10 Days
Stuart Brisley
British, born 1933
1978
A 51-minute color video (transferred from 16mm film) documenting Stuart Brisley’s ten‑day durational performance in which he staged himself at a long banquet‑like table and used food waste and his body to test ideas of labor, ritual, and decay.
A low, paneled white table runs straight toward the viewer, its surface scored into repeated squares and punctuated by dusty, decomposing heaps of fruit peels and kitchen detritus, with a solitary figure sitting at the far end — an austere, forensic scene that feels both ceremonial and forensic.
Rooted in late‑1970s performance and video practice, the piece helped push art away from objecthood toward durational action and everyday materials, using bodily presence and decay to question work, consumption, and social ritual.
Medium
16mm film transferred to video (color, sound)
Dimensions
51:23 min.
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of the artist in honor of Barbara London
Accession
875.2013
Palette
Exhibitions
