Every now and then, The Creators Project comes across an artwork that surprises and delights us every bit as much as it confuses us and otherwise has us begging for answers. This is art that defies conventions, challenges sensibilities, and breaks down barriers between comprehension and critique. You might like it—you might not “get it.” But we do. Turn on, take a deep breath, and just remember: It’s art!
Minnesota performance artist Billy X Curmano isn’t afraid to get physical. In the past, he’s gone on a 42-day fast in the Mojave, swim the entire length of the Mississippi River, and even spent three days buried alive. Now, for 24-Hour Worldwide Rolling Nap, a piece Curmano wants to use to call attention to the difficulty of rest in our highly-connected age, the 60-something will be napping on a bed of nails, beneath a blanket of tacks, wearing kevlar-lined pajamas, for the duration of a full day.
Videos by VICE
“I think it’s in him, it’s so strong, that desire to create, and to do things,” Margarita Baumann, Curmano’s girlfriend of 12 years, told the Daily Astorian. “He sees what’s going on in the environment and the world. He sees how the environment is impacted. He just felt like he had to do something about it, do his share.” For Curmano, a veteran who also paints and plays jazz, the piece also represents a thread in a series of works he says helps with the post-traumatic stress he still deals with in the wake of an injury sustained during the Vietnam War. The performance of 24-Hour Worldwide Rolling Nap will take place this month at the artist’s home in Winona, Minnesota.
AP Photo/Winona Daily News, Andrew Link, via
Click here to learn more about Billy X Curmano.
Related:
It’s Art: The Rainbow Lucky Charms Marshmallow Sculpture
It’s Art: Microwaving a Nintendo 3DS
It’s Art: Artist Sculpts His Own Dead Body
It’s Art: David Bowie’s Dentures
It’s Art: Corn Flake Portraits of Pop Stars
It’s Art: Marina Abramovic Counts Grains of Rice
It’s Art: Black-and-White Studio Portraits of Goats
It’s Art: Sven Sachsalber is Looking for a Needle in a Haystack
It’s Art: Jeff Koons Recycles Birkin Bags
It’s Art: A Gallery Filled with French Fries
It’s Art: An Army of Clones Jogs to Kraftwerk
It’s Art: Jeanette Hayes Celebrates Halloween
It’s Art: James Franco In A Space Suit Destroying Artwork
It’s Art: Resuscitated CPR Dolls & Dante’s Divine Comedy
It’s Art: Mountains That Look Like Ice Cream
More
From VICE
-
Credit: Kodak -
Marcia Straub/Getty Images -
Matthew Horwood/Contributor/Getty Images -
Screenshot: Shaun Cichacki
