Piece by Piece

It's not uncommon for artists to make their own rendition of a famous piece of art in order to better understand the technique and the process. That's a bit more difficult to accomplish in the field of performance art than in painting — which is not to say it can't be done. Five Easy Pieces, a group exhibition by students in the Advanced Performance Art class in the Webster University Department of Art, knowingly echoes the work of five noted conceptual artist, while still expressing something of the individual artists. David Sita-Gray reinterprets Yoko Ono's Cut Piece with his own male body; audience members will be invited to cut pieces off of his clothing, changing the nature of the work. Will Bower-Leet's Explaining Bach to a Dead Hare was inspired by the Joseph Beuys/Nam June Paik piece in which a cello and piano were swathed in felt to muffle their music. Paige Walden's Natural Beauty is a series of mural-sized nudes that draws on ORLAN's use of nudity and her own body in her photo series Body-Sculptures. Five Easy Pieces takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Factory (1128 Washington Avenue; 314-607-8648 or www.factorystl.com). Admission is free, and this is an eighteen-and-older event.
Sat., Oct. 27, 2012