Into the Void

Into the Void

Thu – Sat | Apr 28 – 30 | 8pm

$20 general | $12 under 25

Inspired by postmodern visual artist Yves Klein, Into the Void mixes visual arts, drag performance and precise choreography performed by 5 dancers to evoke the complex gender politics of Klein’s work.

Featuring collaborators: Michael Cepress (costume design), Kane Mathis (music), Susan Robb (sculpture), Tivon Rice (digital media) and Connie Yun (lighting).

Info & tickets @ ontheboards.org


"Into the Void" is an interdisciplinary, collaborative performance project inspired by the work of Yves Klein. The creative team includes Catherine Cabeen (dance), Michael Cepress (fashion), Kane Mathis (music), Susan Robb (sculpture), Tivon Rice (digital media), and Connie Yun (lighting). "Into the Void" will premiere April 28-30, 2011 at On the Boards Theater.

Klein's enthusiasm for physicality and energy is evident in the vibrant International Klein Blue pigment that he patented, and his use of women's bodies, fire, and water as paintbrushes. "Into the Void" will explore how the body can convey the contrast between fire and water, between rapid chemical changes and slow deterioration. The new work will also critique a problematic imbalance of gendered power in Klein’s performance work.

In the late 1950s Klein responded to the new consumer ethos in Parisian culture with provocative anti-consumerist work. The United States is currently experiencing massive economic shifts which create a contemporary need to once again rethink the relationship between art and commodity. Collaborators are creating costume pieces and environments that juxtapose ornate materials, with open spaces and transparent fabrics. Mathis and Cabeen will create minimal sonic and kinesthetic landscapes from which vigorous rhythms will emerge. Like much of Klein’s work, Into the Void will reframe “plenty” as a lot of junk, and “nothing” as a wealth of space.

Info & tickets @ ontheboards.org