Myths of Rape (1977/2012)

Myths of Rape (2012), a collaboration by Chan & Mann, was a reinterpretation of Leslie Labowitz-Starus' Myths of Rape (1977), part of Suzanne Lacy's Three Weeks in May (1977). This production was presented by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) for Three Weeks in January (2012) as part of the Getty Pacific Standard Time Performance Festival.

The 2012 re-invention of Myths of Rape transformed the original piece to raise contemporary concerns around rape, sexual assault, and activism. It was performed on January 18, 2012 at the LA Art show opening night in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Thirty diverse performers enacted compelling tableaux and spatial interventions, wearing presentation boards featuring current myths and facts about rape. The performers created a series of movements (produced in collaboration with choreographer Mecca Vazie Andrews) that formed both intimate moments and bold statements, which activated the site of the LA Convention Center. Drawing inspiration from traditions of feminist agit-prop, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the Arab Spring, this performance reinforced how activism and performance art are as relevant today as in the past. 

In 2014 Chan & Mann exhibited a new version of Myths of Rape in a group exhibition at the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, China entitled, "Half the Sky: Intersections in Social Practice Art," organized by the Women's Caucus for Art. In addition, Mann traveled to Shenyang for the opening of the exhibit and participated in 2-3 days of interactive events with the Chinese artists and students of the Academy. Mann led, with translation assistance by Jing Deng, a Mandarin/English call-and-response rendition of various myths and facts about rape.