While you'll be scavenging for Reese's in your backyard this Sunday, artist Kembra Pfahler will be doing Easter a little differently: onstage at Santos Party House and covered in body paint, performing the same egg piece that she's been doing since 1983, in which she cracks paint-filled eggs on her vagina while standing on her head. (Like I said, differently.) So I stopped by Kembra's all-red-everything apartment for a slightly unconventional Easter egg-decorating session, where I joined the super sweet frontwoman of The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black in hollowing out dozens of eggs and filling them with color for her show.
The egg performance originated back when Kembra was a young artist at SVA. One day while hanging out in the Lower East Side, a kid on the scene asked her if she'd do a performance at the Jane Street Hotel space called Armageddon. Wanting the piece to be striking, short, and memorable, she looked around her apartment for something to use. "There were eggs in the fridge, and that's how it started." Today, she's perfected the piece. "I was using desitin paint and house paint on my body, but they were so toxic I had to be hospitalized. So I'm careful now; I use MAC Chromacake in a plethora of colors, and Mehron liquid body paint to infuse the eggs with color."
Kembra, who is not religious, does not celebrate Easter. ("I think Christianity is the root of all evil," she happily shrugged while we sat in her kitchen tapping nails into egg shells.) Rather, the performance falls as a welcoming of spring and all of its colors, particularly after a rough winter for a lot of New Yorkers. "My neighborhood was almost underwater after Sandy. Jobs were slow and rents exorbitant, so we want to celebrate surviving an arduous, difficult winter. We made it, and now we will change the world one show, one picture, one photograph at a time." Our night, punctured by a visit from her bassist Gyda Gash, a false eyelash "explosion", and a text message from Kenny Scharf ("He says hi!"), was loads of fun. See how it went down below. And see you all at Santos tomorrow!
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Youthquake, Nobra will be performing Sunday, March 31st starting at 7pm at Santos Party House. | Photos by Walter Wlodarczyk
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It's a Karen Black Easter!
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Step 1: Gently tap a nail into the conical end of a raw egg.
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Step 2: Empty the egg by turning it upside-down and allowing the fluids to pour out.
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If you're having a little trouble, pour some water into the egg. This dilutes the fluids, allowing them to spill out more easily.
![]()
Step 3: Pour the paint into the egg!
![]()
Step 4: Tape 'em up!
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We painted a couple more eggs for good measure...
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Bassist Gyda Gash popped by!
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Happy
The egg performance originated back when Kembra was a young artist at SVA. One day while hanging out in the Lower East Side, a kid on the scene asked her if she'd do a performance at the Jane Street Hotel space called Armageddon. Wanting the piece to be striking, short, and memorable, she looked around her apartment for something to use. "There were eggs in the fridge, and that's how it started." Today, she's perfected the piece. "I was using desitin paint and house paint on my body, but they were so toxic I had to be hospitalized. So I'm careful now; I use MAC Chromacake in a plethora of colors, and Mehron liquid body paint to infuse the eggs with color."
Kembra, who is not religious, does not celebrate Easter. ("I think Christianity is the root of all evil," she happily shrugged while we sat in her kitchen tapping nails into egg shells.) Rather, the performance falls as a welcoming of spring and all of its colors, particularly after a rough winter for a lot of New Yorkers. "My neighborhood was almost underwater after Sandy. Jobs were slow and rents exorbitant, so we want to celebrate surviving an arduous, difficult winter. We made it, and now we will change the world one show, one picture, one photograph at a time." Our night, punctured by a visit from her bassist Gyda Gash, a false eyelash "explosion", and a text message from Kenny Scharf ("He says hi!"), was loads of fun. See how it went down below. And see you all at Santos tomorrow!
The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Youthquake, Nobra will be performing Sunday, March 31st starting at 7pm at Santos Party House. | Photos by Walter Wlodarczyk
It's a Karen Black Easter!
Step 1: Gently tap a nail into the conical end of a raw egg.
Step 2: Empty the egg by turning it upside-down and allowing the fluids to pour out.
If you're having a little trouble, pour some water into the egg. This dilutes the fluids, allowing them to spill out more easily.
Step 3: Pour the paint into the egg!
Step 4: Tape 'em up!
We painted a couple more eggs for good measure...
Bassist Gyda Gash popped by!
Happy