From blip.tv: On stage, Ann Liv Young has rolled around in her dog’s ashes, had sex with her co-stars, covered herself in blood, drank urine and attacked a PETA activist. Off stage, she has given the audience lap dances and ridiculed her own cast for fucking up during a performance.
As a graduate of the prestigious Hollins University dance program, as well as a former resident of the FUSED program in France and the Laban Centre in London, Ann Liv’s work has been presented at some of the most notable venues and festivals around America and Europe. Her shows, which she writes, performs, costume designs, stage designs and produces herself, are over-the-top performances that genre-bend elements of music video, porn, and fine art that really do go there.
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I found this interview to be interesting and relatable. In it, she talks about blending the real and the unreal, and how she doesn't start out thinking about the best ways to make the audience the most uncomfortable (though she does admit that it may be a subconscious influence). She also talks about having fun with people's low shock thresholds; once you realize how easy it is to shock people, a little mischievousness kicks in.
I have been holding back on executing some of my more explicit work while in school, mainly because (based on precedent) SCAD administration would likely either
censor it or expel me. Rationally, my immediate priority is in getting that piece of paper. The ideas don't go away. Whether I execute a work now or a year from now doesn't dilute its validity for me. However, the thought that my own art school—that openly promotes innovation in all areas—would stifle creativity in its students is kind of sickening. While I don't regret transferring to SCAD—since anywhere you go you get out what you put in, and had I not moved to Atlanta from NYC I wouldn't have pursued fine art—I do feel I've been sold a lot of empty promises. The University For Creative Careers. Maybe they should think about changing it to The University For Commercial Careers.
Wonton idealism is a wonderful thing, but I have grander plans than sticking it to a little southern art school. That being said, I've been itching to do
just that.
