intellectual properties

movement studies

last night we went to see our (awesome!!!) friend Mary Franck’s conceptual-performance piece, Permutae.

i had so many millions of things to say while sitting in that dark theatre,  and now i barely recall all of the places my mind went.

i don’t know why i resist loving conceptual art so much.  i think it’s because i can’t actually articulate why, and so when, afterward, i say “i absolutely loved it” and someone asks “why?” i feel suddenly unprepared, embarrassed to explain.  why do bodies moving absurdly through abstract scapes to nonmelodic sounds cause my self to dissolve?  the body as vocabulary, skin as an instrument: this speaks to me.

all i know is that not long after the performance started i realized that almost my entire body was moving also, while most of the rest of the audience sat still, the man next to me fully asleep.  not only do i enjoy watching, i uncontrollably want to be doing what they are doing.

i have an artist ticket to burning man this year, from doing butoh with BadUnklSista for BRAF and such.  it makes me feel odd as i still do not describe or consider myself an artist. but i think that i might do a solo butoh piece somewhere on the playa.  i will not tell anyone when or where.

butoh and wine and tapestry

ras-Artumnal-portrait-2194, originally uploaded by furtographer.

from the BRAF Artumnal 2010 portraits by the Furtographer

recently

performing with BadUnklSista @ the Black Rocks Arts Foundation ARTumnal fundraiser 11/20/10

Bad Unkl Sista in French Vogue (!!!)

the November 2010 issue of French Vogue has a section on Burning Man (bm-vogue-pdf), which is exciting for many reasons, but particularly since there is, not in the main article (which does feature art by other friends!) but in another section, a photo of our Bad Unkl Sista butoh crew during our white procession at the Temple at dawn on Thursday.

(enlarged below)

L to R: Kyle Hailey, Myana, Calli Beck, Orange, Wanda, Yaella

what you’re seeing is part of a full circle of 16 people. i’m only a leeetle sad that all you can see of me is a slight bit of profile standing on the far, far left, next to/behind Kyle, but *so excited* that as a group we made it into F*ING FRENCH VOGUE. since i’m pretty sure i will never get this close to being in Vogue again, and since i am technically in this photo, i’ll count this as it.

see also: my Burning Man 2010 report + this recent NYT article on BM-inspired haute couture in Paris

07.18.10

for Miss G designs @ Evolution [of Fashion], July 18, 2010

photo PhatCatPhoto.com

headpiece by Caley Johnson/Miss G (SF)

top – vintage/reconstructed

skirt – BadUnklSista couture (SF)

red strings and rabbit holes

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!“

- Alice, in Wonderland

i love synchronicity, even if oblique.

as posted, BadUnklSista, the butoh performance group i often dance with, is doing a 2-night production in SF this weekend @http://counterpulse.org/ , a double-bill with The Carpetbag Brigade, an unlikely composition of amazing performance artists who are currently doing an extremely mad take on Jack and the Beanstalk. while some of BUS performances are loose, organic pieces that we rehearse very little for, this one was choreographed, and because i was back east visiting my family last weekend, i wasn’t able to attend the rehearsals and therefore wasn’t able to participate as a performer. we went as audience members last night instead. jay asked afterward why i so like abstract performance art – what do i get out of it/what do i love about it? (a side topic being that i don’t think people can choose what kind of art (including music) moves them. you can try to make yourself like an art form, but really i think you either do or you don’t, n’est-ce pas?)  i can’t explain how much it moves me, every time, but i’ll try.

do you have those dreams, where nothing makes sense, you’re not even sure who/what/where, but you wake up with a feeling as though you witnessed something so deep it meant everything? i have them often, and the Carepetbag Brigade’s “You Don’t Know Jack” performance was as such, with people doing odd things with unexpected objects, saying things that on the surface sound like mad gibberish but when digested, when it all hits you as one piece, as a whole, seems so universal that it means everything.  the poetic dialogue and songs were interwoven in odd but meaningful ways, the words carefully chosen, the physicality rich and directive, and at the end i felt as if awaking from one of those dreams. i couldn’t quite grasp what had happened, but i felt changed by it.

