Orien McNeill, Artist Who Made Mischief on the Water, Dies at 46

Orien McNeill, Artist Who Made Mischief on the Water, Dies at 46

Orien McNeill, an artist and impresario of New York City’s DIY and participatory art community, whose work was experiential, theatrical and ephemeral and took place mostly on the water — think “Burning Man, but with the possibility of drowning,” as one friend put it — died on May 15 at his home, a 52-foot-long ferryboat docked on a Brooklyn creek. He was 46. His mother, Val Van Cleve, confirmed his death, which was not widely reported at the tim…