FRI 7/16
In South Florida, most strangers don't make eye contact. And when they do, it's awkward. So it can be hard to connect with someone who's unfamiliar. This is hardly the stuff of a comedy, but it is the underlying theme in A Comedy, tonight's multimedia performance at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth). The three-act show incorporates movement, sound, and video to present an abstract exploration into the world of spirituality, relationships, and cultural influence. Dressed in solid black outfits and covered in white body paint, dancers Selfick Ng-Simancas and Veronica Robleto intersperse graceful dance with stiff, robotic movements, signifying the unwanted interruptions that obstruct the natural flow of being; the dancers try to connect but don't quite make it. Set to a background of electronic music, the performance takes place in front of a black-and-white video montage shot by Logan Beitman. "It will be displaying images of the things that make TV so special: abstract moments of friendship and love, with the occasional commercials," Beitman notes. Abstract? Very. Minimal? That too. Free? Why, yes indeed. The performance takes place at 8 p.m. before an 8:30 screening of The Red Shoes. Call 561-582-0006, ext. 1019. --Jason Budjinski
Yoko Versace
A mix of global garbs
THU 7/15
Having worked in the diverse art scenes of Armenia, Germany, and France, Irina Ivanova gained the know-how to create a fusion of culture in her fashion-oriented artwork. Now, she has used her years of training in Asian techniques to create "East Meets West," which opens today at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (Mark K. Wheeler Gallery, 1799 SE 17th St. Cswy.), where she teaches. The collection of oil paintings, silk paintings, watercolors, ink drawings, and digital prints features various costume designs, landscapes, and children's illustrations. The subjects in Ivanova's fashion illustrations are half-kabuki girl, half-disco queen. Her landscapes are a mix of the abstract and the observed. The key here is rhythm. "East Meets West" runs through August 21. Call 954-463-3000. --Jason Budjinski