and then, Bad Unkl Sista’s performance, which i won’t even attempt with the details. most prominently, I am completely in love with Totter Todd‘s music right now (the dark place inside that you act from but never look at/swallow your fear, swallow it whole/you’re killing yourself with your own beauty).  BUS performances are always an honest and intense look at that which we are, the pieces of ourselves which we hide, which we let eat us from the inside, and the joy at relieving ourselves from such self-inflicted prisons.  there’s a certain part of myself that i am really not liking these days (in short: judgmental, and vocally), which is often exacerbated by visiting my family, and the performance last night brought a lot of that to the surface.  i am thinking i need a long strand of red string to tie around my wrist as a reminder of a few things i need to work on for a while (in the performance, such a string was used as a representation of your fear(s), which it is suggested in both song and action that you ingest, digest, and then regurgitate into something that tastes like relief).

thank you Bad Unkl Sista for always bringing such beauty, whether i am inside it or watching from afar. there’s another performance tonight @counterpulse in SF, which i’m sure will be similar but different. if you like intensity and songs and dances and abstract dreams that seem to say almost nothing directly but mean everything, i highly encourage you to attend tonight.

what does this have to do with rabbit holes and synchronicity?  the new Alice in Wonderland opened in SF this weekend, and we have a large crew (30+) who will be going to see it tonight, many of us in costume. and while the Disney version is just fine, those who have read the original texts know that Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass are much more than childrens’ stories, and are quite philosophically intricate and more than a little bit metaphysical.  it’s obvious why the psychedelic community latched onto its metaphors.

so with all the anticipation for the new film and mind wandering in that direction for this past week, particularly visiting my mother, who has an enormous collection of Alice in Wonderland memorabilia in her dining room/living room cabinets (indeed: dolls and figurines and books and all sorts of collectors items), walking out of the performance last night felt like the start of a weekend-long visit down the rabbit hole. then after another night of intense, crazy dreams, waking up this morning, it’s true: i’m really not sure i am the same person i was when i went to sleep last night, and if not, who that means i am today.

bad unkl sista: the study of soft: march 5&6 2010

hopefully i’ll be performing with BadUnklSista both of these nights next weekend – it should be intense, and beautiful.  come check it out, esp. if you’ve never seen BUS.

The Carpetbag Brigade and Bad Unkl Sista present two kaleidoscopic double-bill evenings of fun, disturbing physical theater and Butoh.

In “The Study of Soft”, featuring live music by Totter Todd (of Heavyweight Dub Champion), Pym (iampym.com) and F’kir Elderfae (Bad Unkl Sista), Bad Unkl Sista fuses multi-genre dance forms, live and original produced music, art installation, video and couture costuming into a continually evolving Butoh-based performance experience. For 2010 Bad Unkl Sista has begun a year long study of soft, and brings a different show to CounterPULSE each night.

The Carpetbag Brigade’s “You don’t know Jack” returns to CounterPULSE taking a Jungian twist on “Jack and the Beanstalk” with a dash of PTSD to create a surreal, comic tragedy of an alcoholic dead man and the shadow of his wildly dysfunctional family. Inspired by Robert Bly’s “The Sibling Society”, this funny, nightmarish fairy tale is a potent brew of physical theater, dance and a live musical score created by the ensemble cast.

tickets are $15-25 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100860

miss velvet cream/metamorphica in NOVO Mag

photos from a Metamorphica figure drawing workshop i did almost a year ago with miss velvet cream as the stylist just turned up in print in NOVO magazine’s current fashion issue:

(that’s me on the right)

the next Metamorphica is on Feb 26th with BadUnklSista as the stylist, which never disappoints.  if you or someone you know enjoys figure drawing, check it out.

get your love on: “LovingYou” and “LoveSick3″ this weekend in SF

wo hand-crafted, heartfelt and artfelt events this valentine’s weekend in SF that i will be at and if you’re looking to ignore the traditional Vday hoopla and get out – coupled or alone – for some beauty, art and love, you should too:

SATURDAY 2/13

Missing Piece Presents:

LOVING YOU: a gallery art party

LOVING YOU is a gallery art party featuring love-inspired artists, designers, and performers celebrating that crazy thing called love.

While it is true that our photo booth has been known to cause makeout sessions with attractive strangers, that’s not the only reason you should come to LOVING YOU. We also have the best last-minute valentine’s shopping for you or your boo, including locally made gifts like lingerie, jewelry, hats, belt buckles, stuffed animals, mini flower vases, and even white lace MC hammer pants!

Come for the original artwork valentine you will get at the door, stay for the super cute performers, drink ’till your bold, get your tarot cards read and hey, while your at it, get your hair done! Then go home happy at midnight with someone on your arm and VOILA! it’s a wonderful start to your Valentine’s Day.

