Posted
by April Fleming
July 21, 2009 at 10:12 p.m.
Tonight's Obsession: Bill Shannon
Performance artist Bill Shannon was born with a degenerative hip condition that keeps him on crutches because his legs cannot support his weight properly. I don't know what most people do to manage this condition otherwise (something like 1 in 1200 kids are born with something similar) but Shannon, despite living with more or less constant pain, got creative. He explains his condition in relation to his art here.
It reminds me a little of how Malcolm Gladwell talks about 10,000 hours of practice at something will make you truly expert. I'm pretty sure Bill Shannon's 10K hours went to becoming a badass on a skateboard and some modified crutches.
A short sort of biographical video, but featuring plenty of him performing:
An ad he did for VISA in Britain:
An single-take RJD2 video:
He apparently does other kinds of art besides the stuff involving his movement. His website is here.
Comments
Lawrence.com does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy.
chewyfally (Falestine Afani Ruzik) says…
Nifty!