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  1. Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 7 minutes excerpted from 45 minutes, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

  2. In Absolute Event, two actors (who are former congressional staffers) perform a dialogue in which a political strategist coaches a politician from behind the scenes of a situation room. The script combines material from Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac with current American political rhetoric and interviews conducted by Laser with political and public relations strategists. The gallery was transformed into a control room and a situation room, incorporating elements from a disco nightclub. During the performances, a live-feed video was produced, edited and projected. Select audience members were invited to register moment-to-moment approval ratings using Audience Response System keypads. This data is reflected in graphs that appear in the video.

    Credits:
    Script written by Liz Magic Laser in collaboration with Sofia Pontén, based on Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand; Set Design in collaboration with Andrea Huelse; Script Advisor: Political Strategist Mustafa Tameez; Technical Director: Irwin Seow; Director of Photography: Laura Cooper; Audio Engineer: Tristan Shepherd; Costume Stylist: Felicia Garcia-Rivera; Research Assistant: Rachel Zaretsky; Production Managers: Lucia Hinojosa and Brian Mcelroy. Special thanks to Paula Cooper, Anthony Allen, Lucas Cooper, Jake Ewert, Kristoffer Haynes, Alexis Johnson, Margaret Kross, Steven Probert, David Guinan, Sanya Kantarovsky, Ken Laser, Hanna Novak, Wendy Osserman, Romy Scheroder, Esther Kim Varet, Joseph Varet, Plum TV and The School of Visual Arts MFA Photo, Video and Related Media Department. Produced with support from Paula Cooper Gallery.

  3. Related Material+ Liz Magic Laser: Absolute Event, DIS Magazine, December 2013
    Green: Liz Magic Laser, artfcity.com, November 2013
    Liz Magic Laser's "Absolute Event" Turned Paula Cooper Gallery Into a Participatory TV Studio, artinfo.com, November 2013
    Liz Magic Laser Takes On Congress, artinfo.com, October 2013
    Absolute Event Handout
     Absolute Event Press Release

  4. Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    The Invisible Cube, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, etched crystal, 4 x 4 x 4 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    The Invisible Cube, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, etched crystal, 4 x 4 x 4 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Disco Globe, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mirrored glass, black glass, plastic core, chain and rotating motor, 16 x 16 x 16 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Disco Globe, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mirrored glass, black glass, plastic core, chain and rotating motor, 16 x 16 x 16 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Map Curtain, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mylar, vinyl and fabric, 108 x 132 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Map Curtain, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mylar, vinyl and fabric, 108 x 132 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, vinyl, 108 in. diameter, edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, vinyl, 108 in. diameter, edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    World-Nose Logo, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, plexiglass, 23.9 x 28.3 x 1 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    World-Nose Logo, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, plexiglass, 23.9 x 28.3 x 1 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: Delsarte System of Oratory, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: Delsarte System of Oratory, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: Audience Response System, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    Diagram: Audience Response System, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 1

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    • 2

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    • 3

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    • 4

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, production still, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Featuring actors and former congressional staffers Daniel Abse and Gary Lee Mahmoud.

    • 5

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    • 6

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. 

    • 7

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 8

      Absolute Event, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, performance and video installation, 45 minutes, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 9

      The Invisible Cube, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, etched crystal, 4 x 4 x 4 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 10

      Disco Globe, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mirrored glass, black glass, plastic core, chain and rotating motor, 16 x 16 x 16 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 11

      Map Curtain, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, mylar, vinyl and fabric, 108 x 132 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 12

      The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, vinyl, 108 in. diameter, edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 13

      World-Nose Logo, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, plexiglass, 23.9 x 28.3 x 1 in., edition of 5, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 14

      Diagram: The Hustle, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 15

      Diagram: Delsarte System of Oratory, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

    • 16

      Diagram: Audience Response System, Liz Magic Laser, 2013, acrylic and silkscreen enamel on canvas, 54 x 68 in., edition of 3, installation view, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.