YES, BUT IS IT REALLY ART?
According to David St. Hubbins, lead singer with Spinal Tap, "There's a fine line between stupid and clever." There's also a fine line between Art and Crap - unless the Art is actually constructed from crap.

Tomoko Takahashi is a Japanese artist living in Cardiff, Wales. And according to a report in the UK's Daily Telegraph (10/26/05), in an effort to produce a masterpiece of artistic creation, she managed to convince the Cardiff Arts Council to supply her with some $8000 to create a performance at a local arts center.

The act - if that's the right word - was to spend three hours walking across a plank of wood while drinking beer, the aim being to see how long she could do this before falling over smashed out of her tiny brain.

Following criticism from local council members (no, really?) a representative of the arts center said "This wasn't just about a woman drinking a lot of beer. This was a powerful piece of art."

Er, no. It was, in fact, about a woman drinking a lot of beer. And if this is Art, there are millions of artists in the country who regularly perform a similar piece every weekend as they leave the local bars. And they don't get a $8000 grant to do it.

But should any arts committee be looking to see a unique performance piece where a man drinks Starbucks coffee for a whole day with a view to seeing how long it is before he throws up, please send an e-mail to the Bystander and he'll be glad to help.