Who is John O’Donnell and why go check out Weird Music Night happening at Satellite Art Show?
When you think of Satellite Art Show you find a group of creatives that seem to be from a fairytale of fantastic creatures. People spiraling from all places set the mood for a breathtaking landscape to experience art. John O’Donnell who is curating Miami’s Weird Music Night happening at Satellite Art Show at 700 Lincoln Road tonight, Thursday, December 5, hopped on to The Jitney as we got to know a little about his own art practice that stretches you to travel into a continuum that is boundless.
What made you start Weird Music Night?
John O’Donnell: “Weird Music Night” is a monthly event that started at Ely Center of Contemporary Art. The focus is on sound based experiments and performance and puppetry that is activated by sound. Most people in attendance are performers/musicians/puppeteers.
The concept is inspired by the diverse punk scenes of the 1980’s and the mythology surrounding Japanese noise music.
We know you have gathered some Miami locals to collaborate on your “Weird Music Night” with other members from across the globe. I wanted to share with our audience some facts about your lineup and the event starts promptly at 8pm. We know one of your performers Girl Heaven recently performed at III Points, but also had a glorious performance under a bridge with a small gathering. Rat Bastard is a legend in Miami, he is not just known for his guitar he is the Noise King and he created the International Noise conference which happens in Miami every February. Other acts we are excited to see are The Party Avenger and if you know then you know, but if you don’t know you better come to find out. You can also expect Performances by Rick Guerre, Kevorkian, Pocket Of Lollipops, Black-Metal-Pac-Man, Skull Tower 4E plus I heard a few surprises for the Thursday Dec 5, Satellite after party could pop off at any moment. Well enough about Thursday I have another question. We have looked at your other projects and performances. Can you narrow down what someone should expect, can you talk about some of the characters?
John O’Donnell (aka Pervert Savant) is a multidisciplinary performance artist and curator whose work explores themes of absurdity, consumerism, and cultural symbolism. Based in Connecticut, O’Donnell’s practice spans performance, installation, and visual art, often blending humor with critical commentary on contemporary pop culture. Drawing inspiration from Dada and Surrealism, his performances—like the upcoming Filet Minion: Banana Horse Meat—use ritualistic actions and iconic imagery to critique how we engage with and assign meaning to mass-produced symbols.
This ambiguity is central to his artistic vision. Rather than delivering a specific message, O’Donnell’s work acts as a mirror to contemporary society, allowing viewers to project their own understandings and emotions onto it. His use of irony and perpetual innuendo creates a space where cultural critique coexists with humor and spectacle. This is evident in his performances, where he often embodies quirky, surreal characters that reference societal issues in exaggerated, cartoonish ways. By making his work accessible and playful, O’Donnell invites art enthusiasts and casual viewers to engage with his pieces, bridging the gap between high art and everyday entertainment.
This performance will be shared at Satellite Art Show.
Can you tell us how you prepare for one of your performances?
This performance project is a life’s work, it is about life, and it is about the performance of existing as an artist in a capitalist system. A reason I wanted to commit to such a long and intentional endeavor is because from my experience as an artist and an art educator, I have witnessed dozens of artists dabble in performance and not commit to it long enough the yield the intellectual and cathartic results they anticipated. I wanted to commit to the life of an artist, I wanted to live a new life span as a reflective and thoughtful artist who followed vision with actions, who designed a path, who embarked on a journey and learned about myself along the way. I wanted to prove that I was serious about performance art and to oddly “stand up for what I believe in” which is living an examined, creative, and intentional life guided by an ethos of my own design. Of course, my design is an amalgam of things I have read, seen, heard, and lived.
