Shia LaBeouf Is Taking Your Phone Calls Now (Really)

Shia LaBeouf is nothing if not interesting and active. The actor is coming off a performance of watching all of his movies, in a row, for three straight days. That’s after he got popped for being drunk in public. Oh, and there’s this terrifying video. The point is: He does a lot of stuff, all the time. So it’s no surprise that for his latest piece, he’s stepping even further into the performance art world. Starting today, LaBeouf, along with collaborators Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner, are taking calls at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) in Liverpool. The purpose is a lofty one: to try to touch one of the artist’s souls. The project, entitled #TOUCHMYSOUL, will take place over four days and is broadcast live on the site. Accompanying the stream is a live-updating document with sentence fragments and other mysterious phrases. Per a Mashable article, the document seems to be partially transcribed calls. You can call LaBeouf (or Rönkkö & Turner) on (0)151 808 0771. #TOUCHMYSOUL is the opening act to the group exhibition Follow, which opens December 11 and closes February 21. The project seems akin to #IAMSORRY, the piece in which LaBeouf sat in a room and took visitors. In terms of performance art, sitting in a room and taking phone calls seems pretty low stress. As a loose commentary on authenticity, it’s a little less in-your-face than almost anything he’s done previously, but maybe he just needs a rest. Shia, for all his weirdness, seems like genuinely kind of an interesting weirdo in a way that people like James Franco can only aspire to.