Clearly following a mission to bring the latest in cutting-edge, envelope-pushing live performance to Los Angeles audiences, REDCAT presents the debut of “Human Measure” on its downtown stage this Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 13-15, at 8:30 p.m.
Created by multi-disciplinary transgender artist Cassils, this new evening-length collaboration mixes choreography by Jasmine Albuquerque, music and sound design by Kadet Kuhne, lighting by Christopher Kuhl, and a team of five trans and nonbinary performers.
Jumping off of a sociopolitical question of contemporary identities, Cassils dives into the current anti-LGBTQI+ situation as it mixes with American ideals of empowerment, sensuality and self-actualization. Referring to the history of photography while drawing from the science of kinesiology, martial arts, sports science and personal safety protocols, the work reinterprets Yves Klein’s abstract “Anthropometries” paintings of 1958. In these artworks, under Klein’s direction, nude models covered in paint pressed their bodies against the canvas to create non-figurative shapes and forms.
As described in promotional materials, the show is “purposefully designed to be difficult to see and is staged in low levels of red light found in photographic darkrooms … [yielding] after-images … in a near ultraviolet and blue light spectrum.”
Cassils’ work has been exhibited and performed in theaters and museums and published in art journals worldwide. They are the recipient of several prestigious U.S. prizes and awards.
—Benn Widdey Culture Spot LA
LOCATION: REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., LA 90012
TICKETS: $13-$25 https://www.redcat.org/events/human-measure
INFO: https://www.redcat.org/events/human-measure
Photo credit: M. Vason for Cassils “Human Measure”