Memory Glands

poly amour 'til death do us part

Fri, 23 May 2008 07:18:22 GMT

A wedding invitation for a small simple role playing workshop staged for the finale of In The Land Where the Tiger Smoked, my collaboration with Torsten Zenas Burns.

This Thursday: Luminous Procuress in Brooklyn

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:11:47 GMT

If anyone is up for seeing a rare to see film at Monkey Town in Williamsburg this Thursday go to this link. RSVPing is recommended. The site describes the work by asking us to picture "Derek Jarman and Jack Smith having a baby raised by Kenneth Anger and James Bidgood." And that's just name dropping. The rest of the description is what got my attention. I'll be there and around NYC for a few days. What's weird is they don't mention The Cockettes, which is mostly what I come across while looking up info about the film. Hope to run into some of you.

Still from Stephen Arnold's Luminous Procuress

Censorship and Homophobia from Bluehost.com!

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:15:17 GMT

I recently helped by boyfriend put up his website of art photography. I told him to use Bluehost.com since it was the web service provider I was using, and I thought they seemed pretty good. After only two weeks, Bluehost pulled the plug on his site claiming he was delivering pornography. They did this without any warning.

After he called to inquire, they exclaimed that "if you can't see it in a Disney movie" they consider it pornographic. It's funny, their initial page doesn't seem to market themselves as the web service for parents and kids, and they obviously haven't seen the bare-breasted, ass-slapping excerpt of The Abominable Freedom on my site.

You need only to look for yourself at what they consider pornographic to begin to wonder if they have mixed pornography up with the word homosexuality. In other words, in the context of Jamil's sixty some photographs there are only three that show nudity. The style of these three photographs on there own is a far cry from porn. In the context of the other works, even less so. So what's there problem?

My site expires in January and I don't plan on continuing with them. If any of you out there are considering choosing a web hosting provider or know anyone that is....stay far away from Bluehost.com and spread the word!!! Jamil's website is now up and running via Godaddy.com.

Danger Zone

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:14:15 GMT

Hey all SFers and possible SF visitors...

Ever wonder what it would be like to unveil your own implant? While some of you may already know, come find out how I responded. I'm premiering a new video called Other Turbans at Studio 27 as part of an evening of international shorts addressing the "boundaries of conformity or danger in both public and personal spaces."

Friday, July 20th at 9pm, 689 Bryant Street. See link for more details.

The Fiction Science Triangle

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:29:49 GMT

In a little over 4 hours, The Fiction Science Triangle comes to San Francisco.

There is no advance notice. For more info go to Studio 27

scenes from a vilm that is continually shot

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:53:15 GMT

Pics from a grass valley shoot in the early spring. Thank you bearsgonewild and grassvalleybear!! More to come of the most recent one soon.

update

Wed, 16 May 2007 17:15:09 GMT

Hey, I've been away from LJ a while. I'm just posting a few pics of places I've been...exploring CA a lot more this year. What an amazing state. My camera recently broke while taking pics of the new bf (har har), so the last few months of pics will have to do.

On other news, my fabulous first intern destroyed all my India negatives. Last post I wrote that I'd be putting some up on occasion. Will do eventually, but if they are extra scratchy blame it on ceramic dust. Believe me...many of them are beyond photoshop repair.

All things old are new again

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:37:25 GMT

I'm sure that is someone else's line. But for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking it in relation to pondering a pseudo-stereoscopic photo series I took but never activated into anything, when I was but a wee lad traveling for 6 months in India...followed by a month in Nepal. I'll be posting some at a later date. I have an intern unearthing/digitizing the negatives for me. She rocks!! I'm so excited.

Before I handed over the film, I tried to take all the pics of me out of the loop but was looking over her shoulder to find her looking at pics like the one above. Yikes!! But I had even messier hair and I was all cobwebbed up in mosquito netting. I won't be posting those.

I'm also weeding through a journal written of my adventures but when typed I took every other word out of every sentence and left only every seventh sentence in full. I may fill in some blanks or maybe not. I know there is a multi-channel video piece in here somewhere. If not, maybe I'll at least find the something I don't know I'm looking for.

PS. Live Journal look under construction. Trying to make it tie into my website more. Still workin' out the kinks.

Free to Be...You and Me Invitational at PFA this Wed!!!

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:46:21 GMT

Free to Be...You and Me Invitational will be screening at Pacific Film Archive (PFA) on Wed. Jan. 17th at 7:30pm. My piece begins the program...the premise of which is that I tracked down four of the original kids on the merry-go-round to have them read the title song they road horsey to some 30+ years ago. Two just so happen to be fellow LJers...our very own kitchenbeard and egbubba! I know some of you may have seen this on-line, but if all goes well, it will be the first time this gets screened in its original format, HDV widescreen.

Hope to see you there, if you're interested and can make it!

egbubba at work!

Below is more information about the screening's inception taken from the Ocularis website:

Inspired by a Brooklyn film artist’s recent discovery that his 16mm collection contained multiple copies of the celebrated 1974 film (for television) Marlo Thomas’s Free To Be...You and Me, Ocularis has devised a scheme to put his reels to good use. More than twenty film and video artists will be invited to rework, restage, respond to, satirize, criticize, or in their own way create short works inspired by the original’s all-too-memorable segments, including “It’s All Right to Cry,” “William Wants a Doll,” “Ladies First,” and “Parents Are People.”

Conceived by Erik Z and Nick Hallett.
Curated by Thomas Beard and Nick Hallett of Ocularis.

Sing Along Oh Cosmonauts

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:01:12 GMT

Though I consider myself an artist that uses video, I don’t always consider myself easy to please on the appreciation of video installation. However, I have to say I was in for a pleasant surprise at SFMoMA last weekend and just wanted to recommend a couple things to people in the area or for those just visiting.

Still from Phil Collins’ dünya dinlemiyor
British artist Phil Collins (not that Phil Collins) does more than entertain with dünya dinlemiyor (Turkish for "the world won’t listen"), an installation comprising several karaoke performances of mostly elated fans of The Smiths shot in none other than Istanbul. While some obviously read the words off the screen and others relied purely on memory, the variety of approaches, whether dead-pan or extremely earnest where all from some part of the heart...even if the meaning in completion was lost in translation. At first, I approached the installation with hesitancy having experienced several other artists who have evoked the powers of karaoke in other works. Perhaps I was also a bit of defensive since I’m working on a large piece that includes tidbits of karaoke too. However, the performances won me over and as a side note actually made me realize why I like The Smiths. They are so exuberant about melancholia that it cancels out depression. Phil Collins via The Smiths and the Turks have made me realize the key to a happy despair is celebrating it. Be sure to see the guy that refused to sing but just took the opportunity to dance like Morrissey. He does a great job.

Still from Jane and Louise Wilson’s Stasi City
The other inspirational work ends up breaking my rule for never saying “I wish I made that piece” by making me say, “I wish I made that piece.” But then again…I know I’m too ‘tarded to use a dolly with such grace. My skills lie elsewhere. However, Jane and Louise Wilson’s Stasi City, is a synchronized four-projection installation where architectural representation become choreographed with mesmerizing skill. The site of their videography is Staatssicherheit, the empty headquarters of the East German secret police. The combination of disheveled 70s wood paneling, toppled furniture and abandoned medical equipment is evidence of an ambiguous history. The cool din of architecture is only broken by a person, whose face we never really see, levitating through the debris, as if the whole place existed in zero gravity.

These installations have been up for a while and they both come down on Jan. 21st. Go to SFMoMA’s site for more details.

All good things must come to an end

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:35:55 GMT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Help me decide what look to go with for the High School Reunion web site

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:41:09 GMT

View Poll: 20 years later

Yaayy....Go Horsey!

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:27:25 GMT

I just wanted to share my favorite YouTube personality. Everyone needs a hobby and ilovehorseyrides lives up to his name. I suggest you play them simultaneously for full impact.

San Jose Highlights

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 18:52:41 GMT

Julie Wyman and I partaking in Ho Fatso, an installation by Rania Ho
Last weekend I went to catch the end of the ISEA 2006 Symposium and the Zero One Festival in San Jose. I didn't see everything because my time there was so brief. Two shows that are still up for a while that I would recommend are at The San Jose Museum and The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. See the links for more details.

