Artist starves to death as art piece

His genius praised post-mortem

By Chandler Walter, Humour Editor

Nathan Daniels has become a household name overnight, as the artist has made big waves in the community with his most recent—and final—work of art.

Daniels began working as an artist at a young age, drawing grand depictions of dinosaurs and clouds using nothing more than crayons at the age of 15. He then went on to study fine arts at Douglas College, graduating middle of his class, and holding a steadfast determination to make it as an artist. It was then that Daniels began his most exceptional piece of art work: a performance art piece depicting a starving, failed artist.

Daniels went so far with his endeavor that he would spend nights outside in the cold, beg for money on street corners, and attempt to sell small works of art for $5 apiece. No one knew that he was performing the role of a starving artist, and many tokens of these years have been preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A few of Daniels’ select friends were privy to the performance that was underway, such as Craig Jones, a fellow artist who graduated in the same class as Daniels.

“I thought it was really brave what he was doing,” Jones said of his late friend. “It was amazing to see such dedication to his craft. Even when I finally had the nerve to ask him about his work, he was determined to see it out to the end. He would tell me ‘I swear to god, Craig, this isn’t an art piece. I’m starving and need your help,’ and I appreciated that, in a way, I became part of the performance.”

“We all could see where he was ultimately going with his work,” Jones explained, “and it hurt us to allow him to see it through, but we serious artists know you must never tread on the genius of fellow artists. Hell, we even played into the performance, denying him a place to stay or a meal when he—sorry, his character—became truly desperate.”

Along with a few belongings and his old clothes, a journal has been preserved in the Metropolitan that Daniels wrote. It outlines the seriousness of his predicament, and how he was in no way starving as performance art.

“You really need to appreciate the brilliance behind it all,” said performance art expert Bradley Ports. “His performance art became so true, so vibrant, that it convinced even the artist that it was reality.”