Summer Happenings with Perfume Genius + more

The Broad kicked off the first of its (Non)objective: Summer Happenings this Saturday with performances by Perfume Genius, Lotic, Narcissister and Cindytalk. The first of 4 happenings this year, Saturday night's goings on combined performance art with live music all in the spirit of The Broad's newly opened Cindy Sherman exhibition.

Visitors streamed between the outdoor plaza stage and the museum's exhibition halls though the course of the night, giving the whole event a subversive "back to school" night feeling. In the presence of Warhol, Koons and Murakami, Lotic and Cindytalk turned the massive gallery into an electronic sound bath while masked mystery artist Narcissister danced about on the Plaza stage. The feminist performance artist is known for making appearances on every trashy show from America's Got Talent to TMZ stripped down to a merkin, much to the confusion and delight of the audience.

The lush, haunting melodies of Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, rang out from the plaza to the street as drag queens and other performers strutted in 6 inch heels and shot glitter cannons with reckless abandon. Painted drag queens writhed in glitter and dirt, performing spoken word poetry about race and sexuality from a megaphone that reverberated down the street–quickly prompting security to push the artists off the sidewalk.

Meanwhile in the Oculus Hall, a makeshift "Mutant Salon" invited patrons to get primped and polished, a nod to Cindy Sherman's proclivity for the makeup and costumes that embody her character disguises.

The next Happening at the Broad will feature performances by Richard Hell, Haxan Cloak, Mas Ysa and more on July 30th. Tickets can be purchased here.

Story and Photography by Natasha Aftandilians