Bill Shannon, after he was escorted off the Wyndham Hotel property.
The waters weren’t running smoothly this morning at Three Rivers Arts Festival/CREATE 2015. Resident Pittsburgh genius Bill Shannon showed up at the Wyndham Grand Hotel lobby at 8 a.m. to begin a scheduled pop-up performance in the lobby. Deliberately dressed in a clownish way — checked pants and top, bowler hat, black-rimmed glasses and canvas boots with hard yellow toe overlay, the Crutchmaster began attracting attention.
He blew an air horn while pushing a squeaky red shopping cart. Eventually a man dressed in a suit came up to tell him to stop. Thinking him a rude heckler, Bill engaged back. But it was the manager of the hotel and soon law enforcement officers were involved.
Little did they know that Bill had exhibited at the Tate Liverpool Museum and the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., had spoken at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had created for Cirque du Soleil and much, much more all over the world.
He was there to perform for CREATE 2015, a technology and arts festival that is a festival within a festival. Very forward-thinking — check it out. It’s a festival within a festival, that being the Three Rivers Arts Festival, also a must-see.
To keep the story short, Bill was escorted across the street from the Wyndham property by three officers, cart squeaking the whole time.
Cornelius Henke with fractured mask showing Bill Shannon.
But his mates were still able to walk around the mezzanine with a companion piece, a collaborative art/tech creation. Australian Jack Hodges wore a “mask” of sorts, with duck-taped cell phones, maybe a battery (I’m no techie), and a half dozen or so hollow dot screens forming a fractured face around his head. Actually Bill’s face was being projected on the multiple screens, so he was still “in the building.” Monroeville native Cornelius Henke, the mapper for the project, followed with a cord and electronic box, the tail to this “dragon,” you might say.
Bill is also scheduled for a 6 p.m. performance. Where? Right now that is subject to negotiation. Stay tuned and turn out.
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