Stephen Perkins

A self proclaimed "trouble maker"

Stephen Perkins exudes the energy that McLuhan channels in his book. An avant-garde man breaking the rules and leaving society behind to do his own thing. He said himself that unconventionality is what called him.

"Art is anything you can get away with." McLuhan

I think this is exactly how Perkins eventually got to his title of artist. Though he has had many different mediums throughout his lifetime, when he finally got something into a museum it was nothing anyone would have expected. It was his art, but at the same time, it wasn't. He organized other's works in a way that made it a new art, and in that sense I believe he is the embodiment McLuhan's quote. I do not know if everyone would buy into what he labeled as an artwork, in fact, I know some students at the talk didn't think this particular exhibit was rightfully his art. But some people do buy it, and that is what got him into the museum space. In the case of his art, it was exactly what he could get away with and make people buy.

I think this concept also connects to other artists we have been talking about in class. John Cage, Andy Warhol, and even Wesley Willis all play at this game. While it is not specifically about sound, I believe the myth that McLuhan speaks of applies to art as well. The audience "puts on" what the artist is giving them, and that is what makes art "art".

-More on his work displayed at MMoCA-

-Events at his Subspace gallery.-