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Shia LaBeouf punches Oxford student in the face

Shia LaBeouf punches Oxford student in the face

Shia LaBeouf punches Oxford student in the face
22 February 2016

Shia LaBeouf is many things: actor, annoying facial hair grower and, as he would say himself, virtuoso artist.

Fresh from his last art installation, where he live streamed himself watching all his movies, last week Shia occupied a lift in Oxford University for 24 hours.

He was due to make an address at the Oxford Union and took the opportunity to stand in a lift for a really really long period of time because art (or someone pushed all the buttons and confused the mechanism).

When, long in the future, Shia is lying on his death bed clinging to his last few hours of life will he look back and think: “chuffed I spent that day in a lift in Oxford”?

The most interesting thing about it all though wasn’t Shia wasting time in a lift but when an eager young art student asked Shia to punch him in the face in the name of performance art.

This is how the conversation went:

"I’m a performance artist. Can you help me with completion of my next piece by punching me in the face?"

"Oh man, you want me to punch you in the face?" LaBeouf replied. "I don’t want to punch you very hard!"

The student told LaBeouf not to be a "p—y," but the actor continued to balk at the request.

"I don’t like doing it though…I just met you."

(It’s like listening to a conversation between Bowie and Warhol)

Eventually the actor relented and smashed the student in the face.

It’s not exactly Michelangelo’s Pietà but it’s definitely art, OK.  

If you fancy losing four hours of precious life then you can watch the highlights of Shia standing in a lift right here