Angela Ellsworth and her "sister wives" are finally bringing their doctrine to town.
At 7 p.m. Friday, performance artist Ellsworth and her crew present Where the Skies Are Blue, a piece that explores Ellsworth's experiences of growing up Mormon and her family ties to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). The event marks the first time local audiences can witness Ellsworth's work that made a splash in Australia during the 17th Biennale of Sydney and in Los Angeles.
As was previously reported, Ellsworth's great-great-grandfather, Lorenzo Snow, was the fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as a polygamist who had a dozen wives. The culture of FLDS polygamy (or, as Bill Henrickson would prefer you call it, "plural marriage") has been immortalized in contemporary times in Big Love and Sister Wives.
Ellsworth, who no longer practices Mormonism, will enlist the help of thirteen "sister wives" for her performance on Friday, including Teta Johnson, Abbey Messmer, and Crystal Bedford.
"We are boldly going where no sister-wife has gone before," writes Ellsworth.
The shindig takes place during the ASU Art Museum's Spring Opening Reception, so from 7 to 9 p.m., you can also check out the official opening of "Collecting Contemporary Art: the FUNd at ASU Art Museum," "Re-Thinking the Faculty Exhibition 2011," "It's not just black and white: Gregory Sale - Social Studies Project 6," and "Citadel: An installation by Patricia Sannit."
For more information on Where the Skies Are Blue, check out the Facebook event page.
