Art is dead — or it will be after this show is done with it.
A local event organizer is creating a giant art installation that is made specifically to be pummeled into submission and destroyed in one stress-reliving afternoon. “Beat It,” which will take place at Littlefield in Gowanus on Nov. 22, was inspired by real life, explained creator Jo Firestone
“After a break up, I really wanted to hit a person, but I knew that was illegal,” she said. “I said to myself that I wished there was a place you could hit things and not have any consequences.”
Firestone is building a variety of destructible art for the afternoon, including hanging sculptures and several pinatas, all of which audience members will be able to smash to pieces with foam bats. All the while, a DJ will spin songs about beating things.
This is not Firestone’s first eccentric event. She is also one of the brains behind Punderdome 3000 — a bar contest based on creating puns, A Hastily Written Masterpiece Starring the Audience — a musical theater series featuring karaoke by audience members, and the Inner Beauty Pageant — which is exactly what it sounds like.
“Beat It” will also feature a self-defense instructor, who will teach participants how to get the most out of their strikes — both at the art show and on the street.
“I always try to make it upbeat and funny, but it’s a serious subject,” said Laurel Leckert, who is an instructor at Traditional Okinawan Karate of Brooklyn in Bushwick and will be teaching the class in a corner of the venue. “This is a fun and participatory way to practice hitting stuff.”
Hitting other participants, however, will not be allowed.
“I hope that people do not hit each other and that people feel relaxed afterward and a bit relieved of their pre-Thansgiving angst,” said Firestone.
“Beat It” at Littlefield (622 Degraw St. between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, www.littlefieldnyc.com). Nov. 22 at 1 pm. Free
