When I saw a few of this artist's videos posted on DVblog.org, I knew I had to include it here on Humor As Art. It goes without saying that timing, delivery, artistry, composition , and content are all well represented here which makes this performer's video work (whether|man Andrew Schneider) Humor As Art, or Art As Humor.
After you watch the above video watch all his videos at whether|man
Bob & Bob were a performance art duo who for 5 years made art together. They performed together, painted together, lived together, sometimes slept together. They were a driving force of the Perforamance art scene in Los Angelas in the 1980's. They would give art the business and gave business the art. Bob & Bob together created mutilated mutated portraits of business executives, financiers, and wall street tycoons in marker.
Very little is written or documented (that I have found) of Bob & Bob. When I was going to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and I performed in a performance class, the big trend at the time was to reference other artists for you to look at instead so that you could emulate their style and use the reference in your artist statement. Well, one of my teachers told me to look up Bob & Bob. I took out a book from the school library. I read it 3 times. Then I tried to look for it on the internet. They were all out of print. A few years later after I dropped out of the school, I returned to that library and stole the Bob & Bob book. It was that important to me.
Now the Dark Bob has been posting old clips on YouTube from back in the day. The above clip is like a promotional video except the Dark Bob gets sidetracked from fans of his early work with Bob & Bob.
Check out the Dark Bob's website, he's still writing and performing - it seems he's good friends with Andy Dick!
The Dark Bob
You can buy some of his cd's here: MITB RECORDS
Judging by what Patrick Rock's artist statement: "I am not prepared to make a statement at this time." leads me to believe the work is open for interpretation. Which is the way great art should be, and Rock's work leaves enough for us to contemplate in the short amount of time he gives us in his videos? performances? videotaped performances? The lines are not defined, nor should they be. Rock's work breaks form in a lot of traditions of humor, performance art, and video art which is why the work stands out. It's an honor to have his video pieces on this site, as I've been admiring his work, nearly, once my foot landed in Portland. He's an Oregon native who studied in San Francisco only to come back to Portland to start his gallery Rock's Box. If you're an artist coming back to Portland, starting your own gallery is in my opinion "doing it right".
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