Shia LaBeouf’s New Performance Art Is Already Making People Mad
The power of resistance shown at the global Women’s March against Donald Trump proves it is not the end of protests. Shia LaBeouf’s performance art project “He Will Not Divide Us” was formed as a means for “resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism.”
We’re all aware of LaBeouf’s outspoken character. The actor, who stared in Sia’s Elastic Heart music video and is commonly known for his roles in Even Stevens, Disturbia, Holes and Transformers, has taken a different route in recent years. LaBeouf’s current focus: performance art (which can be seen here) and it’s definitely as interesting as he is.
Since early 2014, LaBeouf has been collaborating with Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner to make public art pieces. These pieces include #TAKEMEANYWHERE (where the artists posted their coordinates online and waited for a ride), I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE (where LeBeouf wore a paper lunch bag on his head at the red carpet premiere), #METAMARATHON (where he ran 43 kilometres in purple leggings and hot pink sneakers) and more.
“He Will Not Divide Us” is his most recent project, and it has already got the buzz going.
Just two days into the project, which began on Trump’s Inauguration Day, LaBeouf was faced with conflict from a member of the public. A video was posted on Twitter Monday morning of LaBeouf shouting over a man who displayed support for Trump and white supremacy.
The footage from outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, shows the actor screaming at the man, who looked directly into the camera saying hateful things.
According to Indie Wire, hundreds of people, including actor Jaden Smith, joined LaBeouf on Inauguration Day, consistently chanting the key mantra, “He will not divide us.”
LaBeouf’s mission for his art project is to create a reminder of unity as Trump’s presidency lasts. For four years, a camera will be set up outside the museum to capture a livestream 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Members of the public are invited to stand for as long as they choose and chant “He will not divide us” as many times as they please.
Although LeBeouf’s project started alongside Trump’s presidency, the collaboration is actually meant to be “guided by the spirit of each individual participant and the community.”
This art project was off to a rocky start, but let’s hope the “optimism” catches on quickly.
