Saturday, November 13, 2010

Return to Normalcy (When Life Gives You Lemons: Centralia, PA)

"Return to Normalcy (When Life Gives You Lemons: Centralia, PA)"
2010
Documentation of Performance
An afternoon selling lemonade in the abandoned town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, the site of an uncontrollable underground mine fire which has been burning since 1962.




Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Vimeo Videos

Update/Edit!

Videos will now be embedded on all previous works that are video-based.
If you're curious, head over to my new Vimeo page, it's full of magic and wonder.




MARATHON (Studio)

"MARATHON (Studio)"
2010
Documentation of Performance

26.2 miles
3,145 laps
9 hours, 20 minutes

An entire marathon walked in my studio at the Catwalk Art Residency in Catskill, NY.



Thursday, June 3, 2010

MFA Thesis Installation

MFA Thesis Exhibition
Decker Gallery, Fox Building, MICA





Samson's Folly

"Samson's Folly"
2010
Installation and collection

Hairs lost as a result of male pattern baldness collected off of the artist's pillow case over the course of a year, stored individually in glass vials, and displayed in a custom-built room which allows the viewer to see the back of his or her own head.












Desperate Times

"Desperate Times"
2010
Installation based on performance

Video of a wishing well and a bucket of pennies.




















































Hope Springs Eternal

"Hope Springs Eternal"
2010
Video documentation of unseen performance

Eating the cheese and vegetables and drinking the wine at an unattended opening of a solo show of my work.















Tasting Menu

"Tasting Menu"
2010
Video documentation of live performance

Chewing, tasting, and spitting out an entire four course meal.















RED

"RED"
2010
Video documentation of live performance

Being slapped on one cheek and kissed on the other.


Pure

"Pure"
2010
Installation and video documentation of performance

Being covered from head to toe in Purell hand sanitizer.

























The Pursuit of Happiness

"The Pursuit of Happiness"
2009
High-definition video

Five piñatas destroyed with shotguns.
















Labor

"Labor"
2008
Digital photo documentation of performance

Peeling one hundred pounds of potatoes and drinking one liter of potato vodka in a bar in Baltimore on Labor Day.



















The Spawning of the Lake Trout

"The Spawning of the Lake Trout"
2008
Live performance

A dramatic interpretation of the spawning ritual of the mythical Baltimore "lake trout".















Last Supper

"Last Supper"
2008
Digital photo documentation of performance

My dinner reconstructed on armed mousetraps.
















R&R

"R&R"
2007
Digital photo documentation of performance.

The four members of "The Cattywampus" sleeping in my bed (relocated to my studio) for one week.

















Jackpot

"Jackpot"
2007
Live theatrical performance

A play written, produced, directed, and performed by myself and "The Cattywampus".
Thirteen vignettes. each one at some point including a cake.


Spit or Swallow

"Spit or Swallow"
2007
Digital video. 5:04

Backwashing iced tea for 45 minutes.

















Wednesday, June 2, 2010

By Any Other Name

"By Any Other Name"
2007
Digital photo

One dozen hickeys







Introduction

Joseph Letourneau is a performance artist and sculptor educated at both MICA's Rinehart School of Sculpture and its Post-Baccalaureate program, Vassar College, and a variety of exciting public schools in his home town of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Joe uses art as a universal excuse to create situations and environments that fulfill his wildest fantasies and get him into mischief. From self-abusive performances to absurd collections to enormous hand-crafted edifices, his work adds humor and depth to explore his favorite themes - the wonderful oddities of machismo and American society.