However, the biggest treat of them all was getting to experience an oldie but goodie, Survival Research Laboratory enact Ghostly Scenes of Infernal Descecration! If you haven't seen them already, don't miss a chance whenever they may be in the vicinity. They don't perform their mechanistic feats very often but if you go bring your earplugs. I understand they are outlawed to perform in the whole Bay Area, but I guess San Jose is considered the outskirts. A colleague told me whenever they do their thing some scapegoat responsible for their presence looses a job. Below are a few pics of their show though there is much better documentation of this event listed here! However, nothing is like being there and feeling the explosive vibrations through your body. It was CRAZY FUN!

The Living Squid

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 17:10:20 GMT

Hey, been doin' lots and no time for postin' but I have a few old Korean post left. Here goes it...maybe next one will be more about what's been going on lately.

My last night in Korea, I finally got to eat "the living squid"...at least that is the direct translation I got from my Korean friend Joo-Mee. However, on YouTube I have found a bunch of other posts about the dish described as Octopus, so go figure? Anyway, forgive the awkward cam. I was by myself with only my still camera to grab video with...it's hard to tape yourself eating things that still move.

HOT STUFF, NYC July 28th @ 6pm

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 15:49:58 GMT

While I was soooo appreciative that a healthy LJ crew came to the premiere of The Abominable Freedom back in March, for those who missed the sheer musical nudity of it all, come on out to Scanners: The 2006 New York Video Festival at Lincoln Center this Friday at 6pm. It will be playing again in a program called:

HOT STUFF:
WILLIAM E. JONES, DARRIN MARTIN, AND TORSTEN ZENAS BURNS

And for those who did get a chance to see it, the description of the video we are screening with may be tantalizing enough to get you to come for a second viewing. I've copied it below highlighting a few key words to get you at least considering it. FYI - also check out William E. Jones, the website. I've never experienced work by him myself, but have read a bit about Is It Really So Strange?, his 80-minute documentary about the cult of Morrissey fans that have sprung up amongst LA Latinos. That and his site's description for The Fall of Communism as Seen in Gay Pornography has more than made me curious and excited to see his new work.

V.O. William Jones, USA; 59m
In V.O. Jones appropriates imagery from 70s and 80s gay porn classics from directors such as Tom de Simone, Fred Halstead, and Joe Gage. (Everyone remembers Gage’s Kansas City Trucking Co., El Paso Wrecking Corp., and L.A. Tool & Die, right?) The imagery is then wedded to sound (and subtitles) borrowed from Jean Genet and art films by the likes of Renoir, Bunuel, and Debord. When the end credits roll and reveal all the source material that went into this delirious and magnificent creation, audience jaws will drop.

Actually, I’ll be around Thursday through Saturday trying to catch a lot of the other screenings in the festival. So if any thing else catches your eye, let’s go see a show together.

Korean Temple Medley

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:56:38 GMT

Rub the Belly
We really only went to a handful of Buddhist temples while I was in Korea. The Buddha above greets you at the entry of Haedong Yonggungsa, a dragon-themed temple in Busan that is most famous for its sunrises as it borders the sea. Since Torsten and myself are not particularly sunrise people, we visited in the late afternoon. We also went to Bulguksa Temple and Seokgulan Grotto just outside of Gyeongju. The latter is actually a cave temple said to be constructed in 751. It's highlight is a rather larger than life Buddha carved out of a massive singular rock as its centerpiece. Of course, in respect to those who worship there, I didn’t take any pictures of the actual shrines, but here are some pics of their surroundings.

one of the buildings from Bulguksa Temple

a detail of above building

the entrance building of the Seokgulan Grotto

the mistiest mountain walk up to Seokgulan Grotto

Seong-Whan, Joo-Mee and Torsten at Seokgulan Grotto

Seong-Whan and Torsten looking out of frame

One Day Fest of Electronic Music, Bands and New Media Art in Brooklyn

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 18:01:11 GMT

Hey New Yorkers or those in the area this weekend!! This Friday, July 22nd, the Bushwick Art Project is having a full on crazy fest like the subject heading says! It's called BAPLab and the day looks jam packed amazing. I wish I could be there.

