Liane Balaban

Dry Humps & Humanity

The plan was for my gang to celebrate the new year with a Caribbean-themed party, and someone linked this vid in a group email, to get us revved up for the island-riddims.


Vybz Kartel (2006)

It made me think of something the playwright Edward Albee said last spring, in an interview at UCLA. An audience member asked what kind of art Mr. Albee likes. He said he likes art that is “useful.”

“Art is useful when it teaches you about yourself, consciousness, and gives you a fuller experience of life.”

Ok, so this vid is not art, nor is it useful, but it is funny.

But I am also interested in online videos that meet Mr. Albee’s criteria.

Therefore, I invite you to balance out the Vybz Kartel with Jill Bolte Taylor’s inspiring story about the stroke that allowed her to transcend her left brain. It occurs to me now that the euphoria she describes could be akin to what it feels like to be a teenaged superfan in the front row of a Vybz Kartel concert.


Jill Bolte Taylor, “My Stroke of Insight” (2008)

– Liane Balaban

Ryeberg Curator Bio

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Liane Balaban is an award-winning actor/performer based in Montreal. Feature credits include "Finding Joy," "Abroad," "Coach," "The Trotsky," "Last Chance Harvey," Gary Burns' "The Future is Now" opposite Paul Ahmarani, and "The Grand Seduction." She also co-starred with Vincent D'Onofrio in the short film "The New Tenants," winner of an Academy Award.