Laurie Anderson Shares Three Rules for Life with Striking Performance Art Piece

Laurie Anderson delivered a striking combination of life advice and electronic performance art during Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi in Brooklyn earlier this month, and a clip of the moment has since begun making the rounds online.

During the September 19th procession through Downtown Brooklyn, Anderson revisited three rules for living that she developed with her late husband, Lou Reed: “Don’t be afraid of anybody.” Second, “Get a really good bullshit detector and learn how to use it.” And finally, “Be really tender.” Anderson has shared versions of the rules for years, including while accepting Reed’s posthumous induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

During the performance, Anderson turned her own body into an instrument, striking her chest and limbs as booming electronic percussion punctuated her words. The technique recalled her 1986 “Drum Dance,” in which Anderson wore a suit embedded with sensors that triggered different sounds depending on where she tapped her body.

She then brought attention to the anger she sees around her today, urging the crowd to look beneath it rather than simply react. Invoking the teachings of a Buddhist teacher, Anderson suggested that getting to the root of someone’s anger will ultimately lead to the same place: a broken heart.
“So many people are so angry these days,” she said, before encouraging the audience to “try to understand this anger” and get to the bottom of it.

Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi was a two-day public art project that sent 40 life-size buffalo puppets through Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn alongside musicians, actors, dancers, poets, tribal elders, and community groups. The project was created by Amir Nizar Zuabi in partnership with Elders from the Lenape and Lakota Tribes, and used the buffalo’s return from near extinction as a symbol of healing, resilience, and renewal. Rhiannon Giddens, Haley Heynderickx, Max García Conover, Sam Waterston, Susan Sarandon, Rosario Dawson, and others were also among the featured participants.