GAWKER : Art school student Clayton Pettet says he’s held on to his anal virginity for the past 19 years, but he’s finally ready to lose it — and he wants to share his grand opening with the world. On January 25, 2014, Pettet, a second-year student at London’s Central Saint Martins art school (Jarvis Cocker went here!), is planning to exhibit a one-time-only performance art piece entitled “Art School Stole My Virginity,” which will involve Pettet and a friend engaging in safe anal sex on stage at an art space in the London Borough of Hackney.
He expects between 50 and 100 classmates and other members of the public to attend.
“The key thing about performance art is that it should only be performed once, and this is the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime performance,” Pettet told a local news agency.
The show will be followed by a Q&A wherein Pettet will ask the audience if they detect any change in his partner’s attitude toward him.
“Since culturally we do hold quite a lot of value to the idea of virginity I have decided to use mine and the loss of it to create a piece that I think will stimulate interesting debate and questions regarding the subject,” Pettet said.
Early “reviews” have been mostly negative, with one LGBT activist saying the stunt “cheapens our own sexual relationships.”
On his Tumblr blog (NSFW), Pettet responded in advance to criticism, calling virginity “a performance created by the species Human:Male.”
Though his parents are currently unaware of the performance, Pettet says he has told his teachers.
nice
Fucking HOT !! I’d love to watch ! I went there and things weren’t quite so exciting in my day !
(pulls up chair)
seems odd to call it art…exhibitionism definitely, but art?…not so sure about that…ever been to a backroom bar?…lots of guys have sex with an audience…this one’s just trying to get a passing grade with his…
p.s. he could really embarass himself…
I find it interesting because there is such a wide range of views on virginity and how it is either given or lost. Not to mention the views on sex and sexuality. Whether or not this is in good taste, it does raise some excellent questions which is something that art and artists should always strive to do.
The title should read ‘LOSE his virginity’ but wow hot young man!
Picasso said “The chief enemy of creativity is good sense”. Thankfully for us, Clayton Pettet has thrown his out the window to bring us this fine production. Once his parents learn that their £9,000/anal( opps! annum) tuition has been spent this way by their budding prodigy, they’ll be the envy of their social circle. Sadly, the article didn’t mention the name of his fellow thespian, rumour has it he’s a top man in his field, who is graciously supplying his endowment for the art to this project.
Though the programme is still in flux, there is talk of the obligatory charitable preview cocktail party to benefit the homeless hipsters who can’t afford ironic clothes. A cause close to the heart of the artist. During the preview, there will be a showing of his “Scat Series” parts 1&2. This will be accompanied by a short documentary film showing the inaugural clean out that formed its creation. In it, the artist consumes a vat of chili and a box of prunes and sprays his ass all over canvases spread out on the floor of his atelier. They show dark earth tones and strong patterns of impasto in his homage to Jackson Pollock. The second series formed by his next douche, show resolution of his ‘durm und strang’ as the watercolor tones of the first canvasses fade to a nearly pristine white on the last. That will be followed by a silent auction with a special prize. Rumors abound whether the Palace will send a representative to attend. The press is abuzz with speculation.
One can only imagine the beaming parents in the front row on their son’s “opening” night. His beaming father (That’s me lad!!) and his blushing Mum deflecting the jealous stares and comments of the other parents. There is much speculation about the piece…will there be a prelude of rimming? Will performance anxiety make his pucker so tight he needs poppers? So many unanswered questions! Once the deed is done, the winner of the silent auction from the previous night, will be able to felch the results. Will this lead to a snowballing among the actors? This anticipation is what makes live performances so thrilling. After the multiple curtain calls, there will be an artists Q&A. He will be joined by Nick Hytner, National Theatre chief, who will explain how ‘seminal’ works like this will singlehandedly revive the British stage. Following this there will be a public rally led by Maria Miller, Minister of Culture, to encourage more government funding for the arts to expand support for deserving young artist such Mr. Pettet. Support the fine arts by sending your cheques today. St. Martins is hoping the publicity from the BBC/PBS production will draw attention to the caliber of their school and fine students.
Of course, none of this would be possible without previous St. Martin alums like Jammie Nickolas. His art project, “Surplus” was exhibited at the Jealous Gallery in North London. Back in Feb. 2011, as a student he created a real perfume, “Surplus” where he distilled his piss, shit and body oils to create his masterwork. It sold for £40 each at the gallery. It even had citrus overtones. Rumor was he drank a lot of lemondrop martinis!. You can still Google “surplusperfume.com” to view his work. Considering it’s being a limited edition, it’s investment value is a sure thing. If it’s no longer available at the gallery, contact Soethbys or Christie’s to be notified of future auctions.
Ars longa, vita brevis!
Art, my ass.
And not his, either.
I lost mine to alien abduction………Damn, and there was nobody to see it! Shades of Yoko Ono and performance art. While I agree with BEHAIRY concerning Picasso’s statement, art can easily border on self parody. In the theater world, I hope he breaks a leg…..or in his case, busts his cherry!
@ Mattelboy: The proof you’re looking for is in the secret archives at Mansurfer under “alien anal probing”, but you didn’t hear it from me. Look to the skies…they always come back.
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom, and the enemy of growth” by JFK I say live outside of the box…go for it!!
If this absurdity flies, I’ll be applying to the NEA for a grant to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
… and I seriously doubt JFK was referring to getting fucked in front of an audience when he contested conformity.
@ Paris007: I’ve always lived an unconventional life, so I understand. After age 9, my parents treated me as an adult, at age 12 I had my own business, at 14 I paid my own way and travelled the world often by myself. By 18(adult age here), I was totally self supporting and played my own way through several private universities. My parents gave me freedom from an early age since I was responsible way beyond my years. They were wonderful people that could have easily paid for it all, but I did and still do treasure my independence.
Since Clayton hasn’t told his parents, I suspect they are paying the bills. At £9,000/yr(tuition only), Daddy can be the ‘jailor’ and expect some ‘conformity’. If Clayton doesn’t like that arrangement, he’s an adult and pay his own way. That includes living ‘outside the box’ otherwise known as Daddy’s house. He should have had the balls to warn his parents before posting or at least when it started to go viral. Imagine the joy when Daddy gets called into his bosses office and he spins the screen around and is asked about his son and his imminent ‘voluntary’ resignation. If Daddy has anything to say, I doubt this performance will ever take place…
Is this London in UK or Ontario? Would love to watch it live if it is in Ontario.
But I don’t know why some people still care about virginity so much now?