Portraits by Andrew K Thompson
Performances:
Dora Bleu / Halley Bondy / Ann Liv Young
Andy Janbek / Dave Fink / Marissa Mickelberg
Gary Cullen / Raha Raissnia / Andrew Hurst
Corse
Installation:
Lily Bruder / Isaac Zal / Jeff Lyon
...Anyone who read Mr. Stark’s curated listings for this past weekend, for example, could have encountered, at the various events posted, cheap tequila, vintage short films, a “dwarf Cabalist,” electro-pop music or the tap-dancing Minsky Sisters. Readers could have dropped in on a bird-watching adventure at Calvert Vaux Park in Brooklyn intended to increase “psychic avian awareness,” or competed in a Fondue Takedown in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, or reveled at a party in Queens described as “the sanctification of an antinomian church.”
Action Direction December 4 2008
...When we arrived at the CCSH we were impressed by the full house of young creative peoples jamming the floor, drinking hot toddies and exploring the decor, which included: tree branches rising out of dirt mounds on the wooden floor; two enormous church pews built on risers facing the stage; a ceiling-suspended rope web large enough to climb into, laden with dangling church organ pipes; candles spinning on a Victrola player; vintage radio microphones and more. The carefully constructed aesthetic of slow but beautiful decay contributed to the atmosphere.
BushwickBK November 25 2008
I would say our third stop, Sanctuary of Hope, was the social climax of the evening. Not only did we run into multiple people we knew there but the place had the same uplifting energy it had the last time I was there which was for The Revival in June. This time it was The Awakening: “a sanctification of an antinomian church.” The front of the space was decorated to suggest the outside, a weird reversal of sorts, and the audience was enthusiastically engaged in Ann Liv Young’s performance when we got there. I could not see what was going on. All I heard was psychotic feminist ranting. But as I lingered on the edge of the audience near the bar, the performance erupted from the audience at me. A woman (Ms. Young I presume) emerged from the crowd buck naked — not even wearing socks.
Culture Strike December 2008
...Shows that take this many chances just can't happen in Manhattan or many places. So while the fringes still are the fringes, do yourself a favor and catch the next performance at Sanctuary of Hope.
Explosions and Leftovers November 25 2008
...When the performers reached the sidewalk (the loud, new-age music reaching its climax), the rapists surrounded the bride, who ripped her wedding bouquet to pieces, and tossed the torn pedals to the ground. Theresa and I applauded from our window, astonished at the vivacious quality of art that we hadn't even realized existed right below our very apartment. The performers and company came in from the street, and gathered in their art studio, the booming apocalyptic music resuming. "I wonder what they're doing now?" I wonder aloud.
Theresa shrugs. "Probably having an orgy."