“PAINTING TO SURVIVE: 1985-1995”

SATURDAY APRIL 14TH CLOSING DAY

PERFORMANCES –

2:00-3:00 NYOBS are Peter Cramer, John Michael Swartz, Jack Waters, Mike Cacciatore, and special guests. An alternative experimental free association “kitchen“ band born at Punk Island 2014. From trance lyrics to primal screams, NYOBS pierces the restive soul with mind-blowing inducements of tonal & aural synth-esthesia. https://soundcloud.com/jackiloo/sets/nyobs

3:00-4:00 3 Teens Kill 4 was founded in the East Village in 1980. Members included Brian (Hattie Hathaway) Butterick, David Wojnarowicz, Jesse Hultberg, Julie Hair, Doug Bressler, and Bill Gerstel. Their 1982 album, No Motive, was re-released last year by Dark Entries Records. Julie, Brian, and Doug, 3 of the 4 surviving members of 3 Teens will perform new and old songs. facebook.com/3TeensKill4 queermusicheritage.com/may20053tk4.html darkentriesrecords.com/store/vinyl/3-teens-kill-4-no-motive-lp/#tab-description 4:00-5:00 Word Cabaret presents “Shudder Stop”, written by John Francis Istel, inspired by the photography and writings of David Wojnarowicz. Directed by Courtney L. Wetzel – Word Cabaret opens its 2018 season with a staged reading of Shudder Stop, a “snapshot script” by John Francis Istel consisting of verbal tableaux inspired by the texts and images of writer, artist, and photographer David Wojnarowicz, and others. Word Cabaret's reading, directed by Courtney L. Wetzel, will be presented in conjunction with and in honor of the exhibition “Painting to Survive,” a group exhibition of 12 artists active during the initial onslaught of AIDS in America (http://bwac.org/2018/02/painting-to-survive-1985-1995/). The performance is one component of a vibrant slate of

poetry and music that will run in conjunction with this exhibition at BWAC. Wojnarowicz (1954-1992), for whom the Whitney offers a major retrospective in May, was influenced by the AIDS epidemic that claimed the life of his partner, photographer Peter Hujar. Much of his artwork and many of his writings were deeply influenced by his lover’s passing from AIDS. In fact, Wojnarowicz’s efforts to represent Hujar’s death included filming his lifeless body on Super-8 and taking still life photos of his face, hands, and feet. Wojnarowicz exclaimed, “his death is now as if it’s printed on celluloid on the backs of my eyes.” Shudder Stop attempts to resurrect their relationship through the medium of live performance, a shameless shamanistic effort to reassert the sanctity of all love and life, furthering Wojnarowicz's project of making the vilified visible, even amid the devastation wrought by so much untimely death. Director Courtney Wetzel and an ensemble of professional actors will stage the script, assembled by Word Cabaret curator John Francis Istel.