Sitting and Smiling

On February 24, 2019, after reaching 300 Sitting and Smiling videos, Bennett began a new video series entitled Walking and Talking, in which he walks and talks continuously for four hours, or until his camera battery runs out. He speaks extemporaneously and reflexively, describing his subjective experience in real time, with subjects such as philosophy of mind, consciousness, and nonduality arising out of his self-reflection.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwA_wYpXyXg|title=Walking and Talking #85|publisher=Benjamin Bennett|website=YouTube|time=0:00:00|date=26 August 2021|accessdate=31 August 2021}}

During the fifth stream, a burglar entered Bennett's home. After opening the door to Bennett's room, the burglar said, "Hello?" and then proceeded to shut the door and leave. This incident stacked attention online, and the video has over 8.4 million views.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrXakd_r6I|title=Sitting and Smiling #5|publisher=Benjamin Bennett|website=YouTube|time=2:36:30|date=25 November 2014|accessdate=7 September 2024}}

In a separate incident in his 52nd livestream, Bennett clearly urinates himself, with a wet puddle seeping out from under him and gradually evaporating over the remainder of the footage. He never acknowledges this or breaks his composure and continues to sit and smile at the camera.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ5UHyYYoQY|title=Sitting and Smiling #52|publisher=Benjamin Bennett|website=YouTube|time=2:47:00|date=20 February 2015|accessdate=7 September 2024}}

During streams 238{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Benjamin |title=Sitting and Smiling #238 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMLXmAqXcOw |website=YouTube |access-date=7 September 2024 |date=18 October 2016}} and 257,{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Benjamin |title=Sitting and Smiling #257 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPL_MRwi4K8 |website=YouTube |access-date=7 September 2024 |date=6 March 2017}} Bennett spontaneously bursts into tears several times, briefly losing composure.

{{Quote box

| width = 30.0em

| quote = "There isn't a purpose. My inbox is full of people asking me why I'm doing this, but I don't think that question applies to this type of activity."

| author = Benjamin Bennett

| source = 2015 interview with Vice Media

}}

One reviewer commented, "One of the strangest aspects of this project is its apparent lack of explanation."{{cite web|last1=Rutherford-Morrison|first1=Lara|title=This Man Sits, Smiles, And Stares At You For Four Hours, Creating A Black Hole Of Existential Angst (Enjoy!) |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/59607-this-man-sits-smiles-and-stares-at-you-for-four-hours-creating-a-black-hole-of|accessdate=17 February 2017|date=20 January 2015}}

Other reviewers said that the performance was "bizarre",{{cite web|last1=Tickle|first1=Glen|title=Artist Benjamin Bennett Films Himself Sitting and Smiling for Hours at a Time in His Series 'Sitting and Smiling'|url=http://laughingsquid.com/artist-benjamin-bennett-films-himself-sitting-and-smiling-for-hours-at-a-time-in-his-series-sitting-and-smiling/|website=Laughing Squid|accessdate=17 February 2017|date=20 January 2015}} "tip of the creepy iceberg",{{cite web|last1=Parra|first1=Sara|title=Sitting and Smiling is Just the Tip of the Creepy Internet Iceberg |url=http://newmediarockstars.com/2015/01/sitting-and-smiling-is-just-the-tip-of-the-creepy-internet-iceberg/|website=New Media Rockstars|date=19 January 2015}} and "bonkers".{{cite web|last1=Reilly|first1=Nicholas|title=This man is filming himself smiling for four hours a day|url=http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/23/this-man-is-filming-himself-smiling-for-four-hours-a-day-5033965/|website=Metro|date=23 January 2015}}

Timothy Kennett of The Atlantic wrote:

{{blockquote|Sitting and Smiling is, therefore, an extreme version of engagement with the present. It takes concepts like mindfulness (it is perhaps not coincidental that Bennett's cross-legged pose recalls the stance of meditation), attention to the present, and discomfort with the speed and busyness of modern life and pushes them until they are unpleasant, even unbearable. ...By making the videos borderline unwatchable, Bennett suggests that experiencing time in a way that is unmediated, focused, and 'real' is impossible. But, of course, Bennett manages it, smiling the whole time.{{cite web|last1=Kennett|first1=Timothy|title=Art That Makes You Experience the Pain of Passing Time|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/slow-tv-and-the-excruciating-present/386665/|website=The Atlantic|accessdate=31 August 2021|date=6 March 2015}}}}

• 2 Hours Doing Nothing

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{YouTube|c=UCqW54i24PGw1q7IxciRmgTA|Benjamin Bennett}}

Category:Endurance art performances

Category:2010s YouTube series