For those of you who haven’t heard of the Wildboyz on MTV here is a brief explanation. It is a spinoff of the popular Jackass show which aired on MTV 2000-2002. Much like Jackass, Wildboyz features stunts and pranks which inflict bodily harm upon stars Steve O and Chris Pontius. But unlike Jackass, Wildboyz mostly involves wild animals , for which they are not trained to work with, and exotic locales all over the world. The show aired on MTV from 2003 until 2006.
So why are the antics of Wildboyz, Steve O and Chris Pontius art? Well in art theory jargon the show could be defined as a study in phenomenology. In this case one’s relation to native animals and culture of a region and the subsequent distress the body may encounter as a result of this interaction. Basically Steve O and Chris placing themselves in situations that will most certainly cause bodily harm as inflicted by animals native to the locale. Or they may also partake in cultural activities for the purpose of gauging their body’s reaction.
So how is this show art? Well its art because this isnt the first time someone has inflicted pain upon themseles in order to reach out to an audience. Much like the work of famous performance artist Chris Burden who's work from the seventies entitled Shoot which consisted of the artist having himself shot with a rifle in the arm. Also the performance Trans-Fixed (1974) where Burden laid upon a Volkswagen beetle with his hands nailed to the hood of the car relates to the Wildboyz. Burden and the Wildboyz similarly experiment with danger and pain, both of which are self inflicted as a form of expression.
The scope of performance art is wide and varied so why can't the Wildboyz be included in this definition? Artists have pushed the limits of constructed definitions beyond the white box of the gallery space into a different realm. Artists such as damali ayo, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Survival Research Laboratories, Janine Antoni, and Guillermo Vargas have produced work that ranges from the romantic to controversial. Now it maybe argued that the show Wildboyz is not art because a profound social or political message is lacking, but the show is a form of personal art in that it exhibits one’s own body in harm’s way for the sake of seeing what happens and experiencing the pain. In other words the show is ''l'art pour l’art’’ or art for art’s sake.
So why are the antics of Wildboyz, Steve O and Chris Pontius art? Well in art theory jargon the show could be defined as a study in phenomenology. In this case one’s relation to native animals and culture of a region and the subsequent distress the body may encounter as a result of this interaction. Basically Steve O and Chris placing themselves in situations that will most certainly cause bodily harm as inflicted by animals native to the locale. Or they may also partake in cultural activities for the purpose of gauging their body’s reaction.
So how is this show art? Well its art because this isnt the first time someone has inflicted pain upon themseles in order to reach out to an audience. Much like the work of famous performance artist Chris Burden who's work from the seventies entitled Shoot which consisted of the artist having himself shot with a rifle in the arm. Also the performance Trans-Fixed (1974) where Burden laid upon a Volkswagen beetle with his hands nailed to the hood of the car relates to the Wildboyz. Burden and the Wildboyz similarly experiment with danger and pain, both of which are self inflicted as a form of expression.
The scope of performance art is wide and varied so why can't the Wildboyz be included in this definition? Artists have pushed the limits of constructed definitions beyond the white box of the gallery space into a different realm. Artists such as damali ayo, Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Survival Research Laboratories, Janine Antoni, and Guillermo Vargas have produced work that ranges from the romantic to controversial. Now it maybe argued that the show Wildboyz is not art because a profound social or political message is lacking, but the show is a form of personal art in that it exhibits one’s own body in harm’s way for the sake of seeing what happens and experiencing the pain. In other words the show is ''l'art pour l’art’’ or art for art’s sake.
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