LOVING YOU features love-inspired artists and designers:

BeesandBears http://www.beesandbears.com
Breality Designs http://www.brealityrox.com
Danielle Deroberts http://www.onerary.com
Heather G. Arcega http://www.gingerbreadclothing.com
Ivana Ristic http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/ivana
Jeremy S. Eaton http://www.germsspread.com
Kristen Holden http://www.missingpieceproductions.com/holden
Liz Mamorsky http://www.lizland.com
MonTree http://www.montreedesigns.com
Native Intelligence http://www.rockitscienceSF.com
O’Lover Hats http://www.oloverhats.com
Roland Blandy http://www.rolandblandy.co.uk
Ron Goldin http://moonlid.com
Sea Pony
Sid Gabriel
Sugarpuss http://www.sugarpussclothing.com
Tamo Design http://www.tamodesign.com
Tidal Ware http://www.tidalwarejewelry.com
WilloToons http://www.willotoons.com

PLUS:
Glamarama Instant Makeovers http://www.glamarama.com
Magnolia Photo Booth http://www.magbooth.com
Mary Kay’s Tarot Readings http://www.marykaymitchell.com
Mobile Libations Bar http://www.mobilelibations.com
Ploom Tasting Lounge http://www.ploom.com

Special Guest Performance by Ricochet http://www.ricochet.name

MUSIC PROVIDED BY:
8-9pm Michael Musika http://www.myspace.com/michaelmusika
“Valentines Day is love linked to commerce and some sort of catholic innuendo. I sing lots of songs about whores and ghosts.”

9-10pm Model Student http://www.modelstudent.us/
Performing an all-acoustic set of “Songs of Love & Lust”, a repertoire of songs spanning several continents and languages.

10-11pm DJ Benchun http://benchun.net
“When you’re the dj you have one job. Your job is to make everyone go home and f*ck.”

$7 admission .::. 8-11pm

@ Glamarama, Van Ness Avenue, 417 S Van Ness @ 15th, SF

<3.:.:.::.:.::.:.:::.::…:::..:::…:::…::::…:::::…::::….:::::…::::::<3

SUNDAY, 2/14

The third annual LoveSick fashion show

(you should click there and watch the video…)

If you can’t cure the sickness, treat the symptoms this February 14th at Mighty.  You won’t find a cure for your broken heart, however, if you drag yourself over to 119 Utah Street at 7p.m. you will find a plethora of palliative pleasantries.

LoveSick 3 will have a live musical performance by The Goldenhearts, DJs Irene Hernandez & Martin Collins, special performance by Bad Unkl Sista, trunk show, art exhibition, kissing/photobooth, and a raffle – all supporting the main event:

A smoldering fashion show of the latest in lingerie and fashion from amazing SF designers such as Alexandria von Bromssen, Miss Velvet Cream, My Dirty Dishes, Medium Reality, Richard Hallmarq, Miranda Caroligne, Kayo, Invisible Hero,  Ghetto Goldilocks, Tamo Design, Gelareh Designs, Jasmin Zorlu & more. There will be a special performance by Bad Unkl Sista & Collaboration Project with Alexandria von Bromssen.

come get your love on.

butoh

i never imagined i’d perform butoh before i did it. sometimes i see myself dong this crazy thing, this macabre expression, this walking slowly with fists clenched looking as though in anguish and/or frozen joy, face painted white and knees trembling, this shamelessly raw unfettered expression, this adoration of the self. who would want or need this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butoh

the workshop i did last weekend involved walking really, really slowly across a room but maintaining intense presence, resistance activities with partners (e.g. pushing eachother backward as hard as you can),
imagining an object is the physical manifestation of everything good about yourself and offering it to others (projection), imaging an object is everything bad about yourself and sharing it with others,

running ecstatically, using breath to create energy waves in the body.

i know it might sound silly, but think about it: it’s the kinds of things you might have done as a small child, games to play with yourself and others, and don’t do anymore.  it feels good.

also: it can be physically intense. i was sore for 3 days after last weekend. but it doesn’t have to be.  you can take it easy on yourself too.

there is a free workshop this weekend in SoMa SF.  if you are interested, let me know, and i will point you the way.

Bad Unkl Sista is offering free introductory butoh and multi-genre performance training for anyone interested…no performance or dance skills required…the only thing required is a desire to see yourself and others from a different angle..

http://www.badunklsista.com