Initiation is the first in a series of performances seeking a psychonautic state of consciousness, paralleling the efforts of Brion Gysin’s Dreamachine. The centerpiece of the evening is a reading of Cut-Ups by Max G. Morton. These Cut-Ups of his writings will be accompanied by projected visual Cut-Ups, directed by Sebastian Mlynarski; and live programming, instrumentation, and a dueling audio track performed and composed by F. Sean Martin. The evening will open with a dance composition by Johanna Constantine, drawn from her repertoire of monolithic, often nearly stationary performances that include heavy use of makeup and body extensions. Following this dance will be the debut of Mlynarski’s latest work, Not Yet Titled (Waves) (2010), featuring a score by Andrew Blakemore Wyatt (Miike Snow). The three performances will bleed together as one being in three separate dimensions. The flickering, pulsing barrage of words, sounds, and images will leave a hallucinogenic glow over the evening and all attending.
Author and curator Max G. Morton’s words have yet to fail the hungry global tribe of whom he speaks, and all of his works are coveted collector’s items. Morton currently runs Heartworm Press alongside Wesley Eisold, and resides in the West Village. He has written lyrics for and performed with Cold Cave (on Cremations) and has performed alongside Boyd Rice, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, and John Joseph.
Johanna Constantine was a founding member of the Blacklips performance group in New York’s East Village circa 1992. She continues to collaborate with co-founder Antony Hegarty, notably lending her talents to the music video for “Epilepsy is Dancing” by Antony and the Johnsons. In addition to her numerous solo performances, Constantine has collaborated with Charles Atlas and William Basinski.
Sebastian Mlynarski was born in a sulfur-mining town in Poland. At the age of fourteen he left his home and immigrated to New York, where he works as a photographer. His work has been exhibited at Peres Projects, Silver Shed, the Gowanus Studio, Fuse Gallery, Live With Animals, and Verge Gallery.
F. Sean Martin is a musician, songwriter, and producer best known for his near-decade spent playing guitar for the Connecticut hard-core band Hatebreed. He recently produced the album Depart From Me by New York underground rapper Cage, and is a member of XO Skeletons. He currently resides in Connecticut where he is co-owner of Brass City Tattoo.
