NEW YORK—Sasha Grey will play the part of the street samurai Molly in a premiere performance and installation of Case, taking place Sunday, Nov. 22, at the New Museum in New York City. The performance is part of Performa 09 biennial of new visual art performance, and a co-commission of Performa 09 and Rhizome, a leading organization dedicated to art and technology.
Organized by artist Brody Condon, Case is a deadpan reading of the classic cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, by William Gibson. Combining Gibson’s 1980s dystopian techno-fetishism with early-20th-century abstraction, faux “virtual reality” scenes will unfold via moving Bauhaus-inspired sculptural props accompanied by the Gamelan ensemble Dharma Swara.
Case will also be performed at a small outdoor community theater in rural Missouri in summer 2010. The New York production will feature many of the 10 cast members from the upcoming Midwest event, including political activist (and notorious local hell-raiser) Ray “Bad Rad” Radtke, who stars as Henry Dorsett Case, a drug addict and computer hacker hired to execute an impossible cyber crime; and Brooklyn-based performance artist Sto, appearing as Lupus Yonderboy, leader of the techno-anarchist gang the Panther Moderns. The script has been prepared by the writer Brandon Stosuy, with sound design by Peter Segerstrom, and graphic props by Breanne Trammell.
Brody Condon’s work explores concerns about the over-identification with fantasy in contemporary culture, frequently incorporating modified computer games and referencing role-playing subcultures to create performance and video installation. Condon has attended residencies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten and Skowhegan. Past exhibitions include the 2004 Whitney Biennial, Pace Wildenstein Gallery, Mattress Factory, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
The event is affiliated with the New Museum, which presents monthly events. Commissioned and presented by Rhizome, additional support has been provided by the Performa Commissioning Fund. Performa 09 (November 1-22, 2009) is the third biennial of new visual art performance presented by Performa, a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth century art and to encouraging new directions in performance for the 21st century.
For more information, visit http://www.performa- arts.org.
