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Football Meets Performance Art In ‘Bull In The Ring’

Mention the term “performance art” and we’re likely to think of chicks in cloth sacks doing interpretative dance to Enya tracks. But a piece called “Bull In the Ring” by Queens-based artist Shaun El C. Leonardo is the kind of performance art we can tackle. Literally.

As a part of the (pause-worthy titled) show “Hard Targets: Masculinity & Sport” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (which also features Brian Jungen), “Bull In the Ring” replicates a football drill of the same name, wherein ten players circle another and randomly tackle the shit out of the artist in the middle. The drill’s been banned in the high school and college games, but Leonardo found ten California semi-pro players to tee off on him. We’re not sure what he’s trying to say with the piece, but we certainly admire Leonardo’s durability (and laugh heartily at his stupidity). Watch a video of the performance below…