PHOTOS Shia LaBeouf’s new stunt involves awkwardly sitting with him, watching him cry
Donning the same paper bag he wore on the red carpet last weekend, Shia LaBeouf accepted visitors during a Los Angeles art exhibition called #IAMSORRY.
As Daily Beast writer Andrew Romano put it, “The location suggested a work of art; the hashtag and seemingly strategic proximity to one of the world’s most successful viral content factories suggested an Internet stunt. It was a little bit of both.”
Individuals’ experiences with the living, breathing art project that is Shia LaBeouf began with a choice: Pick an object to present to Shia. The options included a whip (a nod to his role in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull), a transformer (because of Transformers), a bottle of Jack Daniels, a wrench, Hershey’s Kisses, etc.
With the item in hand, people were allowed to go — one at a time — into a private room with Shia. That’s where things got really weird and/or arty.
Based on multiple accounts, the bag Shia wore on his head was stained around the eye slits, apparently from his tears. One TMZ reporter asked Shia to take the bag off because it was distracting. Shia obliged, revealing eyes so red and puffy it looked “as if his cat just died.”
People could stay in the little room with Shia for however long they wished. But, Shia never said anything, even when he was asked direct questions. The only indications he wasn’t a poorly reanimated corpse came when he shed a few tears and accepted handshakes.
As many are noting, the odd performance is reminiscent of Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2010. And, considering Shia is supposedly sorry for plagiarizing author Daniel Clowes’ work, that’s more than a bit ironic.
