New York Live Arts to Present 'THE LITTLE DESTROYER,' 5/2-3

New York Live Arts presents the Studio Series showing of The Little Destroyer and a Collection of Others Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 at 6:00pm in the third floor studios at New York Live Arts.

The Little Destroyer and a Collection of Others is a dialogue of live action and the drawn image, taking inspiration from early 19th century animations created between eccentric dancers and animators. Choreographer Cori Olinghouse, joined by artist Lauren Simkin Berke and collaborator Neal Beasley, situate characters in a crude and comical theatrical space of cardboard cutouts, panoramas, real-time drawing and line drawn scenography to underscore questions about authenticity and constructed identities. In the early stages of development, this work places the artists' respective practices in conversation, seeking to transpose the moving body into drawn characters, animating the two-dimensional image. Highlighting the ways that different artistic mediums contend with representation, the artists draw from a shared interest in American vernacular forms (including silent film, Vaudeville, Eccentric Dance, 1920's cartoon art, found photographs and ephemera), foregrounding and blurring distinctions between abstraction and representation.

Studio Series is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Jerome Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Studio Series work-in-process showings will take place in New York Live Arts' studios. Tickets are $5. There will be free in-process talks after each showing with an array of moderators. Tickets are available online at newyorklivearts.org/tickets, by phone at 212-924-0077 and in person at the box office. Box office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm. New York Live Arts is located at 219 West 19th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. There will be no late seating.