versatile

WARNING! HUMOR ALERT!

 

Pamela Seymour Smith Sharp

Willoughby Sharp in 2006

From the NY Times obit of Willoughby Sharp, I've learned of the death of the respected and loved conceptual artist who was a writer, educator, curator, performer, publisher, video visionary, and more. Read this article to find out about several of his infamous pieces, such as Stay, a performance with a seduction, a gunshot and a broken video feed at a crucial moment, and Full Womb, in which he tumbled in a dryer with a baby bottle for fifteen minutes.

The online version of his obituary was altered slightly from the printed copy which first caught my attention. The latter gave Mr. Sharp's profession as "Avant-Gardist." Without casting any aspersions on Willoughby, and knowing that his is a tall order to fill, I think I've finally found what I want to be when I grow up. It's taken a long time, but better late than never. Avant-Gardist. Yeah. It's going to be a stretch, but WTF it's a new year and these are the kinds of things one can decide independently.

Sorry to say I never knew Willoughby.  My sympathies to his family and friends. But at least now I know what to do with my life.