Yvonne Meier “The Shining”

What I saw last night. Yvonne Meier at New York Live Arts & The Invisible Dog Art Center. This show starts at one venue where you have to sign a waiver indicating you have a full range of motion and no special limitations. Eventually a van pulls up and a naked woman stands in front of it singing “tonight, tonight” Once we are all seated in the vehicle the naked woman serves tea and exchanges jests with the passengers and another performer with a rat puppet.

Eventually we reach the new venue in Brooklyn where we are instructed to drop are bags and coats. One at a time people are ejected into a pitch dark space where hands grab at you and flashlights illuminate for just long enough to give a hint at a possible direction. Essentially it is a cardboard labyrinth where you are pushed and jostled forward until finally reaching a larger area. There are screams heard and eerie music. Violent conflict seem to be occurring between the performers and we are often manhandled and shoved against the wall as if we are to be arrested. It is like trying to get past the TSA. I had some idea about what was going to happen before I went so I can’t claim to have been frightened but that said I could see where someone less prepared and claustrophobic could have a real problem. Not for the feint of heart.

Elements: nudity, audience participation, singing, van ride, tea, puppets, talking, screams, physical contact, flashlights, cardboard, darkness, strobes
Title: “The Shining”
Cover:

Michael Groisman

What I saw last night. Michael Groisman at the Invisible Dog Art Center. A man gets on a platform with a dozen candles and two bic lighters. The candles go into leather straps around his ankles, knees, elbows and feet. Once one is lit he proceeds through repeated contortions to light another candle with the previously lit one. Plastic tubes run up his appendages over his head and into his mouth enabling him to extinguish flames that are getting to close with his breath. Looks like some sort of steampunk torture but at least he can light a fire under his own ass.

Elements: candles, leather straps, lighters
Title: “Transferência (Transference)”
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Yanira Castro

What I saw last night. Yanira Castro at The Invisible Dog Art Center. It seems like no one is willing to do a show where you just sit in a seat and watch anymore. Yesterday I was dodging tennis balls and today it was dodging dancers. The space appears to be some kind of gift shop. We were instructed to leave our bags and coats and shoes and change into black socks. It is less effort to board a plane. Finally we go upstairs into a loft space with a large of oval in the center filled with rubber mulch. A half moon of stools were set out which we sat on until an aggressive old dude performer forced us out of them by spitting and thrusting at us suggestively. He left and two women and men appeared to take up the cause running through the crowd and forcing audience members to carry them. I refused. Another show like this and I will have to add performer to my resume.

Elements: no shoes & special socks for us, mulched rubber, spitting, spoken word, ikea stools, much interacting with the audience
Title: “Wilderness”
Cover: