ence) a pervasive belief that pluralism isnIt, a truly giant achievement of late 20thcenturynman, there can no longer be anynoutsiders at large in our society. Thatnmay seem to be a rather comprehensivenand therefore heady statement, but thenbacking evidence is as painful as it isnobvious. Consider, for example, the casenof those persons with communicablendiseases. Once upon a time they werenheld off not merely at arm’s length, butnwere placed in quarantine. One of thenmost widespread, well known, virulentndiseases about today is AIDS. Initially,npeople reacted strongly—and in somencases overreacted—^to the merest hint ofnAIDS. But even before the virus behind itnwas isolated and announced (and it wasnrepeatedly stated that a cure is still yearsnaway), reports emerged from San Francisconand other locations that indicatednthat pre-AIDS lifestyles weren’t simplynbeing returned to, but embraced with anvengeance. Drug abuse is another formnof disease. In an earlier time, addictsnwere isolated from or kept at the marginsnof society; now, statistics indicate thatnthose who don’t partake of a narcotic innone form or another are more rare thannthose who do. Because of this status quo,nthe “artist” who is more concerned withncutting a figure than with creatingngenuine art finds himself in a veryndiificult position since there now seemsnto be no clearly drawn line that one cannbe beyond. Still, there are those whonpush beyond even imaginary boundariesnand, what is more pathetic/disgusting, anmodem, with-it claque that feels that it’snits duty not to praise the finer endeavorsnof creative man (an ancient, conventionalntask), but to celebrate the weird:n”Let a thousand turnips tick!”nConsider the activities of one ChrisnBurden, a man whose “work” (alongnwith that of Vito Hannibal Acconci,nLaurie Anderson, and Nam June Paik) isncentral to The Art of Performance: AnCritical Anthology, edited by GregorynBattcock and Robert Nickas (E. P.nDutton; New York), a collection that is innno way critical of the so-called art, butnwhich brings together shivers of excitementnand shouts of praise. One of Burden’snworks is Pive-Day Locker Piece,nwhich was executed at the University ofnCalifornia-Irvine during a five-day periodnin April 1971. Burden had himselfnlocked into a 2 x 2 x 3-foot locker duringnthat time. Later that year, in a gallery,nBivdcndiAPreludeto220, or/70; it wasnpreceded by Shout Piece, during whichnhe shouted obscenities at gallery patrons.nAbout Prelude to 220, Burdennsaid, “I was strapped to the floor withncopper bands bolted into the concrete.nTwo buckets of water with 110 [volt]nlines submerged in them were placednnear me.” He added, “People were angrynwith me for the Shout Piece, so in 1101npresented them with an opportunity in ansacrificial situation.” Not only did nonone—^accidentally or otherwise—causenBurden to be electrocuted, but threenothers joined him for 22Q during whichnthey opened themselves up to death bynnnINCHARDI fnNine Novels by J. Inchardin$13 each novelnAn American TrilogynLines On The DeathnOf A FishermannThree Jews In A TubnDreamshipnAn Allegorical TrilogynYurrosnA Paper ToynIntercursenA Demonic TrilogynJehovah MafiosonSaturn MarunDrek Shlaknp. Order from Sirius Books %nf P.O. Box 177 ^n% Freeport, Maine 04032 fnS?|(L^ll^OX(y’t^w^«jSl^^|^0;S^^”^ fOl^inelectrified water. Other pieces hadnBurden shoving live wires into his chestn(a short circuit saved him), draggingnhimself, while semi-nude, across 50-feetnof broken glass, and having his body usednfor target practice.n131nAugust 1984n