Milan Kohout, "You Do Not Need to Keep Me in a Cage Anymore", Boston, USA, 2000.

3 months ago
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You Do Not Need to Keep Me in a Cage Anymore. South Station rail terminal, Boston USA. Public performance as part of an international art exchange program between Mobius artists and artists from Pula, Croatia, March 30, 2000 4 − 6 p.m.
Performance: Milan Kohout Videography: Jed Speare
Kohout stood inside a cage in the main hall of Boston’s largest railway station— South Station— during rush hour. The station was extremely busy with many businesspeople on their way home from their downtown offices. As they passed around the cage, Kohout addressed them. Using a wireless microphone, his voice was amplified by a speaker system.
In Kohout’s words:
“I talked to them in a serious, neutral voice, explaining why I was inside a cage. I stressed that my position was very painful but that I fully deserved it. I explained to them: ‘Once there was a reason to keep me inside this cage all the time because I was an unreasonable critic of the capitalist system.’ Then I told them: ‘That time is over, and now I want to win your trust because I have accepted the capitalist market system and recognize that system to be the best one in the history of humankind.’ I repeatedly asked for their forgiveness for my past stupidity. I asked them to let me be free, truthful, and honest, just as they were.”
Camera: Jed Speare

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