Made possible by support from a Rocket Grant (Andy Warhol Foundation, Charlotte Street foundation, Spencer Museum of Art)
Leralee Whittle – Forces identifies the institutionalized body in a performance installation featuring video of her making art in gyms across America.
WorkArtOut is a video installation performance about the funny, strange ways people act when they enter sports work-out facilities, and some creative alternatives to it. WorkArtOut tugs at the soul of America by playing with the absurd aspects of sports culture – from the CEO making millions on the backs of athletes, to Joe Schmo’s clothes serving as a billboard for corporate logos, to the fan who can’t live without affiliating herself with a team, to the narcissistic hothead at the gym. The absurd is balanced with Whittle’s distilled video imagery of her art making in highly funded sports facilities across America. Humorous contemporary performance, viscerally innovative dance and sonically compelling live music by Paul Sprawl make WorkArtOut a multi-sensory experience. The show brings art into the sports arena, on basketball courts, in lieu of a theater or concert hall, as the performers co–opt sports culture for two nights.
Sound design for WorkArtOut was composed and arranged by Paul Sprawl. Direction, choreography and contemporary dance by Leralee Whittle in collaboration with performers Marianne Evans – Lombe, Annie Wilsey and Anne Bruce.