Torsten and I have our video, I am Today's Lesson Plan in the mix. It's the one where we perform psychic surgery onto each other and the world is reduced to stacked taffy planes that spin round and round. The program is called Alternative Realities (The Infinite Sights of a Techno-Natural Landscape) curated by Ashley Bellouin, though on-line it is generically titled Video Program - B. Our program starts at 4pm and looks like a great line-up. Ashley is screening our work with one of my oldest favorite video art pieces and one of my newest. The late 80s tape Lilith by Steina is named after Adam's first wife and unfolds via the manipulated sounds and images of Doris Cross processed upon and within a wooded background. Both painterly and synthesized, it is uncertain whether the subject plants a curse or is telling a story that demands the attention that her knowing lines grant her. Takeshi Murata's Monster Movie with an amazing soundtrack by Plate Tectonics immerses his subject further into a technological gel. A giant hairy fanged long-armed monster arises, struts and spins his way through the decomposition and reconstruction of his own image. Monster Movie contains a contemporary twist on the psychedelic aesthetic which bears a humorous and uncanny resemblance to the decay of corrupt media files.

For further details see the link above.

Burial Mounds

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 17:05:39 GMT

I'm not one for graveyard tourism except in Paris. But who wouldn't smoke dope on Morrison's grave or wear lipstick and leave your kiss on Wilde's? Oh yeah, there was also the visit to The National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, which left me wondering what might my fantasy coffin be? And I suppose I'd visit the pyramids if I were to go to Egypt though rumor has it Queen Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple is where it's at. Ok...so maybe I'm into graveyard tourism.

An ancient tradish of the ancient Silla dynasty of Korea is mounds. Come to find out that even today many people are buried under small mounds. Their individual mound is often clustered together with others on their family's very own burial mountain. That usually includes the family in the very extended sense of the word. Korea is 75% mountain so they have a lot to choose from.

However, the mounds I have a few images of are bigger than most because, you guessed it...they were royalty. These can be found downtown in the once capitol city of Gyeongju. This site is called Daereungwon Nodong and Noseo-dong Tumuli but it is unclear to me if they know exactly who is buried in what mound. The one excavated mound that you could enter called its resident The King of the Flying Horses because he had horses with wings engraved on his royal accessories. The mounds were well built layers of gravel, large stones that were all about the size of one's head, and soil and grass. As you can see, the meticulous pathways and gardening bring together the very best aesthetic elements of The Wizard of Oz and the Teletubbies.

Our friends Seong-Whan and Joo-Mee being illustrious tour guides

Vision Quest

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 15:09:29 GMT

For those who are curious about what happened to The Vision outfit made by bearbait, below are some pics from a few of Torsten's and my recent Korean shooting sessions. Thankfully, our video came out much better than our stills, but these will give some idea of what we were up to. There are a few pics from a couple Karaoke sessions, and some brief action at an indoor gaming facility. For Karaoke, we had two Korean Scarlet Witches; thanks to Stephanie and Joo-Mee for helping out. We also had Sir Steed, one of the New Men; an accelerated evolutionary played by Seong-Whan, and a mystery guest...errr. I think he is kind of a jovial version of Leatherface.

Korean Marketing Strategies

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:56:22 GMT

Ok. I know we have our own strange customs like forcing cashiers to say "would you like a large Coke this evening?" at the movie theater. BTW if they don't say it at one movie theater in Davis a sign suggests you nark on them in order to get a free movie pass. ughgh...

image courtesy of my Sony Cybershot - 7.2 Megapixels of blur

Anyway, tangent diversion...I have found a couple popular marketing strategies in Korea to be noteworthy. Every time a new store or restaurant opens up, a specialty company is called to supply an inflatable archway and two hoochie girls to come and be amplified at the entryway. Of course, I don't know what they are saying but maybe what's more important is their outfits are always incredible.

Another custom (that I didn’t get a picture of) is driving around a small truck filled with a specific fruit or vegetable...bananas and mushrooms seem especially popular. This mobile store is again equipped with amplification and usually a recording that I can only imagine says something like this...."bananas, bananas, eat more bananas, they are yellow and ripe...healthy and sweet...they are good for you, full of potassium, bananas, bananas...." over and over and over again.

