Performance art legend presents an encore of her unique evening of three related short works.
Tuesday, October 18 at Laurie Beechman Theatre
Critics' Pick. "Time has not reined in Karen Finley’s fire… wickedly funny.” -- The New York Times
"Illuminates the power of counterfactual thinking in both fairytale realms and national politics… Like the mythical creature at its center, it may not be possible to fully or comprehend or contain the worlds Finley conjures in Unicorn Gratitude Mystery. But it’s that space for feeling, whether it be fearful, joyous, or raging, that creates a space for catharsis. And that is a powerful thing." --New York Theatre Review
"Performance artist Karen Finley is angry, topical, and provocative in her new show Unicorn Gratitude Mystery. She’s also hilariously funny… Gratitude journals and Donald Trump may be easy prey for someone with Finley’s arts and smarts, but she continues to find new, sometimes startling angles of analysis and attack." --Blogcritics.org
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Karen Finley, a name synonymous with Performance Art, will present an encore performance of her acclaimed new work KAREN FINLEY: UNICORN GRATITUDE MYSTERY. This evening of three short works will be presented Tuesday. October 18 at 7pm at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street -- at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street). Tickets are $25, with a $20 food/drink minimum. To purchase tickets, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
In UNICORN, Finley humorously explores America's obsession with the imagined, unattainable white-horned mythical creature. Armed with a healthy does of cynicism, GRATITUDE finds Finley obsessing on the narcissistic tendencies that fuel contemporary gentrification. And with MYSTERY, Finley dives deep into the language, emotion, and the loss of control that can happen when we give in to our fear of the unknown.
Since her first performances in the early 1980's, KAREN FINLEY has become synonymous with performance art. A performer, artist, writer, musician, poet, teacher and lecturer, she is the recipient of two Obies, two Bessies, and multiple grants from the NEA and NYSCA. She has toured internationally with pieces including Make Love, George & Martha, The Jackie Look, The American Chestnut, A Certain Level of Denial and The Return of The Chocolate Smeared Woman and Written in the Sand. In 1990, Finley became an unwilling symbol for the NEA when she, along with Tim Miller, Holly Hughes & John Fleck, sued the NEA for withdrawing grants on the grounds of indecency; the controversial case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Among Finley's books include Shock Treatment, Enough Is Enough: Weekly Meditations for Living Dysfunctionally, the Martha Stewart satire Living It Up: Humorous Adventures in Hyperdomesticity, Pooh Unplugged, and A Different Kind of Intimacy.