The vision of the huge rubber tit bouncing around the room and closing in on audience members reminded me of a scene from an old Woody Allen comedy (“Everything you wanted to know about sex, but were afraid to ask”), in which a mad scientist creates large tits that attack the townspeople. This comparison, I realize, is unfair to both Allen and Tari for the tit probably means something different to both. Still, I am intrigued that the vision of a huge tit assaulting people prompted laughter in both situations.
Before Tari’s rubber tit was fully inflated, the audience didn’t know what to expect, the lighting was dim, and the room had a very weighty atmosphere. But after the amorphous blob blossomed into a tit, and Tari began bouncing, jiggling, and tossing it around, the audience relaxed and started laughing. There was an immediate transformation in the audience’s attitude and the room’s ambience. It made me wonder if Tari’s tit had a humorous aspect similar to Allen’s.
Tari chose the tit with a “consciousness of [it] being something everyone is able to express strong feelings about–of it being very political.” She even chose to use a single tit by considering cancer victims (a very big threat for women). But I think the tit is also something that is comforting and less shocking (and therefore less threatening?) than other bodyparts. If this performance were titled, “Rubber Vulva,” and a huge vulva bounced around would the audience have reacted in the same way?
I am curious to know if Tari intended to induce laughter and smiles in this piece. I also wonder how conscious she is of the mirthful aspect of this piece, and if she sees it as part of her own transformation (ie, as a lesbian performance artist who no longer feels the urge to “rip” latex/skin).
-Makiko
