Francis Alys

Francis Alys is an artist I learned about somewhat accidentally during the course of this assignment. I had been researching his paintings for another class when I came across his work in book arts and performance!

His books (none of which I've read yet) are narratives of performances but utilize a wide range of media, which I'm immensely interested in doing in my own art.

I've researched him quite a bit and there are some specific pieces that I found fascinating:

•  he stopped in a crowded area and stared at the sky until a crowd gathered around him, wondering what he was looking at
• he traveled around the world looking for his "doppelgangers" or people that reminded him of himself (physically, I think) and photographed them usually from behind
• he has used a fox, a mouse, and a peacock, all in different art "installations"

I find his documentation technique really interesting and will be reconsidering some aspects of my documentation. 

image from Alys' Doppelganger series

video of him pushing a block of ice around

Question for consideration:
What is the difference between making art and just doing something kind of strange?