Instead he smarmily attacked Khan’s wife, Ghazala, who had stood silently on the stage.

Onscreen, he said, a bit smarmily, “Maybe you’re just afraid of that loss of control,” which made the audience laugh uproariously.

Describing installations like “The Creation Myth,” he hooks you with his endless detours and digressions while somehow keeping up a smarmily professional, Koonsian facade.