Rife with symbolism, the story line of Plexus art opera Eve, the Escape of Donna Purgatorius from Anno Domini by the Multinational Chain Gang of DownTown New York (full title) was about the journey of an art slave ship, on its travel through art history, escaping from the contemporary New York ArtWorld. Its aim was to draw more public attention on the real estate gentrification of the Lower East Side, leaving artists and the community without working and living places. It was addressed to support the L.A.N.D. homesteaders community effort and to sustain the activities of C.U.A.N.D.O. as a cultural civic community center. From the Plexus Art Opera Eve’s presentation written by Lenny Horowitz and Stephen DiLauro:
The journey of the art slave ship begins and ends with notions about what is comic and what is divine -- and then arrives at the answer which is inherent in the title: Eve. This is an opera about Eve; about artists throughout art. Mythology is the wind in the sails of the art slave shuttle ship, mythography is the route through the Downtown New York Purgatory Chain Gang Culture to the Apple. When the artists are auctioned penis dollars are used to buy art. The artists are destroyed by the phallocracy.
Guns and bullets dominate once again. In this modern ritual sacrifice the slave Minotaur decimates the Art Freak Jet Set. The Cardinals eat the breadwoman as she speaks breadart words. Art is a like a fastfood but does not make you sick. The Black Pope orders the final mythological attack. Mephistopheles with Lady Liberty from the penthouse atop the Empire State building buys the Trojan Horse and the teepee becomes truly the World Trade Center. Eve sits between Adam and God in the Sistine Chapel. The Marlboro robot arrives with the key words: 99 cents for a 200 artist artopera created and produced by all the artists together to establish an international art community credit line and establish SWEAT EQUITY. Who will dare deny Ms. Holliday the right to sing in New York again? The art slave shuttle ship will cross the International Sea to arrive in bronze age of Sardinia in the summer 87…This modern sacrifice was possible only with the art journey of Anita Steckel. Plexus is a collaborative avant-garde opera, a modern sacrifice. This one night extravaganza is a compression of time, space, relativity. It recreates archetypes modernizes mythology. It has its root in experimental total theatre and happenings. Eve takes place on a mythological art slave ship and is performed by more than 200 contemporary artists handcuffed together. Eve is an interdisciplinary musical of Plexus. The barbarian Rivington School is the continuity from Harlem in the 1920's to the Lower East Side in the 1980's. It is a metaphoric opera about Eve in her escape in the divine comedy. This journey of an art opera is a bridge between reality and fantasy. Plexus means to proceed from observation through discussion, reflection, action, demonstration. It is a celebration through all art diversity to destroy the schism between East and West.
It was about the landing of Eve between Adam and God in the Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican. It was about the escaping of the artist from New York artworld and from the written art history.
The Plexus art journey storyline of Eve, moving through art history, creation and evolution, was inspired by the artworks of Anita Steckel. It was a spectacular event open to the public only for one hour, with a 99 cents admission fee. It was about evolutionists vs creationists.