New music by John Kelly and Carol Lipnik performed as a work-in-progress with interactive video footage inspired by the Baroque paintings of Caravaggio, shot in Rome, Venice, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, tracing an artist’s journey through time. The Escape Artist considers the parallels between the unbridled creative spirit of the urban artist of the 17th and 21st centuries.
John Kelly is a two time Bessie and Obie award winning performance and visual artist whose work began in New York’s East Village clubs in the early 1980’s; since that time he has created over 30 performance works which have been performed at many performance and alternative venues. Originally trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Harkness House for Ballet Arts, he performed with modern dance pioneers. His ongoing relationship to the mirror has bridged both the dance studios, as well as a consistent practice of self-portraiture.