"Perverted by Theater," a curatorial project created by New School Drama student Paul David Young (Playwriting '09) and artist Franklin Evans, was selected as the winning proposal for an art exhibition and performance by the contemporary visual arts organization Apexart. Over 240 proposals were submitted and juried by a distinguished panel of international art curators and artists. The instillation/performance will be presented this fall at Apexart’s exhibition space in New York City.

The installation will be a collection of visual art and media pieces, video, film, and performance, purposely selected for its theatricality and installed in an environment “molded by theater.” In his proposal, Young describes the project as being “dedicated to evoking ‘unpresentness’ by emphasizing the temporal dimension, the subject/object relation, the audience, the presence of the actor, and the implication of dramatic concepts such as character and story in visual art.

“The principles and elements of theatrical performance and its inception (will) guide the selection of works and their installation,” he explains. “Whereas the visual arts traditionally constituted the background for dominant elements of the theater—the play and the actors—here the visual art becomes the play, the actors, and the constitutive elements of theater itself.”

Through exhibitions, international residencies, publication initiatives, and programs and events, Apexart is committed to cultural and intellectual diversity and aims to stimulate public dialogue about contemporary art. Since their inception, more than 1,000 artists, both emerging and established, have participated in over 130 exhibitions, with artists such as Vito Acconci, Martha Rosler, Dave Hickey, John Baldessari, Hou Hanru, Ute Meta Bauer, David Byrne, Janine Antoni, Kerry James Marshall and Jean-Hubert Martin, as well as many other artists from around the world.

Visit www.apexart.org for more information.