Oversize buttons with a medical caduceus and characters names worn by the two local (Miami) actors, (Randy 'Rando' Garcia) as Dr. Hackemoff and another actor as Nurse Zapato (Francesca Toledo) during Vent-o-matic - a cathARTic Public Health Service Performances.

#releasing endorphins and venting

#Cathartic Public Health Service

#throwing shoes

#Randy Burman

#Vent-o-matic

The Vent-o-matic was a cathARTic Public Health Service (performance) used to relieve stress caused by extreme right-wing politicians and those who enabled them. There were two roles played by professional actors, Dr. Hackemoff & Nurse Zapato, identified with these huge pins. 

Using a microphone, Dr. Hackemoff (Randy 'Rando' Garcia) encouraged attendees to throw shoes at a 24 ft. wide wall of painted portraits. The roles included some "heavy lifting". After all or most of the shoes were thrown, the Doctor & Nurse instructed the crowd to hold fire while they carried the drop cloths full of shoes back to the table. (There were four drop cloths laid out in front of the portraits. The thrown shoes fell mostly onto the cloths making it fairly easy for the Doctor and Nurse to lift each drop cloth & carry/lift back and dump the shoes onto the table. Repeat as required. Script wise it was pretty improv. I provided a loose suggestion of possible things to say. But it was the kind of part that was best played spontaneously working the crowd. And for the most part attendees/participants didn't really need much encouragement. There was also a loop playing pretty loud in the back ground of recordings of many of the deplorable things said by the mostly politicians on the wall. Costume-wise there were these oversize buttons with a medical caduceus and characters names, a stethoscope and white lab coats. I.

Let's see.... where to start. During the eight years of the George W. Bush administration my wife, who's Canadian, screamed whenever a spokesperson for that administration was speaking on TV, especially on Fox News. I feared she was going to smash the TV by throwing something at it. Many friends and people I met or knew were similarly outraged and/or depressed. Voter suppression, the WMD lies culminating with the invasion of Iraq, the right's fear of the progress made in women's and gay rights, the election of Obama, the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act along with the reactionary rise of the Tea Party, the accelerated vitriol, lies, deceit, racism and hatred emanating from a now taken as normal extreme right-wing media and propagandists, and how easily right-wing supporters were manipulated – most often against their own self-interest – all added fuel to the fire of outrage and depression on the left.

 

Inspired by the Baghdad press conference shoe throwing incident where an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at George Bush, I wondered whether a public art service project employing this traditional method of exhibiting displeasure with political leaders could be employed in a constructive way –  to facilitate venting of this pent-up anger of those affected by the rise of the radical right – to release their stress by having the opportunity to physically express their anger and frustration and benefit from the release of endorphins associated with this type of physical activity. 

 

My first plan of action was to simply enlarge and somehow mount the images found on the web on a large wall of a gallery and have shoes available to throw at the photos. As the project concept evolved, I decided instead to respectfully paint 60 portraits of representative right-wing politicians and spokespersons on sturdy boards, mount the paintings on a fence-like construction, and position the construction in combination with a large pile of donated shoes. Visitors to the installation would have the opportunity to throw the shoes at the paintings. 

 

About two years later, the 60 portraits were completed. The Vent-o-matic was exhibited at the BakeHouse Complex, Miami; The Projects in FatVillage, Fort Lauderdale; and Schmidt Center Gallery Public Space at Florida Atlantic University.

The paintings and other props available on Burman's Bargain Basement eBay store.

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