the watermill center
a laboratory for performance
robert wilson, artistic director
www.watermillcenter.org
MEDIA ALERT Watermill Center Resident Artist Amy Khoshbin presents an Open Rehearsal for The Myth of Layla Photo Credit: Amy Khoshbin Saturday, October 17 at 7:30pm NEW YORK, NY (September 28, 2015) — On October 17 at 7:30pm, The Watermill Center presents an open rehearsal by Brooklyn-­‐based performance, video, and installation artist Amy Khoshbin. Khoshbin is an Artist-­‐
in-­‐Residence at The Watermill Center during the month of October. For the work-­‐in-­‐process showing, Khoshbin will present a 60-­‐minute scene from her ongoing performance and video series The Myth of Layla (TMOL). “I have been coming to The Watermill Center for years to visit and attend events, and there is no other place like it. The architecture, environment, and amazing collection creates such a sense of quiet contemplation—
your brain begins to slow and quicken at the same time allowing for great innovation,” said Khoshbin. “Robert Wilson's work has hugely inspired me as an interdisciplinary artist, helping me blur the boundaries between performance and video, director and actor, artist and collector.” 39 watermill towd road, water mill, ny 11976 t 631 726 4628 f 631 726 4525 • 115 west 29th street, 10th floor, new york, ny 10001 t 212 253 7484 f 212 967 1703
TMOL is co-­‐directed by Khoshbin with dance and performance artist Liz McAuliffe. It is set in the near future while the United States is at war with Iran. Khoshbin, who wrote and performs in the work, uses her personal history as an Iranian-­‐American activist to explore the corruption of political ideology and self-­‐identity by participation in the celebrity-­‐driven American media system. She acts as the protagonist, an Iranian-­‐American the watermill center
activist named Layla, whose relationships and beliefs are pitted against dubious external forces as her fame a laboratory for performance
increases and she is cast on a new reality show called Activists in Sexy Solidarity (A.S.S.). robert wilson, artistic director
www.watermillcenter.org
During her residency at Watermill, Khoshbin and McAuliffe will be developing the reality television scene. Khoshbin deliberately creates a handmade aesthetic world for this science fiction allegory using hand-­‐painted stop motion animation, visibly green-­‐screened video, and surreal costumes to highlight the construction of “reality” media. She blends this aesthetic with cultural and personal content such as Persian miniature paintings, video games, and footage where she performs as different characters to emphasize the fragmentation in representing self-­‐identity across media platforms. About Amy Khoshbin Amy Khoshbin is a Brooklyn-­‐based artist. She creates hybrid works using performance, video, and interactive media to explore the production and transmission of narratives both personal and cultural. Using a collage-­‐
style approach to creating works across mediums, Khoshbin uses imagery from different sources to assemble mythologies that evade a unified understanding. She has shown her solo and collaborative work at venues such as Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Invisible Dog Art Center, The Stone, Blanton Art Museum, and festivals such as South by Southwest and MakerFaire. She is a 2014-­‐2015 Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace Resident, and has completed residencies at Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, Team Effort! in Glasgow, Scotland, and at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Khoshbin holds a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. She has also collaborated with Laurie Anderson, Karen Finley, Tina Barney, and poets Anne Carson and Bob Currie, among others. She is currently in a sci-­‐fi rap group called C∆N-­‐D with sound artist Michael Clemow and head dancer Liz McAuliffe. About Liz McAuliffe Liz McAuliffe is a dance and performance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her interests include queerness, catharsis, and collaboration. She has a background in contemporary dance, aerial acrobatics, and experimental theater. She has performed at venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, Alvin Ailey, The New Museum, The Invisible Dog Art Center, The Highline Ballroom, Judson Church, Movement Research, Gibney Dance, Greenwood Cemetery, and CAVE. She is currently developing her solo performance practice, working collaboratively on various projects with multimedia artist Amy Khoshbin, and dancing for the science fiction music project C∆N-­‐D and choreographer Denisa Musilova. Past notable collaborations include dancing with the butoh-­‐influenced company Leimay, and writing and performing as a member of the Washington D.C.-­‐ based music project Queer Pressure. About The Watermill Center Founded by avant-­‐garde visionary Robert Wilson in 2006, The Watermill Center is an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities located in Water Mill, NY. The Watermill Center is dedicated to supporting artists at all stages of their career through its Artists-­‐in-­‐Residence Program, International Summer Program, and the newly-­‐established Inga Maren Otto Fellowship. These unparalleled global residency programs are complemented by public events such as exhibitions, performances, open rehearsals, lectures, seminars and symposia, educational programs with schools and other local institutions, as well as tours of the building and grounds. 39 watermill towd road, water mill, ny 11976 t 631 726 4628 f 631 726 4525
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115 west 29th street, 10th floor, new york, ny 10001 t 212 253 7484 f 212 967 1703
The Watermill Center itself is a 20,000 square foot flexible working space that includes a 6,000-­‐volume research library, galleries, rehearsal and staging spaces, workshops, offices, and residences situated on eight-­‐
the watermill center
and-­‐a-­‐half acres of artist-­‐designed and landscaped grounds. The Watermill Center Collection of almost 8,000 a laboratory for performance
art and artifact pieces spanning the history of humankind is integrated into all aspects of the building and grounds as a reminder that the history of each civilization is told by its artists. robert wilson,
artistic director
www.watermillcenter.org
Listing Information: Event: Amy Khoshbin Venue: 39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, NY Dates: Saturday, October 17, 2015 Hours: 7:30pm -­‐ 8:30pm Admission: Free and open to the public. Advanced reservations required. Upcoming Public Programs:* Each public program takes place at The Watermill Center. All public programs are free and open to the public, but advanced reservations are required. Capacity is limited. Saturday, October 17, 2015 2:00pm -­‐ 3:00pm – Tour of the Building, Grounds & Collection 7:30pm -­‐ 8:30pm – Open Rehearsal | Amy Khoshbin Saturday, November 7, 2015 4:30pm -­‐ 5:30pm – Book Presentation | Annie Cohen-­‐Solal 6:00pm -­‐ 7:00pm – Open Rehearsal | Cirkus Cirkör Thursday, November 19, 2015 6:00pm -­‐ 7:00pm – Open Rehearsal | Manuela Infante with Teatro de Chile Saturday, December 19, 2016 6:00pm -­‐ 8:00pm – Open Rehearsal | Carlos Soto *Schedule subject to change. Visitor Information: The Watermill Center is located at 39 Watermill Towd Road, Water Mill, NY. For general information or exhibition, event and tour schedules, visit The Watermill Center online at watermillcenter.org or call (631) 726-­‐4628. For more information about The Watermill Center, please visit watermillcenter.org. ### Media Contact: Schuyler Tompkins [email protected] (703) 899-­‐8134 39 watermill towd road, water mill, ny 11976 t 631 726 4628 f 631 726 4525
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115 west 29th street, 10th floor, new york, ny 10001 t 212 253 7484 f 212 967 1703