An East German Graffiti Artist Escapes Over The Berlin Wall
ABOUT
Waldemar Dix is a young graffiti artist living in East Berlin, unable to travel outside the Iron Curtain. He has listened to Radio Free Europe, and the smuggled recordings of David Bowie, 3 Teens Kill 4, and Nina Hagen. His neighbors hate his music and bemoan is style. He has a dream about Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair. He resolves to escape to the west.
EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST AND NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET
“Mama, I will leave a letter, as I must do what I must. I spit on the wall, and it is red spit–like blood only alter–I paint my figures on the wall when I feel courageous and a spell hits me – so what. Its good, but on the other side I could paint what I wanted and it could sell. This makes me crazy, and I have to leave. Never mama, never again.”
He sets the date and arranges his escape. He is seen before a mirror in his bedroom, like an actor about to take on a role. SWIFTLY AND SUCCESSFULLY, HE NEED NOT TURN BACK. When he reaches the west, he tries to spray paint graffiti on the Statue of Liberty. Instead, they dance a duet.
“But it is annoying to find superlatives like “genius” continually tagged on each promising upstart who heads East (Village, that is) in search of fame, etc. Such indiscriminate praise not only stunts these artists’ growth; it leaves a critic like me struggling to convince this jaded world about a truly extraordinary artist like John Kelly.” – Dennis Cooper, NY Native
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Story, choreography, direction and costume design by John Kelly
Original music by Guy Story
Additional music by Alban Berg, Gustav Mahler, Felix Mendelssohn and Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky
Set design by Huck Snyder
Film sequences by Anthony Chase
Premiere: Performance Space 122, NY, November 23-25, 1984.
WITH: John Kelly (Waldemar Dix) and Marleen Menard (Statue of Liberty).