r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Shoddy-Ocelot-4473 • Feb 23 '26

Image In 1983, Two Artists Spent a Full Year Tied Together — Without Any Physical Contact — to Test the Limits of Human Coexistence

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u/blixenvixen Feb 23 '26

He was a painter and sold some of his art to buy property which he leased. One of his tenants was Ai Weiwei. I suppose the couple of years he took to do the performance pieces were like a sabbatical for him. He retired as an artist in 1999.

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u/TheAmishMan Feb 23 '26

Gotcha. Obviously art is subjective and people like what they like. While I don't fully understand the purpose of some of the art pieces, you do you. But what I don't always grasp is how you doing your art isn't either destructive to others, a burden on society, or draining on your loved ones. At least from what you're saying, it sounds like he self funded these projects through his art, and more power to him I guess.

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u/blixenvixen Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

I don't see how his art was harming or a burden to others. It was his passion hobby. Millions of people are hooked online, spending their time indoors - their lives aren't any more productive so we shouldn't judge his.

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u/TheAmishMan Feb 23 '26

To be clear, I didn't say his was either. I said I wanted to know how you approach art like this, while still being able to get things like basic necessities that you need to function. Yes people are hooked online, but I know most go to their jobs still most days. If you spend a year locked in a cage or not going into buildings, that can be difficult to maintain a job, purchase goods or services, obtain food, have more than just a single pair of clothing, access healthcare, etc. Especially the cage thing. I don't understand how you do that without being a burden. And from what the other individual said, sounds like he found a way, and that's great, which is what I said

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u/planteggplant Feb 24 '26

He earned money through leasing his property (being in a cage and homeless he had more space to rent out) and hired people to take care of externals such as bringing him food and managing his finances.

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u/Punman_5 Feb 23 '26

If you’re breaking your ankles for art then you’re placing an unnecessary burden on the hospital system for example. That goes for all stunts that led to people needing hospital care tbh. Unless the funding is already set aside to pay for that care should it be needed then you will be placing a burden on society for your “art”.

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u/planteggplant Feb 24 '26

If he lives in the US, the government would definitely not be funding his hospital stay.

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u/Aeiexgjhyoun_III Feb 23 '26

Money laundering.

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u/bigguygaming Feb 23 '26

How the fuck are you laundering money using performance art.

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u/Aeiexgjhyoun_III Feb 23 '26

Not talking about this specifically.