Over the weekend, I went to arteBA, Buenos Aires’ contemporary art fair, to enjoy it and write about it for the Guardian (UK). Later Friday night, I saw a few bands at a club named “CBGB,” including this one:
Please note that while this wasn’t a part of arteBA it damn well could have been, as the kid is wearing a t-shirt bearing the likeness of the Bills/Cowboys Superbowl XXVII match up, smacking of both Modernism and Surrealism. For him, I’m sure it’s ‘hip’ and ‘ironic’ and ‘so culturally irrelevant as to be named culturally relevant,’ but for me it was just kind of awkward. And funny.
This kid could not have been older than 17, which would make me his senior by 11 years. For him, this Superbowl is so past and distant as to be completely irrelevant. Granted, when I was in high school, I started wearing those kinds of vintage shirts with ridiculous references that were totally foreign to me; obscurity was the point. And I’m sure it’s his, too.
I could discuss travel and globalization in the way that’s arguably been done to death (Korean theatre groups doing homages to Brad Pitt!, etc.) but what I really want to know is: where the hell did he get that shirt? How far has it traveled? How many people have worn it? When was the last time someone wore that shirt who saw the game?
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Despite the horror of doing so, say nothing of its questionable legality, I have an animalistic urge to make love to this t-shirt wearer on the 50-yard-line of Ralph Wilson Jr. Stadium.
Instead, I will just watch this video over and over and over and over … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU4m0k7e1To