Media vans came to a cool stop. In the noon heat, the Elliman Park’s Artists stood as a wall before the protesters outside Ms. Arnoux’s apartment on the Lower West Side.
Signs reading, “Painters =/= Printers!”, “Support Skill!”, and “Say No To Synthetic Aesthetics!” peppered the crowd. Dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, Mari’s own understudy danced a pas de deux with her sometimes-boyfriend.
A man whose facial features could have been lifted from the city’s art deco motifs perched, center stoop, conducting his friends like a silent orchestra. Most wore stony expressions. Only a young Japanese man, and the famous dancer Kate Barkatt smiled: his like a martyr, hers like a satisfied cat.
Olivia primped her makeup, catching her camera man’s eye in the small mirror. A single nod, and he moved into position.
The crowd chanted louder as the maroon sedan arrived.
With a hand gesture, from the man on the stoop, Mari’s dearest rivals and closest friends systematically marched into the throng, constructing a choreographed corridor for the dancer and her assistant to escape through. She paused for an instant before stepping inside. Only when the target of the protest was out of earshot did the severe looking man on the stoop allow himself a contemptuous snarl. Ushering the others inside, he locked the door behind him.
Olivia’s camera man caught it all. The drone of her voice filled his ears as he filmed. Her movements were intentionally smooth, but it felt like she was trying too hard so he focused tighter on her face. “Marianna Arnoux, framed dancer of the Manhattan School of Fine Arts, returned home today after a successful download into a customized synthetic body.
“The latest artist to become fully synthetic, Ms. Arnoux has received intense criticism as unimprinted artists continue to argue for the exclusion of sims and downloaders from The Fine Arts Trust. Today, Ms. Arnoux’s understudy, Rachel Sterling, performed a piece challenging the assumption that art can continue to be art after nature is completely removed, and questioning the right of man to ‘play god’.
“When asked why she would undergo a procedure that alters the instrument of her creativity, neither Ms. Arnoux, nor her Assistant offered any comment.
“This comes on the heels of the Fine Arts Trust’s decision to allow Imprinted Artists to compete for funds on a national level.”
The camera man continued to film, but mentally switched off the earpiece. He also muted the crowd. He was sure if he had to listen to another word of muckraking, there was a chance he was going to throw his camera at her.
He kept his eyes fixed, and counted the seconds until the story wrapped and he could escape this forced mirror of an existential crisis.