by Jason Clay Lewis sent me an email yesterday announcing the newest bouncing bundle to his family: Tat Baby!
Actually, Jason, a fine and refined artist, calls his latest rubber creation — “Drill Baby” — but I like “Tat Baby” so much better because it upsets our social expectation of infant innocence and redefines our notion of ruination.
I can’t help but wonder if Real Dolls start out life in vinyl as Tat Babies.
The intention and purpose of any artistic endeavor — with a strong aesthetic — is to bring us into a new light for thinking while meting out a new way of seeing.
Is Tat Baby performance art? Sculpture? Web imagery?
Tat Baby is the essence of live performance: At first you’re shocked by recognition and then eased into revulsion; and then fascination sets in as your mind is set on a whirlwind test of values checking and morality monitoring — and that makes Jason Clay Lewis one of our most innovative stagers of thought we have reveling in our midst.
The tat baby is interesting in that ones initial reaction is shock — how can a person do that to a baby? Then you realize it’s not a real baby and think… what genius!
Yes, we are fooled by our first, judgmental, glance. Then we have to backtrack, and re-check, our initial, gut, reaction.