Student remembers brother's death in "17 Minutes"

An article distributed by the Associated Press looks at a project titled "17 minutes" by performance artist Chris Barr, a graduate student in fine arts, that remembers his brother's suicide three years ago, and draws attention to the frequency with which people commit suicide -- every 17 minutes. The article quotes Caroline Koebel, assistant professor of media study, who says "By symbolically repeating his brother's fall to earth, the artist conjures the suspended present; he returns to the irrepressible moment of the deceased's last breath. Chris doubles his brother. His action expresses the desire for the power to resuscitate the one he has lost and, conversely, his acceptance of his loss -- contradictory states that only an artwork such as '17 minutes' can encompass." The article was picked up by a number of outlets around the state, including Newsday.