Not a joke: US artist to travel the country playing LOTRO while sealed in a crate

Justin Wayne Long hopes to learn about MMOs and post traumatic stress...or something

Words: Matt Bradford on June 22, 2011

US performance artist Jordan Wayne Long will soon attempt to answer one of mankind's most enduring questions; namely, what would happen to a dude who spends seven days sealed in a crate on the back of a truck playing nothing but Lord of the Rings Online.

The 'Box Shipment #2' project will begin on July 1st, and see Long transported for seven days from Bald Knob, Arkansas to Portland, Oregon, where he will emerge (red eyed and babbling incoherently, we suspect) to tell his tale at the Fourteen30Contemporary Art Gallery. According to Long, the performance art piece is one of a continuing series of human experiments designed to test the healing effects of MMOs – or more specifically, online communities - on post traumatic stress disorder.

Provided he figures out how to maintain a strong enough wi-fi signal, the journey will be documented via Long's Twitter account . Meanwhile, his friend and driver, Bradi Roberts, will be documenting the exploits of Long's in-game character Andawings on his main website.

Long's last Box Piece, otherwise known as the “How Long Can We Make Artsy Folks Talk Seriously About a Dude in a Box Fort” project took place back in April. Feel free to laugh along, or use big words to comment on man's persistent willingness to subjugate itself to suffocating societal parameters, below:

Jun 22, 2011

[Source: Jordan Wayne Long's blog via Kotaku]

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IHateMakingUserIDs - June 23, 2011 8:18 p.m.

So video games may or may not be art depending on who you ask. But sticking yuorself in a crate to play a game for 7 days is art? Not sure playing video games is more art then video games are art.
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MancisFrorkYorgan - June 22, 2011 7:41 p.m.

On behalf of GamesRadar's claustrophobic community, I would like to say: EEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.
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GringoStar - June 22, 2011 5:33 p.m.

@PimplesinYourAsstista It will be considered art when he's flipped around and tangled like a pretzel with all the wiring and such.
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PimplesInYourAsstista - June 22, 2011 5:31 p.m.

This is considered 'art'? Wut
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BlahJay - June 22, 2011 5:30 p.m.

What a great excuse to do what I basically do already. His crate is marginally larger than my room.
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DryvBy - June 23, 2011 7:12 a.m.

"Artist", huh? We need a new word for art, and crap. Oh, wait...
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Crypto140 - June 22, 2011 9:01 p.m.

Insted of trying to solve world hunger, he is doing this. God bless him. ReCAPTCHA: PHASE emeturp. I remember when I went though mine.
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GAYMER - June 22, 2011 7:38 p.m.

So, this is to test the healing effects of mmo's for post traumatic stress disorder. What a bunch of pretentious bull crap. If this guy really wanted to help veterans he should volunteer at a local VA or something, not play video games.
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erikslev - June 22, 2011 6:22 p.m.

Holy cow....I would go crazy after two days. Yea, where is he pooping? Does he have a feeding tube or a stock of power bars? I'm guessing he will be using a 4G Verizon card for signal. Either, more power to him...that is no easy task on the mind.
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Poffle - June 22, 2011 6:21 p.m.

Sounds like a David Blaine stunt.
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TomSJ3 - June 22, 2011 5:45 p.m.

@Gringostar I think he was referring to the guy in the article.. not himself
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z50macdaddy - June 22, 2011 5:43 p.m.

If he is in a create all day,then how does he use the bathroom? Adult Diapers possibly
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thecelticmandolin - June 22, 2011 5:37 p.m.

Wow..all that comes to mind from this is "make love not warcraft".
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GringoStar - June 22, 2011 5:30 p.m.

@Asljirk nice way to spam. You are the coolest thing since teen suicides. Anyway, back on topic, that seems to be a very tight fit...how does he go to the bathroom, does he have on those adult diapers or something?
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Jordo141 - June 22, 2011 5:29 p.m.

His parents must be so proud.
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db1331 - June 22, 2011 5:28 p.m.

Where is he going to poop? Also, it's going to get hot as hell in that box with that PC running non-stop.
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asljirk - June 22, 2011 5:27 p.m.

Depriving the world of firsts since 2011
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