Friday night I went with my girlfriend, Molly, to the chic Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. It wasn't just any night, but the first in a series of performance art put on poolside at SkyBar for Mondrian Presents. Molly's longtime friend and artist, Nicole Cohen, was in from Berlin and New York and given the honor of opening night with her video installation called "The Mythology of Interiors."
Curated by Janet Levy, "The Mythology of Interiors" was a site-specific performance made just for the Mondrian--inspired by SkyBar and the Mondrian being well known for their exquisite decor--about historical interior design spaces. Video was projected onto a screen and also onto the white clothing of performers while following their movements. Short acts described various spaces and how they were inspired and related to mythology. These acts used the myths of The Pomegranate Seeds, The Golden Fleece, The Seduction of Lo, Atlas, Mount Olympus, and The Underworld. And in all of these acts, there was humor and a twist of the myth to show how historical spaces can relate to contemporary design and our environment.
"I was very excited to have this amazing opportunity to perform a video installation at the Mondrian," Nicole told me, "mainly because of their incredible interiors and how they invite guests to inhabit these unusual designs and bring their own sense of style to the spaces. My project aimed to bring the art world of curators, artists, and museum professionals as my performers to tell a history of interiors. I love how we project psychological dramas onto interiors or want to act out from design."
After the performance, SkyBar and the hotel became positively packed and I was reminded again and again how much these words of Nicole rang true. The transition from the performance itself to the Friday night scene at the well-designed boutique hotel seemed seamless and natural. Every exchange I experienced or witnessed seemed to be a small act onto itself. From the cast of the hip Los Angeles guys and girls who came out to play...to their costumes of expensive jeans and short, tight dresses...to the setting of the pool and candlelit hotel, Molly and I watched drama after drama unfold. As Shakepeare once astutely wrote, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." The mythology of interiors indeed.
Lobby of the Mondrian Hotel
Me and Molly loving the ladies' room orange chalkboard
Mad Men at the Mondrian: 1950s chartreuse floral swing dress, 1960s sapphire wool coat (shown earlier),
1930s silver clamshell purse (shown later), Charles David sapphire strappy stilettos, 1970s sterling silver bangle bracelet, silver hoop earrings
Entering SkyBar
Nicole and the actors setting the stage
Welcome to "The Mythology of Interiors"
Nicole celebrating after the show with some of her cast
Start of the party in Nicole's Mondrian suite
The art of my vintage purse next to the art of the hotel
Room with a view
Nicole's show was amazing and so was the night!
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