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Brooks Davis II
ENG 123
Prof Kim
March 4, 2015
Sorry
Art is often a statement on societys faults and successes, though the latter is
defiantly lacking representation. The statements made evoke many different reactions and
may even cause controversy. The art form known as performance art is one of the most
controversial and misunderstood art forms. This is due to its overall abstract and highly
Avant-garde theatrical nature. In February of last year, actor Shia LaBeouf put on a
performance art piece in Los Angeles art gallery that was open to the public. LaBeoufs
theatrical work was titled #IAMSORRY, it quickly became highly controversial on the
news and in social media. The performance consisted of LaBeouf sitting in a room with a
bag on his head, which read, I am not famous anymore. People were then allowed to
enter, one at a time, to have a one on one session with the actor. The original intention of
the exhibit was to apologize to the public for his inappropriate behavior. The theatrical
piece was controversial and to many strangle, but most of all it was surprising for all
those involved. LaBeoufs exhibit was an Avant-garde performance art piece that
showcased and questioned societys humanity, vanity and the dehumanization of
celebrities.
The general public tends to love when a celebrity goes off the rails and acts crazy.
So when in 2014 Shia LaBeouf showed up to the premier of Lars von
Triers Nymphomaniac at the Berlin Film Festival (Romano). And was wearing a paper
bag over his head, that read, I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE, people went ate it up.

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Later, in press conference the 27-year-old actor was asked what it was like to do a movie
with explicit sex scenes. LaBeouf, answered: When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is
because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. He then walked out of the room
(Romano). The public was eating it up, the Internet went crazy, and no one seemed
concerned for about his mental status. When he announced his performance art piece,
nobody was that surprised instead thousands of people dropped what they were doing and
flocked to LA.

Despite being controversial the exhibit was a hit, people stood outside for hours
on end waiting for the chance to not only meet LaBeouf. But try and understand what this
elaborate performance is all about, no one had an Idea of what to expect upon entering
the room. The actual performance piece consisted LaBeouf sitting in a room with a bag
over his head and visitors were told they could do whatever they wanted to him, be it
torture, conversation, or just messing with him (Eordogh). Before entering the
exhibition, the viewer is allowed to pick an object significant to LaBeouf's life from a
table examples include a Transformers figure, a whip, a bowl of angry tweets directed
at LaBeouf to bring into their meeting with the actor (Eordogh). The exhibit became
huge, with everyone having an option about it, some hated it and LaBeouf. Others
thought it was genius, comparing him to award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix
(Eordogh).

For those who have never heard of performance art, its a form of nontraditional and
contemporary art. That often has political or topical themes and features a live
presentation to an audience. It became a major form of avant-garde art during the late

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1960s and 1970s - takes as its medium the artist himself, the actual artwork being the
artist's actions (Performance). It has always been more theatrical, often taking acting and
movement to extremes of expression and endurance (Performance). It is noted that
words are rarely prominent (Performance) Labeoufs performance art piece has him
wearing tuxedo and a paper bag over his head and crying continuously in front of a single
gallery-goer without making a sound (Eordogh). Which as strangle as his performance
is, its not entirely original. #IAMSORRY mirrors well known performance artist Marina
Abramovic's 2010 MoMa exhibit The Artist is Present (Eordogh). The two-performance
pieces are similar, but what makes them different is not the physical differences, but the
emotional one. LaBeouf has a status as a celerity that, in many ways, makes the
performance a reflection of society.
If #IAMSORRY's success is based purely on press and attendance, it's already hit that
benchmark (Eordogh). More importantly, the piece itself is actually credible as a piece
of art. The continued controversy surrounding LaBeouf provides a relevance and context
for the show, and there's a real interactive element (Eordogh), According to LaBeouf
#IAMSORRY was his attempt to apologize to the public for his inappropriate behavior.
LaBeouf was expecting to see the inherently evil nature of humanity similar to the way
he had been harassed on the Internet. However; he was surprised to see an outpouring of
kindness, compassion, and understanding from those around him. LaBeouf was surprised
by the examples of societys humanity he say while he was doing his piece. Where people
mocked him online, in person his audience felt sadness and empathy for him. There were
many stories of people who were truly affected by the performance piece. Andrew
Romano, a report for The Daily Beast when to the exhibit and said that he didnt know

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how to feel about the whole thing (Romano). However; he went on to say But Ill be
honest: in the moment after I took that picture, I actually felt something real. Something
strange and complex. Something like sympathy. I was alone at last with a celebrity
(Romano). And as Romano got up to go, he thanked LaBeouf for the experience, told
him that [it] was something else, I offered him my hand. He shook it(Romano).
Romano wasnt the only one who felt this way; there has been a large sense of kindness
directed towards LaBeouf. Some people who were asked about their experience after they
had left the exhibit talked about holding hands with the actor, feeling emotionally
distraught, and wiping tears away from his eyes. There was an overall feeling of sadness
and understanding for LaBeouf. As if once people were there with him in person it wasnt
funny like the way it had been when they read about it online. This proof of societys
humanity that LaBeouf caused addresses and questions society. How its reaction to things
change depend on the setting. The exhibit was amusing to society online, but in person
they felt empathy because as a human they related to LaBeouf. And it is this reason that
the exhibit became more about societys response rather than the physical experience
itself.
However, LaBeoufs performance piece didnt only highlight the good in society,
it also highlighted the bad. #IMAMSORRY highlight both societys humanity and vanity,
especially when it comes to celebrities. Not everyone was so kind to LaBeouf, he had to
deal with being mocked and harassed, not to mention the endless selfies. As unfortunate
as those peoples actions are there will always be those who push the boundaries, a
reporter from Screen Junkies harassed LaBeouf while wearing a hidden camera,
taunting him repeatedly. People like this are prime examples of the vanity the exhibit

