http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.vozzella11sep11,0,5532959.story
The Baltimore Sun, THE TALK by Laura Vozzella
September 11, 2009
Sorry to say ...
Jilted lovers, cheated business partners, snubbed in-laws - SpoonPopkin wants them all to know she's sorry. Not that she wronged any of them herself. But she's sorry just the same.
The Baltimore performance artist will offer free "Apologies by Proxy" tomorrow, from noon to 2 p.m., on the sidewalk outside Minas Gallery on The Avenue during Hampdenfest.
ALSO at Station North Second Saturdays, Saturday September 11, 7- 8:30 pm, 120 West North Ave
"I sit down and I have a little table and signage," she said. "I wear a little lab coat so it's very official - professional apologist. And then they just lean in and tell me their story."
They have three minutes. (Popkin has a timer in case someone goes on too long, but she seldom needs it.) When the tale of injustice wraps up, Popkin says she's sorry.
"Apologies have been given by proxy," Popkin's promotional material says, "for boyfriends, for wives, for drama queen roommates, for schoolyard bullies, for parents, for sisters, for God, for the U.S. healthcare system, for bosses, for a dry cleaner slut" - long story, one that did require the timer - "for the NY art world, for landlords, for family businesses, for being lied to at work, for yourself."
"I'm sorry" helps, even when it doesn't come from the wrongdoer, Popkin said.
"They get very emotional," she said. "A lot of people cried. We hugged. I cried. And we had to stop for a while [in New York], because it's very intense. In four days, I gave out 100 apologies and I was completely drained."
