Laurie Anderson Delivers Life Lessons During Brooklyn Performance Art Procession
Laurie Anderson took part in the Brooklyn event Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi on September 19, where she shared three life rules she had developed with Lou Reed. The guidance included not fearing anyone, using a strong lie detector, and showing tenderness. During the piece, Anderson used her body as electronic percussion and spoke about addressing anger by looking beneath it, while the larger project featured 40 buffalo puppets and numerous artists and community participants.
Anderson appeared at the September 19 Brooklyn procession, where she repeated three guidelines she and Lou Reed had shaped: fear no one, cultivate a reliable nonsense detector, and remain gentle. She had offered similar versions before, notably when Reed was posthumously welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
Her set also transformed her torso and limbs into electronic drums, echoing her 1986 sensor-equipped "Drum Dance." She asked listeners to examine anger's source, citing a Buddhist teacher who traced it to a wounded heart. The broader two-day project, created by Amir Nizar Zuabi with Lenape and Lakota elders, sent forty buffalo puppets through Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with many artists and community groups.
The piece may resonate with live audiences and online viewers by turning personal grief and public anger into shared reflection. Artists and community participants could see renewed interest in large-scale, collaborative processions that blend Indigenous-led symbolism with performance. For some, Anderson's rules may offer a simple framework for tenderness and discernment in daily life, though the effect is likely modest and depends on how widely the clip circulates.