THE
ACTIONS OF FRED FOREST
45
MEDIA EVENT / POLITCAL PERFORMANCE
FRED
FOREST FOR PRESIDENT OF BULGARIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION:
Make TV More Nervous and Utopian!
PUBLIC
CAMPAIGN IN URBAN SPACE AND MASS MEDIA, SOFIA, BULGARIA
2-9 OCTOBER 1992
With
the help of Bulgarian journalist Rossen Milev and the support opposition
forces hoping to destabilize the neo-communist regime in power and
push their country further along the path to democratization, the
artist mounts a farcical campaign for the presidency of Bulgarian
national television based on a platform calling for wide-ranging
reforms designed to bring about a more “utopian” and
“nervous” form of television in the formerly staunchly
Stalinist land. When the artist-candidate arrives in Sofia to begin
a barnstorming tour of the country, where he always appears wearing
his trademark rose-colored sunglasses, he causes quite a stir. People
begin to take his candidacy seriously; even his rival, the incumbent
Ognan Saparev, feels obliged to accept his challenge to take part
in a debate on live nationwide television. After a Dada-like electoral
motorcade through the streets of Sofia (a symbolic march on the
houses of parliament), the artist is pressured to leave the country
immediately—i.e., he is informed in no uncertain terms that
his presence is no longer welcome and that his personal safety can
no longer be guaranteed. The work is a stunning example of how artists
can increase their political leverage through tactical uses of the
mass media.
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