About This Show
Karen Finley, the most controversial woman in performance today, presents the New York premiere of her latest work Wake Up!
The show is an evening of two thematically related companion pieces. The first half is
The Dreams of Laura Bush,” an illustrated dream journal of America’s First Lady. Mrs. Bush’s dreams alternate between the profound and the mundane and feature a cast of international celebs and politicians. Drawings (also by Finley) are projected as a backdrop as the dreams unfold. Ultimately, the politics of the feminine passive power are uncovered with a blend humor and unleashed desire in this surreal piece.
The second half is “The Passion of Terri Schiavo.” Here, a live action ink painting becomes the abstracted soul projection of a culture obsessed with one woman’s right to die yet at the same time at war. In this work, an oppositional narrative gives voice to both pro and con, family, stranger and society at large. It is an impassioned, personal look at issues of dignity in death and the value of life.
