The voodoo vibe of the enigmatic Anthony Burdin

THE Voodoo Room was what got Anthony Burdin kicked out of the Frieze Art Fair in London. The artist describes his installation as an approximation of the original Voodoo Room he had constructed so many years ago in the garage of his parent's home in the suburb of Newhall north of Los Angeles. It had served as his private radio station KDOP (pronounced k-dope) and also as a rehearsal space for his constantly mutating hard-rock bands. The art fair Voodoo Room, set amid booths of pristine white walls and meticulously hung art, was a looming, windowless black structure with a locked door and razor wire.

The plan, says Burdin, a Los Angeles drifter and aspiring rock star who has recently emerged as an internationally acclaimed artist, was to sing over old recordings in an echo-infused technique he calls Voodoo Vocals. At the same time, video images of razor wire floating in the sky would phase back and forth across walls adorned with cryptic cave drawings, resulting in an atmospheric display for a truly captive audience.

It was around noon, Burdin says, when he decided to do a sound check. Inside his darkened control room, he cradled a microphone and mini-disc player, both hooked up to an admittedly over-powered 300-watt sound system. Then Burdin pressed play and waited for the first blaring chords of his song "Lollipop Kids."

"I already knew what was going to happen," Burdin recalls with a rascally grin, "so I made sure the door was locked so no one could stop me in the middle of what I knew would be my last performance. The song was four minutes, and I'm making sure people will know I'm there. I'm wanting them to come in to give me a record deal, but the place went nuts. People started banging on the door, the security and everybody, and they shut me down."

The artist and his young New York dealer, Michelle Maccarone of the Maccarone Gallery, promptly informed the Frieze organizers that they were leaving. The organizers, sensing that Burdin was adding some excitement to the otherwise staid proceedings, pleaded with him to stay. Eventually a deal was struck: Burdin would perform at the adjoining Frieze Music Festival. It looked to be an unexpected coup for the long-struggling rock musician, and by the time Burdin walked onto the stage, a sizable crowd had gathered.