'Mythology of Interiors' Entertains The Mondrian

As guests arrived to the SKYBAR at the Mondrian on Friday night, they were handed a program and instructed to take a seat on a white pillow in front of a projection screen. Seats filled up fast, as did the candlelit tables that surrounded the courtyard pool. After everyone was settled with fresh drinks in hand, the performance began.

A group of actors dressed in white took the stage and a series of video images was projected onto their bodies. As the participants glided across the stage, the projector followed their dramatic movements. The group of performers, composed of artists, curators, actors, and museum professionals, enlightened the crowd with the world of interior design spaces in relation to mythology.

“The Mythology of Interiors” project is a site-specific performance created for the space at the Mondrian Los Angeles. The show on Friday, directed by Nicole Cohen, consisted of six acts and a cast of 10 on stage actors.

“It was very exciting to have so many people from the art world, curators and artists and museum professionals. Everybody was so participant in dealing with interiors and architecture mixed together, so it was really a first time unique experience to have projection into interiors at Mondrian Presents,” said Cohen. “It was also amazing to have such an immersive experience also with music, and this is really the first time that this has premiered.”

When asked about her favorite portion of the show, Cohen said, “I think just seeing everyone in costume and it becomes sort of a sacred space – the white space, and then the video almost acts like paint and wraps around the white space."

Janet Levy, who currated the event, could not have been happier with the way that the show turned out.

“I’ve been in dialogue with Mondrian hotel for at least a year regarding doing events here and it’s such a beautiful atmosphere," Levy told Patch. "It’s so exciting that we finally after this long time have been able to make it happen.”

Chatting with those in attendance post performance, it seemed that everyone really enjoyed what they saw. Those in the art community were impressed with the way the show was conducted and the cast received praise throughout the evening.

Albert Gumich, who was among the first to arrive at the event, was lucky enough to claim a seat on the highly coveted pillows facing the stage. Not too familiar with the world of interior design himself, Gumich was still able to appreciate the art behind the performance.

“The show was somewhat confusing, not necessarily put together in my head, but interesting in a way that I thought it was creative," he said. "I couldn’t really follow the text so I couldn’t really put it together but enjoyed it nonetheless."

A video installation from "The Mythology of Interiors"will be exhibited at Mondrian Los Angeles through May 31, 2011.