HORSE AND HOLE, 2025 8” x 10” hole/frame in wall, Horse, Handler

In November, 2025, I cut an 8” x 10” frame/hole into the wall of my studio which abutted a loading dock. On November 10th, I hired and staged a horse just outside. The work lasted around 45 minutes. The Horse’s name is Bens and his handler’s name is Pam. HORSE AND HOLE was inspired in part by Marilyn Monroe’s excruciating performance in John Huston’s 1961 film The Misfits. In response to the revelation that rather than tame the horses, the men in the film are selling them for slaughter, Monroe, dotting the horizon of Huston’s long shot, screams in anguish “Killers! Murderers! You're liars! All of you, liars! You're only happy when you can see something die!Why don't you kill yourselves and be happy?!” The Bureau of Land Management recently legalized the slaughtering of wild horses for money, some for as little as $28.

Work in Progress. Re-performance of Monroe’s scream at “Misfits Flat”, September, 2026