Eros Anima is to be a visual performance piece continuing many years of my explorations of abstraction in puppetry, and bringing this work into a new a level of nobility of materials and sensuality of expression with the explicit influence of postwar Italian artistic trends such as Arte Povera and Spatialism. I am seeking a fellowship at the American Academy of Rome to steep myself in the work of artists such as Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Enrico Castellani, and Agostino Bonalumi, among others, and to learn from and appreciate the context that gave rise to their work. The resulting piece will be a uniquely intimate experience with live music at home in both performance venues or visual art galleries.