Interior Semiotics
Part of a series on Hipster. [View Related Entries]
Warning: This page contains material that may be considered not safe for work.
About
Interior Semiotics is a video depicting a female art school student engaging in a bizarre performance in which she opens a can of expired Spaghetti-Os, rubbing them on her shirt, and proceeding to finger herself and urinate in a can. Due to the prominent display of hipsters watching the performance, the video quickly became an example of the ridiculousness of hipster culture.
Origin

The original performance took place on March 27th, 2010 at a art house named Forever(21).[1] The event was organized by members of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Multicultural Student Association.[2] Featuring works by several artists, the main fixture of the night was a performance by Natacha Stolz entitled “Interior Semiotics.” this performance art piece was largely nihilistic in nature. A video of the performance was uploaded to YouTube on May 8th, 2010.
The Performance
The video starts out with Stolz using a manual can opener to open a can of expired Spaghetti-Os. It takes her two minutes to do so because she has trouble using the can opener. Once it is open, she pours the black Spaghetti-Os into a pot and adds water, followed by recitation of a nihilistic poem:
“Everything is shit. We apply meaning, value, and worth to the shit surrounding us. We live by this meaning and by our words. We live by worth and apply value, but everything is shit.”
She repeats her words backwards in monosyllabic form while rubbing the black Spaghetti-Os onto her shirt. Stolz then cuts open her denim leggings, putting her dirty fingers into her vagina, expelling vaginal discharge.
As the camera turns away, Stolz urinates into the empty can of Spaghetti-Os sitting on a platform Finally, she takes off her shirt with her bloody and dirty hands, wipes up the mess, and exits the room.
Spread
During the week of August 1st, 2010, the video was shared on 4chan. The performance elicited extreme responses, from threats of violence against hipsters in general to threats against Stolz herself. However, accumulated over 200,000 views in 48 hours that week. By the second week of August 2010, the view count had reached nearly 350,000 views.

On August 4th, 2010, the video was posted on Buzzfeed[3], Hipster Runoff’s Tumblr[4], and Reddit.[5] Later that week, it reached I Am Bored[6], Hipster Runoff’s main site[7], and The Elitist[8]
As the video spread, Stolz’s personal information was revealed, including her Facebook[9] account, phone number, home address, college, and website[10]. Several 4chan users added her on Facebook and leaked dozens of her personal photos. Soon after, the video description was updated and Stolz’s name was changed to Gabbi Colette, leading to a fake Facebook[11] profile Stolz created.
Notable Examples
Reaction Videos
Due to the controversial content of the video, several users have uploaded reaction videos:
Reaction Faces
Search Interest
Search for both “Interior Semiotics” and both names Stolz went by peaked in August 2010 but have been declining since.
External References
[1]Facebook – Forever(21) Event Page
[2]Facebook – MSA Group Page
[3]Buzzfeed – Hipster Expressionism [NSFW]
[4]Tumblr – Hipster Runoff
[5]Reddit – In front of a crowd of hipsters…
[6]I Am Bored – Interior Semiotics: Dumb Hipsters And Their `Art`
[7]Hipster Runoff – Totally Alt Performance Artist squirts Spaghettios out of her vagina
[8]The Elitist Magazine – Meme’in: Natacha Stolz Performance Art
[9]Facebook – Natacha Stolz
[11]Facebook – Gabbi Colette
Facebook Comments