Youtube video- The Paint Ball Project day 26

Bilal greets his audience at about one o'clock in th e afternoon  with about 125 people logged on. He says about 36 people are doing "left action" turning the gun into the left corner of the space. He says that this action had come to be called "Virtual human shield" in the chat room. This prevents people from shooting at him. It had frustrated many people. Bilal says he will not interfere with the gun, whether it is pointed towards him or away. If it is just pressing the button, then it is part of the performance vs a coding trick, like the early days on the project when MIT students hacked the server and fired the paintball gun like a machine gun.

The action had reduced the rate of fire. The additional chat room activity Bilal describes as pleasant.

When he returns, he mentions it is abouit three in the afternoon. He notes he has gained a lot of weight. He found he was eating constantly perhaps from depression, as well as gaining weight from lack of exercise.

he also mentions that additonal paint balls would be delivered, with his supply running out.

When he returns he said that their is less firing and more chat and more of the virtual human shield or "turning left". He introduces a visitor, Beverly Nelson and found the performance online on Memorial day and said she entered a chat room for the first time and discovered she could turn the gun away from Bilal. She compliments me for his passion and endurance as he uses performance art "to make a statement". She thanks wafaa and those "clicking to the left." Bilal thanks her then chokes up. he clears his throat as he says "it is another act of the community" that warms his heart. "It gives me hope" He says then signs off until later in the day.

In the next segment, he continues interviewing Nelson. she brings him clean socks, M&M's and hot sauce. Nelson chuckles as she says she noticed he had one white sock and one black sock when she watched him via the internet. He says he hadn't noticed that he was wearing mis-matched socks. He notes how privacy has gone and he wants to call attention to that. As he signs off for the day, Bilal notes how happy he is "to be part of this community".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9Y9suPyOc

Youtube Video- The Paint Ball Project Day 25

Bilal greets his audience saying the volume of fire has been very heavy, and again, from global visitors. The biggest problem of the day was that the rapid rate of fire, with shots being fire sometimes less than a second apart,was the supply of paint balls had been almost exhausted. He had sent a friend to the paintball store to try and obtain more, his usual supplier having run out of stock.

Following up on the previous days report, he notes that thousands of rounds had been expended the previous day. He walks through the gallery space behind the camera and pans over the stacked boxes now empty of paintballs. Due to supply problem he considered switching to rubber or plastic balls. As he pans and moves we have a more complete sense of the gallery space, with the gun, the doorway into the yellow room and the computer monitor where he works. He notes that people(presumably online) mentioned that the camera on the gun had shifted so that the barrel was no longer centered. He demonstrates how he has turned the computer monitor so that he can see how the gun camera is aligned on the barrel. He then pans up and to the right so we can see his hand adjusting the gun camera. The gun is still moving and firing as he attempts the adjustment.


"There are people dedicated to moving the gun away to the left" says Bilal. "That is very heart touching" he says. he goes on to say that many people are participating with the chat room, and many are simply panning the gun but not firing. He says bye for now and the segment ends.

When the video resumes Bilal says it is Lunch time and he pans the camera over to a friend who introduces himself as MannCK Bartlett. Bartlett has brought him a lunch of a peanut butter chocolate shake and a Cobb salad. Bilal is noticeably brighter in mien when he has visitors in the gallery space. Bilal pauses the video to have lunch.

When the video resumes, bilal again has a more tense expression on his face. He is again framed against the gallery windows looking out onto the street. Due to the shortage of paint balls he says he had switched to rubber rounds. However, he had found a company in Illinois who had stepped in and would provide paintballs for the duration of the project. He thanks PMI for their donation of paintballs and CO2 for remaining 6(in fact it would be seven)days of the project. He thanks the community for this and he says he thinks the community thanks them(PMI) for this. With that he says good bye.



The second video for day twenty five begins with Bilal talking on a mobile phone. he says that he had been talking to the paint ball store and that they had no more yellow paint balls. He said they were down to a single case, but more would be coming the next day. Saying he would update us later, the brief segment ends.

When the video resumes he said PMI "did not come through". It said now he had to call another supplier now for the next days supply. He said tht PMI had called back and said "they could not support the project". He said they said it was not broader politics but internal policies due to a recent merger. Bilal has walked out of the yellow room, into the front area of the gallery and lifts his goggles, and shakes his head. The furrows of his brow and the squint of his eyes suggest great concern. He says he is both disappointed and appreciative of PMI's position. He groans as he rises from a sitting position. The sound of voices and the crack of paintballs being fired can be heard as he dials the other supplier. he is silent for a moment then says he is calling discount paint ball. However, it seems to take a long time to connect, and he apparently adjusts his phone volume. Finally, he announces himself into the phone. The conversation seems to have long pauses where Bilal seems to be on hold. Bilal says to the camera, as he waits, that he doesn't want to use the rubber balls because they are more painful and"bounce back". "yes! ok, ok, yeah, ok oh great!" Bilal asks if they will be able to ship them, as otherwise he will need volunteers to collect them. Bilal offers this synopsis "They located 20 cases of yellow 'paint'[balls] and mark talked to PMI who weren't going to donate it but would negotiate a better price."

Bilal zooms into his face as he says he hopes this will be sufficient paint to finish the project, and signs off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lklAAwy1dUQ&feature=related

questions- is this an art-game or game art?
How does this piece of performance art negotiate the line between spectacle and mundane performativity?----------->Webcam society/Rock band community- panopticon/

Compare- Doom, Domestic tension, Virtual Jihadi, Cremaster and "Shoot"