Ann Liv Young

ART & PERFORMANCE SPACES

Sanctuary of Hope - "This is a little teeny-tiny church that was converted in to a performance space in Ridgewood, Queens. They were doing a show and they called me and asked if I would do a performance about masturbation and at the end sacrifice a chicken. I told them I would do it, knowing that I really wasn't going to sacrifice the chicken, so I came up with a plan. I kept my station wagon idling outside and I went on stage to do the masturbation show with all this fruit. During the show they hand me the chicken and this girl in audience, who thinks I'm going to kill it, freaks out and jumps on stage to try and save it. So Michael (her parnter) knocks her over and she shatters this vase that was on stage. I grab the chicken back and run naked to the car, with this chicken dangling from my arms. The next day we drove the chicken to this animal farm upstate near Saugerties."

SOURCE

Rush Arts - "Rush Arts is this Chelsea Gallery run by Derrick Adams. He's a nephew of Russell Simons and just an amazing guy with a cool space."

"Sometimes I'm not really sure why I’m attracted to performance. I’ve sort of tried to do other things like making clothes and it doesn’t really work for me that well. I think there is just a huge part of me that really likes making things that don’t exist after you show it."

INSPIRATION & INFLUENCE

The A-Team - "I love Mr. T. We're both afraid to fly. I think this show was a beautiful example of human nature."

Wonder Woman - "I love the original Wonder Woman show. I'm obsessed with how it was filmed and the film stock they used. I wish I knew what that stock was. Wonder Woman is crazy tough and lives on the island of women, which I just think is great. I don't like the episodes with Super Girl though."

SOURCE

Todd Solondz - "I think he's a really smart guy. He sheds light on things that really exist and his movies are nice."

Ingmar Bergman - "I'm obsessed with social interactions and I love the people he chose to work with. His women are fascinating and I love their look. I feel like the way his films look are the way they make me feel. The dynamics between his women are amazing and it's really nice that someone in world was alive and made things like these."

SOURCE

"Pop culture and pop music have always been a pretty big part of my life, especially when I was little.  I was totally in love with Madonna, like I’m sure every eight year old girl was, and I choose a lot of pop songs for my work by just searching the most popular songs on ITunes. A lot of people find this annoying because people are always like ‘why does she use this crappy music in her work?', but I think it helps people relate to the work when they know the music."

SHOPS

Goodwill - "Being from North Carolina, it's hard to really go thrift shopping in New York because everything here is just so expensive but the Goodwill on Kings Highway in Brooklyn is great. It's kind of in a poor area and there's so much stuff. I use this one a lot when I'm looking for costumes or props and when I'm looking for ideas to help with my aesthetic."

B&J Fabrics - "They have really high end stuff. They're horrible about giving samples but their fabrics are really really beautiful."

SOURCE: Flickr

Atlantis Antique Shop - "The Atlantis Antique Shop is one of my favorite antique shops. This super sweet lady runs it and she has awesome stuff. It's a bit overpriced though."

SOURCE: Flickr

"I went to Hollins University, which is an all women's college in Virgina and there was a lot of competition and cattiness amongst the women - which I'm sure you can only imagine. All the women there are all trying to be choreographers and a lot of these women now live in the city and come see my shows and say mean things about me. They don’t really even know me, but I can address them through my work, which is very nice even though I'm not very nice when I address them."

RESTAURANTS

Tai Thai - "Tai Thai on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg is one of my favorite restaurants. They have great Thai food."

SOURCE: Flickr

St. Alps Tea House - "The St. Alps Tea House is absolutely my favorite place in New York City for Bubble Tea."

"One time I did a show in Scotland and I think I pissed some people off because Isabelle actually urinated in a bucket and I drank it. That’s gross, isn’t it? And then it went on the audience by accident. That was bad too.  I actually shocked myself and I thought for sure that I was going to be arrested but I wasn't. Actually, the lady that it really hit the hardest was sleeping. How she was sleeping I have no idea."

NEIGHBORHOODS & PARKS

McCarren Park - "I love McCarren Park, especially their dog park, which is one of my favorite dog parks in the city."

SOURCE: Flickr

Red Hook - "I love the gardens in Red Hook. I really like neighborhoods that don't feel yuppie, and to me, Red Hook doesn't feel like that at all. It's one of the few neighborhoods I go to that makes you really feel like you're on the water."