The Death of a Toy Soldier

[s_lone]

My crazy brother has been exploring the odd world of performance art in the last few years.

This is one performance he did in Montreal recently. I'd like to know how you folks perceive this, whether it be negative or positive.

He describes it as ''a fierce portrait of the military, but also a pitch black unsentimental hommage to the men who never came back home....''

YouTube - ‪TOY SOLDIER by Patrick Lonergan.m4v‬‎

 

[wulfie68]

To me its a condescending dismissal of our military and the sacrifices they make and their reasons for making them. It shows no understanding of the role of our military and no will to acknowledge there IS a role. There is no admission of any positive contributions made by our men and women in uniform. There is no acknowledgement of our soldiers as people, just the stereotypical quasi-anarchistic notion of them as puppets of the "establishment".

 

[CDNBear]

To me its a condescending dismissal of our military and the sacrifices they make and their reasons for making them. It shows no understanding of the role of our military and no will to acknowledge there IS a role. There is no admission of any positive contributions made by our men and women in uniform. There is no acknowledgement of our soldiers as people, just the stereotypical quasi-anarchistic notion of them as puppets of the "establishment".

Wow, you were way nicer then I was, when s_lone asked me for my opinion at somewhere else...


"Honestly?

I would have been annoyed. You can slap 'homage' to my ass, that doesn't mean my ass really is an 'homage' to fat red skinned asses everywhere. Although it might make my ass feel a little better, while making an ass out itself. Which is pretty much what "...but also a pitch black unsentimental hommage to the men who never came back home" is. A slick little cliche attached as a preconcieved mode of defence, if it offends anyone. But why would anyone take offense at making a ridulous statement about the puppetry of the Soldier, while dismissing the sacrifice of the fallen, with cheap theatrics and not so subtle insulting innuendo. And we all know what innuendo, is Italian for.

I may be quite a neanderthal, but I'm not exactly oblivious to symbology or performance/shock art.

I likely would have had a few well chosen words for your brother. To which I am almost certain, his reply would have been, to be a performance artist smart ass. To which SCB would have had to grab my arm and say "Lets go Bear, he isn't worth it"...and..."I'm not visiting you through glass again".

And yes s_lone, although I find your brothers artistic opinion perfectly deplorable. I find myself torn between wanting to punch him, and praise him, for mocking the very men and institution that would gladly die so that he can be free to mock them. I would just have a very odd and physical way of showing that appreciation, had I seen him performing in person.

I hope that makes my opinion perfectly clear."

 

[wulfie68]

Wow, you were way nicer then I was was, when s_lone asked me for my opinion at somewhere else...


"Honestly?

I would have been annoyed. You can slap 'homage' to my ass, that doesn't mean my ass really is an 'homage' to fat red skinned asses everywhere. Although it might make my ass feel a little better, while making an ass out itself. Which is pretty much what "...but also a pitch black unsentimental hommage to the men who never came back home" is. A slick little cliche attached as a preconcieved mode of defence, if it offends anyone. But why would anyone take offense at making a ridulous statement about the puppetry of the Soldier, while dismissing the sacrifice of the fallen, with cheap theatrics and not so subtle insulting innuendo. And we all know what innuendo, is Italian for.

I may be quite a neanderthal, but I'm not exactly oblivious to symbology or performance/shock art.

I likely would have had a few well chosen words for your brother. To which I am almost certain, his reply would have been, to be a performance artist smart ass. To which SCB would have had to grab my arm and say "Lets go Bear, he isn't worth it"...and..."I'm not visiting you through glass again".

And yes s_lone, although I find your brothers artistic opinion perfectly deplorable. I find myself torn between wanting to punch him, and praise him, for mocking the very men and institution that would gladly die so that he can be free to mock them. I would just have a very odd and physical way of showing that appreciation, had I seen him performing in person.

I hope that makes my opinion perfectly clear."

The only reason I may have sounded nicer than you is I was trying to be constructive in case this guy really wants to be an artist and is willing to accept feedback. He needs to understand his subject matter, not just act out according to opinions based on ill-concieved (and probably invalid) stereotypes. Otherwise he'll just be another "voice" lost in the sea of ignorance.

 

[CDNBear]

The only reason I may have sounded nicer than you is I was trying to be constructive in case this guy really wants to be an artist and is willing to accept feedback. He needs to understand his subject matter, not just act out according to opinions based on ill-concieved (and probably invalid) stereotypes. Otherwise he'll just be another "voice" lost in the sea of ignorance.

Funny you should say that, because my first reply was...

"Ummm, ya, you probably don't really want to hear about my perception of the symbology and how I feel it perpetuates that stereotype of most Quebecois when it comes to courage and service to ones Nation.

Long live the Laurentian Highlanders!"

 

[karrie]

I'm curious what you think of it s_lone

 

[EagleSmack]

If he wants to send the message he should go to one of those bars outside a Canadian Army Base and perform for them. Let's see how they like it.

As for artistic expression...he didn't express anything save making a fool of himself.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Wow! I....wow. I'm try'n to picture this same performer doing the same act in,
lets say.....Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He's have been beaten within an
inch of his life with canes & walkers...and maybe run over (or at least
into) by a Rascal or two...and that would be just by the Senior Citizens.

 

[EagleSmack]

Wow! I....wow. I'm try'n to picture this same performer doing the same act in,
lets say.....Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He's have been beaten within an
inch of his life with canes & walkers...and maybe run over (or at least
into) by a Rascal or two...and that would be just by the Senior Citizens.

And they carry cannon balls around to boot!

 

[s_lone]

First of all, thank you for your constructive feedback.

