Syndicate: A Giant Heap of Bananas Installed in a Polish Square

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From: "Douglas Fishbone" <dfishbone@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 8:08 PM
Subject: A Giant Heap of Bananas Installed in a Polish Square

Dear Friends:

THIS MAY BE OF INTEREST
On Thursday, May 10th, I installed a gigantic mountain of bananas - well
over a ton of them - in the historic town square in Piotrkow Trybunalski in
Poland. The work, which was literally devoured by the crowd, was an
interactive commentary on greed, globalization, consumerism and violence
that vanished before the eyes - and down the gullets - of the audience
within minutes.

With references to the Incas (the myth of Atahualpa), the Nazis (to the
piles of looted possessions in the death camps), and predatory
multinationals like Dole and Del Monte, the installation examines the seedy
crossroads of personal and institutional desire, and questions the creation
of meaning - and the meaning of "creation," and consumption - in art in the
public context. Through the metaphor of eating as active participation, the
work investigates the history of brutality towards Poland's wartime Jewish
population, which was itself literally devoured and cannibalized. This is a
particularly powerful association in Piotrkow Trybunalski, the site of the
first Jewish ghetto in all of Nazi-occupied Europe. Yet more than anything,
the project is visually stunning - an enormous mound of green and golden
fruit, whittled away by the audience like a crazed collective sculptor.

Installed in Trybunalski Square in the beautiful Old Town of Piotrkow
Trybunalski, the project formed the cornerstone of the Festival
International INTERACTIONS III / INTERAKCJE 2001, one of Eastern Europe's
most cutting-edge performance art festivals.

The installation will be profiled in the upcoming edition of the Italian
contemporary art magazine TEMA CELESTE, and previous stagings in Latin
America in 1999 and 2000 have been featured in magazine and newspapers
around the world, including the NEW YORK PRESS, CIVILIZATION MAGAZINE,
PUBLIC ART REVIEW, JUXTAPOZ, ART NEXUS (Colombia), and A-N MAGAZINE (UK). In
addition, it will be featured in books in both Germany and the United States
in 2001, and the leading academic journal HOPSCOTCH, printed by Duke
University Press.

Please have a look at the following:
http://perso.infonie.fr/wizya/inter3/fisch.htm

http://gerwulf.free.fr/banany.htm

I am certain this installation would make an excellent addition to your
programming, and I hope you will consider it for an upcoming event. It is
ridiculous enough but thoughtful enough to provoke reactions on many levels,
and the themes it treats, such as imperialism, the effects of consumerism
and the legacy of Nazi brutality, are all deeply relevant to Europe, Asia
and the world in general.  As an absurd and surreal act of public theater,
and an ironic send-up of much of contemporary art practice (viewing art as
merely another form of consumption), it is bound to resonate with your
audiences. And from a practical standpoint, it can be staged very cheaply
and easily - requiring no more than a weekend at most - and can accomodate
your schedule without any undue interruption or inconvenience.
I would be delighted if you might consider this project as an addition to
your programs.  I have staged it four times, in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and now
Poland, and in both indoor and outdoor spaces.  The effect is always bizarre
and powerful, and you would do well to consider hosting it, since it could
be pretty wild.

If you would like any more information, photos or press materials about this
project, please don't hesitate to contact me. I can be reached in New York
at 212-645-6159 or via email at dfishbone@hotmail.com

Thanks for your time and consideration, and best regards for a lovely
summer.

Doug Fishbone

P.S. If this project is not appropriate for your space but you know of some
institution or organization that might be interested, I would very much
appreciate your letting me know.


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