blue-man-group_b_1395411.html

A well-written description of a "Celebrity Apprentice" moment that is very ... different. An excellent read, and completely devoid of political or philosophical ramblings, so even someone not a "fan" of Penn & Teller might find themselves smiling at the crazy, childish, fun scene depicted therein... it certainly gets you thinking about your childhood memories of what "art" is, I think.





(the magic of editing shrinks it down to 75 seconds, complete with mood-dictating soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPvzKws_Pmc ) (5 minute version on Vimeo )

[Mr. Analog]

To me it seemed less an artistic statement and more a PR stunt on Reality Television.

Maybe they should have kept the money to sort out their Labour problems (or did they sort all that out?)

[Darren Dirt]

To me it seemed less an artistic statement and more a PR stunt on Reality Television.

Well, the article that Jillette wrote on HuffPost shows that it's really just the way the BMG express themselves, everything is spectacle, and in fact what they did is quite the opposite of the typical "easily-controlled/edited" material that Reality Television thrives on. Just look at how Clay Aiken was disgusted/disappointed with the "wasted money" only slightly less than The Donald was.

[Mr. Analog]

Or maybe that's what he wrote to help promote it.

Call me cynical or whatever but of all entertainers out there Penn seems like one of the LEAST likely to be doing it solely for the "art".

As well I can understand the rush you might get from a Happening particularly if you ARE a fan of avant-garde but all I saw here was a wad of money being treated without value on a television show that panders to greed. Oh wow, very witty

Or maybe ticket sales are down and a tie in article / tv appearance will remind people they exist and still tour (except in Toronto)

[Darren Dirt]

Or maybe that's what he wrote to help promote it.

Call me cynical or whatever but of all entertainers out there Penn seems like one of the LEAST likely to be doing it solely for the "art".

As well I can understand the rush you might get from a Happening particularly if you ARE a fan of avant-garde but all I saw here was a wad of money being treated without value on a television show that panders to greed. Oh wow, very witty

Was Keith Moon and his buddies doing it for ratings?

[Mr. Analog]

Or maybe that's what he wrote to help promote it.

Call me cynical or whatever but of all entertainers out there Penn seems like one of the LEAST likely to be doing it solely for the "art".

As well I can understand the rush you might get from a Happening particularly if you ARE a fan of avant-garde but all I saw here was a wad of money being treated without value on a television show that panders to greed. Oh wow, very witty

Was Keith Moon and his buddies doing it for ratings?

Of course they were.

The band survived on gigs such as their weekly dates at the Railway Tavern. One night, during the set, Pete accidentally bumped the neck of his guitar on the ceiling. He recalls that "it broke and it kinda shocked me cause I wasn't ready for it to go... I was expecting everybody to go 'Wow, he's broken his guitar,' but nobody did anything which made me kind of angry in a way and determined to get this precious event noticed by the audience. I proceeded to make a big thing out of breaking the guitar. I pounded all over the stage with it and I threw the bits on the stage." The next week fans arrived expecting another guitar-smashing spectacle. Pete declined, but "Moonie" obliged, capping off the evening by beating up his drums.

Emphasis mine.
Sauce: http://www.thewho.net/articles/townshen/friedlan.htm

Hell, it's practically an institution now...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_destruction

[Darren Dirt]

Of course they were.

Ok then.





(but sometimes better ratings come as a result of an artist just letting his/her passion out totally carefree etc. , the results are not the motivation )

[Mr. Analog]

Of course they were.

Ok then.





(but sometimes better ratings come as a result of an artist just letting his/her passion out totally carefree etc. , the results are not the motivation )

I'm not denying that, all I'm saying is that I have doubts about the underlying motivation being purely creative for a group of pop musicians appearing on a reality television show.