There is much I'd like to say now.

Karrie asked me what I think about the performance.

I was the one behind the camera. And I'm used to seeing some of his other performances and believe me, this one is very politically correct in the sense that he can actually do it in public.

My first thoughts were that he managed to project a pretty strong image and for that, his performance was a success. What I also liked about the performance was that there is a pretty straightforward message to get, whether you agree with it or not. While it is odd to see someone do this kind of stuff, this is not a ''what the fuc*'' kind of thing like many art performances often are. Things can and often do get much weirder than that. This performance at least had the merit of being relatively clear as to which issues it dealt with.

I don't find it offending at all. But I understand how one could. And I find some comments here rather interesting. For example, Ron mentioned my brother probably would have got a beating had he done this in Moose Jaw.

What does this say about Moose Jaw? That it's a violent place?

And to imply that he might also get a beating would he do this close to a bar full of actual soldiers is pretty ironic, considering one of the issues at hand is violence. Would a good honourable soldier attack my brother because he senses he is being mocked? Would a good honourable but drunk soldier attack my brother because he senses he is being mocked?

My brother did this performance in Montreal, where there is a very ''live and let live'' mentality. And I'm proud of this aspect of where I live. This isn't redneck land and you can do pretty much what you want, as long as you don't hurt anybody and don't break any laws. It's worth mentioning he did it in the context of an art festival and inside Montreal's gay village, which was probably one of the safest places to do this kind of thing. One might say he should go do the same thing in front of a bar filled with drunk soldiers but somehow, I feel that would be dangerous. Am I wrong?

All this raises the fact that mentality towards war and the army tend to be different in Quebec than in the rest of Canada. The biggest opposition to the Afghan war in Canada clearly comes from Quebec. The same can of course be said about the Irak war. And I don't think CDNBear is entirely wrong about raising the issue of the Quebec stereotype. There is a stereotype in the sense that there is a real cultural difference when it comes to these matters.

With all this said, I think some very good points have been raised about my brother mocking those who are willing to fight for his right to mock them.

 

[EagleSmack]

Probably saying in front of a bar was the wrong thing of me to say as it does insinuate drunkeness. I was in error to include that.

He should do it near a military base though to get their opinion and to express his artistic abilities. Perhaps they will show him their art? Perhaps their art will be MMA (mixed martial arts) demonstration in response or like thereof. As you say it is easy to do it in Montreal but where is the boldness in that? Art like this should be bold IMO. It seems like this type of display in Montreal is just another part of the scenery. Not bold, not even controversial when done in a welcoming and safe environment.

 

[karrie]

Thank you for letting me know your views on it s_lone.

Personally I found it to be fairly boring. While it holds some value as living tableau art... watching a moving painting essentially... the artist's descriptions of his own work (ie, fierce, funny, pitch black), don't come anywhere near to accurate from what my eye sees. His intent gets lost in his props and makeup, as his intent to show soldiers as toys and puppets, gets completely overshadowed by his makeup and expression (which are what people look most closely at in acting), which quite clearly present them instead as clowns. Thus his attempt at an 'hommage' instead comes across quite plainly to this particular 'redneck' as a mockery of their deaths. Hearing your words of what he's trying to portray, seeing his attempts with his props, it looks to me s_lone like a mark he missed by quite a ways.

And one further recommendation... when presenting synopses of one's works, you might want to tell him to avoid using the style of a reviewer. It is not to him or those close to him to say it's fierce, funny, wonderful, etc. The artist merely is to state what they are presenting and leave it to the audience and the reviewers to decide its attributes. Reviewers and the theatres which hire out for these festivals, tend to look poorly on artists who attempt to form their opinion for them on a piece, and even on the internet it's no different.

All that being said... he has more courage than I, and no performer I know (and I do know quite a few), has won them all. Pieces can be wrong for the audience, wrong for the time, or just plain wrong. One never knows, and never learns, until they are out there trying.

 

[s_lone]

Thank you very much Karrie. This is very constructive and I think my brother can benfit from reflecting on what you say.

 

[Johnnny]

YOur brother should explore the exciting new world of finding a real job

 

[CDNBear]

YOur brother should explore the exciting new world of finding a real job

F!ck me Johnny, you're a classic.

That was beautiful!!!

 

[s_lone]

YOur brother should explore the exciting new world of finding a real job

You should try to mentally comprehend the very complex concept of being a student.

Watch out for brain cramps.

 

[EagleSmack]

You should try to mentally comprehend the very complex concept of being a student.

.

Being a student is a complex concept?

 

[s_lone]

Being a student is a complex concept?

Sarcasm is hard to express without the subtleties of voice intonation.

 

[CDNBear]

Actually s_lone, Johnny is a student, and he suffers from a disability he refuses to accept as debilitating.

His comment may have been boorish and rudimentary, but it was quite simplistically insightful.

Now I must ask...

What do you think your brothers chosen art form and the opinion he expresses, contributes to society?

 

[s_lone]

Actually s_lone, Johnny is a student, and he suffers from a disability he refuses to accept as debilitating.

His comment may have been boorish and rudimentary, but it was quite simplistically insightful.

Now I must ask...

What do you think your brothers chosen art form and the opinion he expresses, contributes to society?

My brother mostly does visual media. Performance art is occasional for him.

Here's a link where you can see some of what he does. A lot of his works tackle the theme of gender issues and what you could call sexual politics and all the sub-themes that this implies (gay rights, sexual stereotypes, HIV awareness, addiction, top-bottom sex issues). If he can cause some people to reflect upon those themes, that's a good enough contribution to society in my book.

Patrick Lonergan