jelliebeers

NOTE: I am over this.  I’ve learned from it and am looking on the positive side of things. I have renewed inspiration to make new/more performances 🙂  steak face revival. 

(Steak Face I – The Poet – Panoply Performance Lab February 2, 2014)

When I first meet people in my community, sometimes I am asked, “Are you the one that puts meat on your face?”
I blush because that is me.  The first iteration of Steak Face was performed on February 2, 2014 at Panoply Performance Lab in Brooklyn (pictured).  I began this series after taking a break from performing after a performance related accident back in mid 2013.

I used the steak mask to empower myself and to express things that I could not as myself.   There were at least 7 parts to the Steak Face series (with potential to add more pieces in the future).  With the mask, I could sing, scream, and dance.

I really learned a lot about myself during this time and it forever changed my way of performing.  Even though I haven’t worn a steak mask in a few months, it has become my trademark.

(Why Won’t Anyone Dance with Me? – Bushwick Bizzare – March 19, 2014)

This morning, I received a Facebook message from a colleague with the following screen capture.  This is peruvian performance artist whom I knew personally when she was living in New York.  The performance in the picture took place at Encuentro: Espacio abierto a libre performance Encuentro “Desde Quebec a Lima” on July 15th and 16th.

Of course my first reaction was to get angry.  Steak Face was my baby and was a deeply personal piece for me.  But isn’t copying someones work a form of flattery?

I am not claiming to have been the only person who has ever worn a meat mask.  Artist Cornelie Tollens has a photograph of a women with a steak strapped to her face (an image I saw after performing steak face for almost a year).  However, I thought of this artist as a colleague and even a friend.  She had seen me perform with a steak mask on more then one occasion.

This same artist has ripped off another New York artist, Ventiko Thephotographer and her Sylva Dean and Me project.  Sylva Dean and Me (top) vs. Peruvian Copy below.  Clearly these images are extremely similar.  The fact that this is the second time this artist has produced identical work to her peers really makes me question her integrity.

Perhaps she is using the meat mask to hide from something?  Maybe it stems from an insecurity in her art practice?  A lack of material?  Maybe she felt that since she is performing in another country that it’s ok to copy another artists work because it will go unnoticed?  Or perhaps it is a critique?  I can only speculate.

It’s unfortunate because I absolutely love performing and it is essential to my being.  I want to support my fellow artists and keep contributing to a community that possesses such talent.  But I could really do without unnecessary drama…