The whole idea about the popcorn suit in Canal Park was Davin Heckman's.  I  loved it so much I wanted to include it in my senior project.  We decided to team up.

My project deals with the current state of religion and spirituality in America.  Rather than serving God or a Higher Reality, many practitioners of modern spirituality use religion to serve themselves.  Some hope to ease their consciences or achieve a "healthy balance" in their lives.  Some "dabble" in spirituality as a hobby.  Others seek it out to help them relax or give them a sense of peace or rejuvenation.  Still others recognize that affiliation with a religious group is a great way to meet people.

Even the most devoted and sincere of us, as a result of a great number of social and personal realities, are guilty of using religion in a self-serving manner.  We all want to be Saved, Enlightened, Freed, Fulfilled, etc., but because we're Americans, we generally don't want to put too much effort into it.

This is the situation I wish to address.

Basically, the performance consists of Davin lying in Canal Park wearing a suit covered with popcorn and allowing the seagulls to feed off him.  It's our "Americanized" adaptation of the Tibetan Sky Burial.

Robert Ekvall, author of Religious Observances in Tibet: Patterns and Function (1964), identifies the Tibetan Sky Burial as the "highest form of burial" among the Tibetan Buddhists.  He describes it as "disposal of the body in accordance with the precept of compassion toward all sentient beings...the flesh is fed to the vultures and even the bones are broken up so that this manifestation of charity may be complete" (85).

In the context of the Buddhist tradition, in which all of reality is recognized as impermanent and the self is considered ultimately non-existent, the Tibetan Sky Burial is a profound, generous, and philosophically sound practice.  However, Buddhist practice becomes meaningless when the participants are motivated by an obsessive self-interest.  According to Buddhist Thought, it is precisely our clinging to the self that is at the root of our suffering, and helping us overcome our mistaken notions of self is Buddhism's fundamental aim.

The American Sky Burial illustrates the disjunction that results when we seek transcendence, but are unwilling to commit ourselves to that search; when we want liberation, but are unable to stop clinging to things that enslave us.

Though, to a degree, the piece will visually parallel the Tibetan Sky Burial, it will otherwise contrast with that ceremony in every way.  Davin's performance will embody a non-sacrificial sacrifice (he offers nothing of himself nor anything of value), a selfish generosity (he gives the seagulls only very inexpensive nourishment, and does so only for his own personal fulfillment), and a banal profundity (he takes a rich and powerful rite and turns it into a very shallow public spectacle).

Davin and I felt popcorn would be an ideal symbol for the American Sky Burial because it's a cultural icon, and quintessentially American.  Its associations with entertainment and amusement are appropriate to the message of the piece.  Equally important to the work's meaning is its location.  The event is intended to be as much a spectacle and as "commercialized" as possible.  Placing the performance in Canal Park, a tourist spot and a public park, reinforces the themes of spirituality as recreation and spirituality for show.
 

A few months ago a friend asked, "What you're criticizing is the trivialization of spirituality--but isn't that exactly what you're doing with your project?"  It's a good question and I'm not exactly sure how to address it.  It's common practice in art and literature to exaggerate and magnify objectionable behaviors, making the flaws and inconsistencies associated with those behaviors more readily visible.  I believe the American Sky Burial effectively, and respectfully, uses the Tibetan Sky Burial to satirize the shallowness of America's engagement with spirituality.  I thought it would be clear to everyone the American Sky Burial is a parody of American pseudo-religiosity and is in no way intended to disrespect the Tibetan Sky burial nor any other legitimate religious or spiritual practice.  Even then, I suppose, there are more positive ways of making a social commentary than through parody.  I guess parody is just easier...and funnier.
 

Look at a few examples of Buddhism in Popular Culture.  If you're at all familiar with Buddhist philosophy, you'll be amused (or shocked) at the way it is represented commercially.

To learn more about the Tibetan Sky Burial, read "Witness to a Tibetan Sky-Burial," a field report by Pamela Logan.  Although it does not show an entirely accurate understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and the meaning behind the Tibetan burial ritual, it does provide a fascinating eye-witness account.