Mark Leckey: The Long Tail

I am not sure how to categorize the performance/lecture I saw by Mark Leckey last week at the Abrons Arts Center on the Lower East Side. Based on an existing theory about the internet, the former Turner Prize winner begins explaining that his interest in the subject came about when he encountered a photo from 1929 of Felix the Cat surrounded by unidentifiable crude equipment, later determined to be things used during the first television broadcast, the first “picture on air.” After a brief demonstration of how that procedure worked, Leckey reflects and pontificates on the “Long Tail” theory in which the head represents mainstream culture and the tail is the sub-economic ignored rest of society. This was the norm for most of the 20th century, that is until the internet came to be. With programs like YouTube and Twitter the tail developed “head” qualities. “Stimergy” is a process of leaving a mark and now, one does not have to be rich or powerful in order to leave their mark, they just have to have access to the internet. It was a thought-provoking performance but I would be lying if I said I totally “got” all of it. Many of his tirades were over my head. But the overall gist was pretty cool and it certainly was a unique presentation with images, a chalkboard, and a large Felix the Cat figure meandering on the stage.