‘Brancusi 'Est-ce un oiseau?'’

The story begins in October 1926. Bird in Space, the famous work created in 1923 by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși, arrives in the US for an exhibition and attracts the attention of customs officers. According to American law, a work of art isn’t subject to customs duty. The customs officers however, have not received much training in the different forms of contemporary art, and are convinced they are dealing with an object in the “kitchen utensil or hospital equipment” category and ask the artist to pay customs duty.

It is the starting point for a grotesque trial that Brâncuși brings against the American State. The case is conveyed as a performance, that uses irony to question the nature of a work of art based on arguments heard in court, and verbal or musical creations. ​​​​​​