Thirty-year dance veteran, interim UCLA dean and REDCAT returnee, Lionel Popkin brings his durational retrospective, “Reorient the Orient,” to the downtown enclave this Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, 2024. With a storehouse arranged throughout the gallery and theater, audiences can watch videos, examine archival materials, rugs, sculptures, neon yellow waffle balls, and the headpiece from an elephant costume. The artist offers viewers an eight-hour block of time to take in the exhibition. Doors will be open between 2 and 10 p.m. each day, with live performances on the stage at 3 and 7:30 p.m.
The choreographer and three dancers (Jay Carlon, Arushi Singh and Wilfried Souly) expand the discourse on how brown South Asian bodies inhabit contemporary art and performance spaces. Promotional materials describe this as “Popkin’s response to the dubious history of interculturalism.”
Other contributions to this comprehensive event include original sound by Tom Lopez, video design by Meena Murugesan, lighting by Christopher Kuhl and costumes and visual consultation by Marcus Kuiland Nazario.
—Benn Widdey, Culture Spot LA
Location: REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., LA 90012
Tickets: $14-$27 https://www.redcat.org/events/2024/lionel-popkin
Info: https://www.redcat.org/events/2024/lionel-popkin
Photo from “Six Positions on Uncertainty (2020)” courtesy of the artist