Pretty Lights’ visual show threw up a rather telling image this last weekend at Episodic Festival, essentially restricting totems from the view of the stage. A big jellyfish sign that was removed by security ended up being the catalyst for the message, and the artist’s lighting director had this to say about it in response to confusion and backlash after the event:
“Just to be clear since some people think it’s their right to be an inconsiderate douche. Your right to ‘self-expression’ has not been banned at our shows. We simply just want both our crew and our audience to be able to enjoy the show how they intended. We could have simply confiscated this stupid jellyfish but instead, we decided to have a little fun and prove a very simple point. Stand to the side dummies. Or I’m coming to your job with a giant sign that says fuck you and you can explain to your boss why some guy is interfering with your work.”
Totems are still in a gray area, with those in approval citing its use in helping friends find each other and expressing ones self, while those retracing from them say it causes people to miss out on the full audiovisual experience of an artist they waited so long to see. With an incident like this, we expect promoters to devise some kind of compromise for everyone to agree on.
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