Campfire: 90 Day Jane - Where is the Line Between Art and Real Life?

Posted by Steve Woolf on February 19, 2008 at 7:49am in Campfire Discussions

This week the campfire discussion is about the 90 Day Jane blog, which was a short-lived blog by a young woman who claimed that she was going to commit suicide in 90 days. It is no longer online, but we took these screenshots before it was taken down. The artist removed the blog because she felt it was too morally complicated to do a project about suicide. What do you think? Suicide is obviously a very serious subject -- do you feel we have to draw the line between art and real life?

Tags: 90dayjane, art, campfire, suicide

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Permalink Reply by James M. Cornett on February 21, 2008 at 3:06am: Might do a video on this later, but I doubt it.

I'm torn on this one, personally. Yes, on the one hand, there is some sort of line that defines art from reality. But then, isn't the point of art to challenge perceptions about otherwise ordinary events? Some of what is considered true art today (and I'm not talking the 80s crap, I mean from the 1800s and farther back) was risqué back then.

I think it depends on how it was set up. If there was some sort of disclaimer on the site saying it was an art project (I'm not sure I want to meet the art teacher who okayed this one), then I'd say no one has the right to complain. From the looks of it, though, it has a early LonelyGirl15-ish look, where the person's obviously in character trying to make it sound like they really do exist, and that's where the line is--tackling a controversial subject is alright, until you stop defining at exactly what point the art ends and the reality begins.

On a smaller note, I call bullshit on the sudden introduction of ethics the 'artist' now has. If she now claims it was morally complicated to complete the project, where exactly were her morals at when she started this thing to begin with?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michel Boucher on February 21, 2008 at 6:31am: > Some of what is considered true art today (and I'm not talking the 80s crap,
> I mean from the 1800s and farther back) was risqué back then.

There is a joke in Astérix et Cléopâtre where she is having her portrait done, a side view, naturally. Someone suggests that 3/4 face would be more flattering and the artist replies something to the effect that he does not do modern art.

Anything which shows change will cause a reaction. Some art shows change and therefore causes a reaction. However, there is also art which confirms and supports established notions. I am thinking particularly of various types of industrial and political art: art pompier, posters of the Cultural Revolution and those great debate scenes with Lenin.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by J. ech on February 21, 2008 at 8:40am: This form of performance art is quite controversial and yet not all that new. Maybe the way of portraying it, is. But it has been happening since the dawn of media. Back in the day Orson Welles broadcasted the invasion of Martians on Earth. Everybody freaked out even when they found out it was a hoax. I'm sure everyone has heard about this. The 90 day project s is the same: Art that's tinkering with people's minds. I think it's genius. The artist brought her audience into this realm and affected -or not people. She didn't hurt anybody, however, she shed some light onto the process which brings someone to take this gruesome decision.

The part of chickening out of it is what pissed me off. Can't stand the heat? Stay away from the kitchen in the first place! It got too big, she lost control of it (if she ever have any). It could of been a masterpiece.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SeT on February 21, 2008 at 2:24pm: I don't think people even know the difference between what is art and what is mentally disturbed nonsense. I guess I am old school in thinking that art is a painting , music , poetry or sculpture. Something tangible. Art is not telling the world you are going to kill yourself. That is stupid. Just do it and stop wasting my oxygen. And please stop referring to yourself as an artist if you pee on canvas or something. You are just a sick piece of garbage.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by west on February 22, 2008 at 1:30pm: ill say the same thing i said in the other discussion...
as our generation develops more and more the ideas of existentialism and mortality, the discussion of topics like atheism, death and suicide becomes very important. our time is one of questioning the nature of things and changing or examining those philosophies once considered taboo. the internet is a relatively safe medium on which to do this, so i say we need more people like Jane willing to express these concerns and bring them to the open forum.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Moka on February 22, 2008 at 3:05pm: This project disturbed me a bit too. And first before giving my view, I will share with you the questions it has risen on my mind : What do you call Art ? And, when do we know something is Art actually ? On which criteria ?
To me art is a mean to point out the failings of institutions, societies etc... And, it's there to make people think about them AND sometimes suggest solutions. It's for this last reason that I'll refuse to see this project as art. Let me explain exactly why, because from the beginning she couldn't control her topic which was suicide, putting this matter that way on a blog (many people these days have blogs and who knows how many are feeling empty ?), on one hand she is making us think about it, but on the other hand now that we know it was fake, she is creating way too much confusion on people's mind and carrying the "bomb" : "let's not care anymore" about those who may have a problem and very dark thoughts because after all it's possible that it's NOT real, just another "art" project. So, I think we definitely need to draw a line between art and real life, but this is not something that can be easily done for the simple reason that when an artist wants to create though he has his idea, he is never sure where his mind will lead him...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by west on February 22, 2008 at 3:56pm: I definitely agree with you that these kinds of projects do have the potential to downplay the seriousness of things like suicide, but i do think that this is art. Art to me is anything that gives you a new perspective or a new way of looking at the world. This can be a painting, a sculpture, music, or even writing. perhaps with the advent of the new digital age, a new art form has formed as well, that of the blog. Jane's writings certainly grant one a new perspective on the world, that of a person in uncontrollable despair who sees only one way out. i dont think this kind of thing is dangerous per se, because i think that there will not be too much desensitization on the topic, i dont think people will up and kill themselves because someone blogged about it. To some, art is real life, and it all depends on how you see reality.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ritalin on February 22, 2008 at 4:05pm: Find more videos like this on MIX; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jason_md2020 on February 23, 2008 at 8:37am: I already added this as a comment to the EPIC-FU blog but just in case you missed it:
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I think if this project was done in another format, (book, film, music) the topic wouldn't be so disturbing. But when placed as a blog, which for all practical purposes is an on-line public diary, the line blurs a bit. We've defined other forms of media by content. (Comics are fiction, Newspapers are fact, TV is boring...) The web however has no real content definition & people are still working out exactly what it is. Unless you come out & say point blank at the beginning THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION, people may not get the point, or buy into it too much.

As for the topic of suicide, any attention paid to the act, motives, or prevention of, is a good thing. No problem was ever solved by NOT talking about it.

(I outta know. I had vomiting induced at 18 to remove a bottle's worth of pills, when I got dumped by my girl & rejected by my college of choice on the same day...seems pretty stupid now considering.); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alex V. on February 23, 2008 at 2:55pm: There has been a lot of discussion here if the "90 day Jane" project can be considered art.

First of all, what is art? I think that art is an idea that the artist communicates to the world in order to share a piece of their soul, their mind, their experience, their outlook in relation to a subject.

And in that respect, I don't consider this project art. It's more like a social experiment, to test the reactions of people to the idea that in 90 days time somebody is going to commit suicide. If it was a book or a movie, everyone would've known that it was a piece of fiction and it could've been considered art. After all, there are books and movies out there that deal with this subject. But because it was a blog, that could've been a real person preparing to commit suicide. And that is not art, just as a serial killer isn't an artist because he kills people.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Caster on February 23, 2008 at 3:25pm: thats not funny... thats not even in the same zip code as funny... i really did not got the chance of visiting that blog... i think it really affect alot of people , did it? . . . i cant seem to understand the issue around here. . . well anyway if i will be something like suicidal i wont have the time posting something in the net. . . maybe Jane just has problems: what? its art,
maybe ; look into the bright side at least she did not kill herself. . .; ▶ Reply to This