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brought out; the reporter mentioned above made the experience all about himself. He
came in with his mind already made up on the whole thing, he couldnt open himself up
to the performance even if it was strange. The same with those who took selfies, they
made the whole thing all about them and about the fact that they were in the same room
as a celebrity. Not only missing the point of the performance, but also missing the fact
that LaBeouf is a human being. After the exhibit was over LaBeouf did a silent
interview with Aimee Cliff from Dazed and Confused magazine. What is a silent
interview you ask, well it was along the lines of a Skype interview in person without
speaking, communicating through email. LaBeouf suggests that we keep all of our
words online, and meet in person without speaking. Its mid-October when we come face
to face in his hotel room, both of us with Go Pros strapped to our heads, for an hour
(Cliff), says Cliff. In the interview not only did he discuss his motivation behind the
performance and how he felt about peoples reactions. He discussed one particularly
unsettling experience where one visitor who, according to LaBeouf, allegedly sexually
assaulted him (Hare). In the interview LaBeouf said "one woman who came with her
boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for 10
minutes and then striped my clothing and proceeded to rape me then walked out with her
lipstick smudged to her awaiting boyfriend who I imagine was quite hurt by it (Cliff)."
This was obviously the most extreme example of societys and peoples vanity in regards
to LaBeoufs performance. This woman came in and took advantage of not only his body,
but also his vulnerability. As well as confirmed his attempt to find ugliness and vanity in
society in what many possibly may be the most disgusting sense. Though some many
argue that because LaBeoufs exhibit said to do what you wanted her actions arent

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technically rape, this is not true. As Jonathan Jones of The Guardian states that her
actions were a grotesque misinterpretationof self-exposure and suffering that surround
performance art (Jones). He goes on to say that LaBeoufs performance piece, however
one feels about it, Clearlydoes not excuse rape (Jones). She more than anyone else
made the whole exhibit about her by not seeing LaBeouf as a human being, but as an
object that she could play with. As truly shocking as said womans actions were they
reveal what LaBeouf was trying to show all along, how as a society we see celebrities not
as people, but something else entirely.
LaBeoufs #IAMSORRY is certainly not the first attempt to highlight and discuss
the dehumanization of celebrities in society, but it is one of the more powerful one in my
option. If you want to see an example of said dehumanization look no farther than
Twitter, which on any given day is filled with nasty comments. The complete lack of
empathy is shocking, yet is common to take pleasure in another human beings pain, as
long as theyre a celebrity. To deny the fact that celebrities reflect the ignorant and
dysfunctional norms of our culture is counterproductive and doesnt allow our society to
evolve to its true potential. Which I believe was the point of #IAMSORRY in someway.
LaBeoufs performance piece exposed this in many ways and how that dehumanization
changes for many when they meet said celebrity face to face. Reporter Andrew Romano
wrote, As a journalistmy job was to objectify himand I did. Did he want to be
photographed? Probably. Was he truly sad about the situation? I think he was. Either
way, there was more going on in those few seconds than in a lot of contemporary art.
LaBeoufs look-at-me Internet penance ritual had become an actual moment between
actual people (Romano). In my personal opinion this exhibit, as out there as it is

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demonstrates to a certain extent our societies obsession with fame and those who have
fallen from that fame. Different emotions come to the forefront when looking at an
exhibit like this, there can be feelings of sorrow; feeling the pain of the actor, wanting to
show him that even when it seems like they have hit absolute rock bottom there are
people that will look past the bad things in life and treat you like a normal human being.
There is also a sense of understand that comes through, as humans we all mess up, the
only difference between LaBeouf is constantly followed around by paparazzi and media
waiting for him to slip up. Once people experienced his exhibit they were able to
understand this.
Originally, Shia LaBeoufs performance art piece #IAMSORRY was latterly
LaBeouf sitting in a room with a bag over his head and visitors could do whatever they
wanted to him. For him it was his way of criticizing the vanity of society using an
interactive exhibit, but it soon became so much more. I believe the story that is told
through LaBeouf's exhibit is respect. Respect for everyone as human beings. I believe
that the main reason that there has been such an outpouring of support is because people
are beginning to understand that these celebrities are people too. Everyone has their
issues, we all slip up, we all hit rock bottom at least once in our lives. Labeoufs exhibit
reflected this, because it was easy for many people to dehumanize LaBeouf, but when
people were face to face with him they could no longer do so. The theatrical piece was
controversial and odd, but more importantly is was surprising for all those involved.
LaBeoufs performance was Avant-garde art that showcased and questioned societys
humanity, vanity and the dehumanization of celebrities. Overall, #IAMSORRY poses

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interesting questions on the nature of celebrity, humanity, and vanity. Because of said
questions I firmly believe that LaBeouf has nothing to be sorry for.
Words Cited
Cliff, Aimee. How one Dazed journalist became Shia LaBeouf's pen-pal and stared
deep into the eyes of the 'metamodernist' movie star. Dazed and Confused. 2014.
Web. 1 Mar. 2015.
Eordogh, Fruzsina. I don't know if Shia LaBeouf is sorry, but he's a master image
transformer. The Guardian. 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
Hare, Breeanna. Shia LaBeouf's silent interview: provocative or pointless? CNN. 27
Nov. 2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2015Performance Art: Characteristics, History,
Happenings. Visual Arts Cork. Web. 1 Mar. 2015.

Jones, Jonathan. Shia LaBeouf's #IAM SORRY: art is often violent, but nothing can
excuse rape. The Guardian. 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.

Romano, Andrew. I Watched Shia LaBeouf Cry at His Weird LA Art Project
#IAMSORRY. The Daily Beast. 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.