Sitting and Smiling is an endurance art performance by Benjamin Bennett. In a typical performance, Bennett looks into a video camera which is recording him while sitting and smiling motionless for four hours. Bennett uploaded his first "Sitting and Smiling" video on July 28, 2014. Over the next several years, he uploaded similar videos at a rate of about one per week. Currently, his videos have earned more than 20 million views with over 250.000 subscribers. Bennett cites Claire Bishop's 2012 Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship as an inspiration for his art.
Walking and Talking
On February 24 of 2019, after reaching 300 "Sitting and Smiling" videos, Bennett began a new video series entitled "Walking and Talking", where he walks around an area and speaks about a specific topic that is announced in the title of the video. Even though not all of these talking videos are around 4 hours, he wants to stay on this number with "Walking and Talking".
Incidents on stream
During the fifth installment of his stream, a burglar attempted to enter his home. When he was unable to open the door he said “Hello?” Then proceeds to close the door and leave. The incident generated attention online and the video currently has over 5 million views. In a separate incident in his 52nd livestream, Benjamin 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 to the camera. During streams 238 and 257, Benjamin cries intermittently during the stream. He does seem to break composure a bit and makes sounds while crying, but then returns to sitting and smiling.
One reviewer commented that "One of the strangest aspects of this project is its apparent lack of explanation." Other reviewers said that the performance was "bizarre", "tip of the creepy iceberg", and "bonkers". Bennett has received praise for preserving the mystery of his art by refusing any opportunity for interviews on the popular television showTosh.0.
