As you know by now, the fine folks at Creative Time have brought the torture-tastic waterboarding to Coney Island, via artist Steve Powers. Last weekend Powers and a trio of masochistic lawyers (is there any other kind?) upped the ante by submitting to actual waterboarding administered by a professional interrogator in a ski mask. No footage of that yet, but if you haven't made it over to see the animatronic "Waterboard Thrill Ride" yourself, here's some video (the Sesame Street theme music definitely ups the creepy factor). more ›

The artist behind that animatronic Waterboard Thrill Ride on Coney Island finally fulfilled his dream of making the simulation a reality last Friday night. A professional interrogator, Mike Ritz, wearing a black ski mask, black fatigues and combat boots, waterboarded Steve Powers and three lawyers for a small audience of invited guests (photo after the jump). Art Forum reports: "Ritz then stuffed a large black rag into Powers’s mouth, held the artist’s nose with one hand, and poured a steady flow of water onto the rag like a frat boy pours a pitcher of beer. After about eight seconds, Powers began to twitch and jerk on the table, and Ritz quickly removed the rag. Dazed and flushed, the artist was led out of the room... The woman, an assistant state attorney general, seemed to last the longest." more ›