Jan. 18, 5:30-8:30pm
LA ART Show
Opening reception Performance
5:30pm-7:00pm, VIP reception
7:00-8:30pm, LA Art Show West Hall A
Los Angeles Convention Center
West Hall A, 1201 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Myths of Rape (1977/2012)
This special LA Art Show opening night performance of Myths of Rape by artists Elana Mann and Audrey Chan, working with Leslie Labowitz-Starus and Suzanne Lacy, recreates a 1977 performance by Labowitz-Starus, originally performed as part of Three Weeks in May. The 2012 re-invention of Myths of Rape transforms the original piece to raise contemporary concerns around rape, sexual assault, and activism. Thirty diverse performers, including women and men, will enact compelling tableaux and spatial interventions, wearing presentation boards featuring current myths and facts about rape. The performers will enact a series of movements (created in collaboration with choreographer Mecca Vazie Andrews) that create both intimate moments and bold statements, which will activate the site of the LA Convention Center. Drawing inspiration from traditions of feminist agit-prop, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the Arab Spring, this performance reinforces how activism and performance art are as relevant today as in the past.