- Nick McManus
Nick at Night: Jouissance at The Storefont Project
Fashion designer Amanda Mehl and curator Andrew Hutner threw Jouissance, a wild performance-art dinner party at Lower East Side's Storefront Project at the end of December, where 20 "guests" dined on the faux carcass of a of a full size unicorn.
The performers feasted on blue spaghetti "guts" with a gory grace while toasting each other with glass after glass of champagne. Jouissance is a french word meaning enjoyment in terms of rights, property and sexual orgasm - and the performers fed it's terminology to each other in the same convoluted way that we've all shared just about anything this past decade.
The outfits worn by the performers were designed by Mehl, whose underground shows featuring her "Amhel" label picked up media attention this past fashion week. More press for her followed as a Daily News article featuring Jouissance went national via msn.com. Kassidy Vavra captured essense of Mehl's aesthetic fusion by noting that, "it was the perfect intersection of performance art and fashion art."
This is her life. This is "Jouissance."

Designer Amanda Mehl (top, center left) and curator Andrew Hutner (second left) with their performers at the conclusion of "Jouissance" at Storefront Project in LES




