Biography of Complaint
Who has civil rights and how are they enforced?
If you had a health issue that prevented you from getting a job or barred you from returning to school, what would you do?
Who would be safe to tell?
Would you have the individual means to file a complaint, or is there an organization or resources prebuilt to assist you?
How would you come up with the words to describe what happened to you if you are unable to recognize your story in print?
This year at Art in Odd Places, New Yorkers will be able to get in on the act and play a part in the performance of equity and inclusion with Leopoldo Bloom’s Biography of Complaint. If you are having a hard time finding the correct form or the right words to briefly condense your negative experiences into a proper complaint template, join Bloom outside of the Apple store on West 14th street.
Art in Odd Places
September 23 : 7-9pm, September 24 1-3pm 7-9pm , September 25 2-8pm
West 14 th and 9th avenue New York City
On May 22, 2019 7pm at ITINERANT hosted at Smack Mellon and Curated by Hector Canonge. I will present #BIOGRAPHYofCOMPLAINT a live-art and online project that surveys the performatory nature of civil rights laws and institutional diversity measures. The venture is inspired by the writings of Sara Ahmed and the artist’s experience of academic gaslighting, after he reported bullying in graduate school.
In #BIOGRAPHYofCOMPLAINT Leopoldo Bloom will assist New Yorkers with filling out local city civil rights complaints. Performing as a scribe, he will assist members of the public with placing their story into a recognized complaint template.
Complaining for your Civil Right$
Leopoldo Bloom will premier his performative book project, Complaining for your Civil Right$, in this year’s latest evenings of social and civic engagement at Panoply Performance Laboratory. Based on his recent experience of academic gaslighting at Arizona State University’s School of Art, Leopoldo Bloom will scribe audience members’ civil rights complaints. After partaking in the purely performative role that civil rights complaint forms serve, Leopoldo will organize people in filling out their neighbors or own complaint forms. Inspired by Linda Montano’s Life as Art body of performance work, Complaining for your Civil Right$ participates in a practice that encourages art viewers to abandon their passive role as readers and bring their own narratives to the light of day.
Civic Reflex/Reflejo Civico 2018 Session #3 of 5
September 29, 2018 @ 8 pm
Panoply Performance Laboratory
Leopoldo Bloom 