Steven Cohen, performance artist and creator of Put Your Heart Under Your Feet And Walk! explains he is not an actor. His actions and experiences during performances are real.
Cohen’s aesthetics, composition and design are impeccable. The theatricality of his impressions is spellbinding. His artistic innovation and creative ingenuity is extraordinary.
Yet Cohen’s most remarkable genius lies in his ability to inter-subjectively navigate a profound impact on his viewer. In this work he supersedes the need for either narratives or symbolism, leaving the viewer astounded by the relentless impact of his actions and experiences.
Put Your Heart Under Your Feet And Walk! is a bafflingly beautiful work.
It is in its disturbing images, such as the bloody slaughtering of cattle in an abattoir, or the swallowing of human remains, where this sublime beauty emerges.
Cohen connects with his viewer at a primitive level, where emotions are unguarded and experiences are raw. His pain becomes one’s own pain.
The work pays reverence to Cohen’s life-partner Elu who passed away in 2016. They were together for close to 20 years.
Elu was a beautiful and gentle man. He, himself, was an exceptional choreographer and performance artist, frequently collaborating with Cohen and often featuring in Cohen’s work.
Cohen masterfully saturates the stage in his insatiable love for Elu and the devastation of losing his muse and the love of his life.
Put Your Heart Under Your Feet And Walk! is an ode to loss, that cascades through a delta of hurt before plummeting into a deep pool of unforgiving resolve.
In our human experience, it is love that makes us belong.