Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The unpinnable and fascinating Arca holds court as only she can in MUTANT;DESTRUDO at the Park Avenue Armory

• By drediman
• October 13, 2023
• No Comments

Last night, I found myself at the Park Avenue Armory to take in Arca perform her latest work Mutant;Destrudo. Commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory, the piece straddles both pop concert and performance art in a way that feels newly conceived and unique to the artist’s brand. From beginning to end, it was an evening full of contrasts everywhere from the music to Arca herself – the latter a creation both fragile yet determined.

Now fully identifying as a transgender Latina woman, Arca (who was born in Venezuela) is a fascinating, evolving artist who has made a name for herself for her fierce self-determination and by being hard to pin down. Because she blurs the lines with respect to everything she touches, her performances have a vital, unpredictable quality that seems to emanate from a place of intrinsic unconformity. And by refusing defiantly to be classified, she has amassed a countercultural cult following that adores her every move.

As for her music, it’s as fluid as her persona. Mutant;Destrudo – with its murmuring, unconventional beats and openness to both unbridled assault and delicate introspection – weaves in and out of the popular music vernacular, in the process creating something that confuses expectations. Like an extended jam session, the evening unfolds organically as if coming into being in the moment – even when it channels crowd-pleasing spectacle. Indeed, the concert is unvarnished in an endearing kind of way, a spirit that spills over to the laissez-faire mode of Arca’s performance – a quality which I found oddly compelling.

In terms of visual aesthetic, the immersive production in the Armory’s massive drill hall is decidedly low-tech and goth-leaning. Mutant;Destrudo relies on artfully compiled video projections – largely of Arca’s shape-shifting avatar, which is strangely as much a part of the performance as Arca’s physical presence as a hesitant star holding court (again, confounding expectations) – that synch gorgeously with the music-making, together inducing a singularly hypnotizing, trance-like state that borders on transcendence.

RECOMMENDED

ARCA: MUTANT;DESTRUDO
Music
Park Avenue Armory
2 hours (without an intermission)
Through October 15