He just wanted to play in his bath tube and put a finger in his ass Warning: fopen(vilma_counter.txt) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/www/clubmoral_com/ddv/vilmagold/index.php on line 34 Warning: fgets(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /var/www/clubmoral_com/ddv/vilmagold/index.php on line 35 Warning: rewind(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /var/www/clubmoral_com/ddv/vilmagold/index.php on line 37 Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /var/www/clubmoral_com/ddv/vilmagold/index.php on line 39 On 22 july 2006 I happened to pass by at a private view in Vilma Gold art gallery in Berlin. In the gallery was some kind of installation with a couple of wooden shelves that had plants and cutouts of something that looked like bones on them. There was also a corner with a bunch of speakers producing electronic noise, an lcd-projector that showed 'Rocky' on the wall and another projection-screen with the image of someone sitting in a bathtub with a kind of 'Hannibal Lector' type mask. It was artist Brock Enright, performing on an interactive, live video feed through a hooked up internet connection via an iBook from Brooklyn, New York. The audience in Berlin could watch him spill paint on the walls and ketchup on his face and pyjama pants. He could see the audience in the gallery via an iSight camera on a tripod and once in a while he would gesture for somebody to come closer to the camera or write persuasive things like "show me your balls" on a piece of paper and hold it to his camera for us to see. Some people would interact by waving at him, and some guy showed him his cast arm. Brock Enright would bash around in his bathroom in an attempt to provoke some violence. After posting "throw something" on his camera, some guy indeed threw one of the plants at the screen, and someone else smashed a bottle of beer on the floor. Then Brock would write "more more" on his piece of paper. The mood was certainly catching on and it looked as if there were people waiting for it to kick off. But that didn't really happen. Apart from a brief glimpse of Brock Enright's ass the whole thing just lingered on and I was hesitating to interfere, but the decided it wasn't that much of a big deal and went outside to catch a free beer. AMVK introduced me to some friends, and pushed me into doing something. We all went back in, but the mood was even tamer than before, so again I walked out. For some reason I went back inside anyway. Brock was by now kinda on the end of his tether and the whole thing was going nowhere. I stepped close to the camera and asked if he could hear me. He nodded, and I said "I wanna see some blood". A little bit flabbergasted he turned around in his bathtub and finally came up with something that looked like a knife. I spoke again into the microphone and said "I want you to cut yourself" and shook my hand in front of the camera in a way of 'come on then, don't be a wanker and cut yourself'. He grabbed a piece of skin above his left nipple and started like sawing into his skin but nothing really happened. I slowly opened my shirt and gestured him to go on. He wrote "I'm scared" on a piece of paper and held it up to his camera. I took a piece of glass from the floor and while people in the audience behind my back gasped, I repeatedly cut my chest above the left nipple. He wrote "does it hurt?" on a piece of paper and held it up to his camera. I nodded "no" and gestured him to really cut himself. He bashed around not knowing what to do, people were leaving the gallery space slightly in panic. He wrote "I just wanted to play in my bath tube and put a finger in my ass" on a piece of paper and held it up to his camera. Blood ran down from the cut in my chest, I threw away the piece of glass and buttoned up my shirt and slowly walked backwards. He wrote "I'll remember you" on a piece of paper and held it up to his camera. I walked outside, some people cheered and applauded. I had another free beer and left, in the meantime the live video feed from Brooklyn, New York had been cut off. if you can't see the video at the top of the page, install the latest version of Quicktime, it's free! or try the alternate YouTube version. more DDV....