7 hour wait for an hour flight

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 07:06:34 GMT

I'm writing this standing at a "Free Internet Zone" kiosk in an airport. It has no chair and was designed for really short people. In other words, my wrists hurt as I type.

I have arrived at the airport earlier than anyone in aviation history. Torsten's flight was in the morning and we had to leave his place together. Because I do not travel lightly, I had to come check in my luggage. The ticket people giggled over my arrival, 7 hours before boarding time. It's not even international. Tonight I'm just traveling from Pusan to Seoul.

OK, I could taxi it to Pusan's largest Buddhist temple but it's only 30 years old and I'm all templed and palaced out nearing the end of my journey. I know I haven't posted any pics of any yet, but I was going to do that retroactively upon my return. I know you're hungry for it.

I was actually going to do THIS post once I dolled it up with images but am so bored I decided to just describe some of the airport highlights. The real images aren't that dynamic so use your imaginations to complete the picture.

Things I did while waiting:

1. Got all chatted up by a rather friendly Korean guy whose English was Ok enough that we almost always understood each other. He gave me a scare when he tried to make me pronounce Jesus in Korean but got off that subject just before I was about to run away. He shared his cigarettes, bought me a coffee and a crazy sweet vitamin drink that has made it hard for me to sit still. Of course, all of this was unsolicited and I even tried to not except or buy him a round or what have you, but he was determined to be a good representative of his country. As he departed he gave me his last two cigs and a lighter. I still don't know how to say Jesus in Korean.

2. I had to try a Green Tea Bavarian Dunkin' Donut. It looks moldy but it is really quiet good. Every chain has to Koreanize a little something on the menu to survive. I had a Bulgogi Chicken Sandwich at KFC last week. I love fusion gourmet.

3. More food. I have found that I really enjoy Korean food. The spice agrees with me and I love pickled everything. However, my lunchtime bean curd soup had bits of mysterious creature in it that I assume was from the sea by the company it kept. It was hard and needed to be spat out at every encounter.

4. Big Bang...the video game. I found the airport's game room and played this airplane shoot-em up game. I hold today's second place title which isn't such an accomplishment considering that I was the only person in the place. Do all the games here come from 1989 or are they just built to look that way? This is not meant to be derogatory...just a question. When it comes to technology, most young Koreans own cell phones that make mine look like a smoke signal device.

5. No biggie, but the images that keep cycling on the news here are missiles being launched. Not that I know what a North Korean missile looks like, but they look very North Korean. There are some flat screen displays that let me channel surf but unfortunately, none of the stations are in English. Err....time to take a break and go to newyorktimes.com. Oh, I get it, while the footage is very archival the story is today. Whew???

6. Only an hour left, I can't believe it! Before I head through security I am considering tasting something from Sweet Buns. It feels like a deja vu? I feel like another LJer has beat me to the punch. Guess I'll skip it and look for the living squid.

Seoul War Memorial continued

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 11:31:42 GMT

self portrait in camo

I’m not the “let’s go to a War Memorial type” but found Seoul’s amazing complex to be surprisingly moving as their lawn of war vehicles became repurposed for child’s play and Memorial Hall had a collection of names from so many countries. I guess it was also stirring because only days before Kim Jong-il was making headlines for his threat to conduct long range missile tests. The cold war hasn’t ended here and there was so much to see outside that we never even made it into the museum building.

can you find Torsten?

detail from above

inside my favorite plane

reflected entry

the gymnasium plane

Torsten captured this one of kid’s playing

Seoul Brothers

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 06:08:04 GMT

Call me a perv but this was my first image of Seoul as my taxi drove past the War Memorial on the way to our hotel. I was like hell yeahhh!! We then drove past the American military bases …hmmm guarded mostly by Korean police rookies…double hmmmm. While camo seemed to be a popular style in Itaewon, the neighborhood where queers, hookers, ex-pats and regular folks intermingle with American military might, it wasn’t the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” fantasy land I was hoping it would be.

My Saturday night in the gay ghetto (one tiny street of about 5 gay bars where everyone hangs out drinking on the street) was not as popular as I may have thought. However, tales of occasional GI’s making there way down to basement discos did surface. An occasional handful of full gear soldiers occasionally cut through the gay festivities in search of comrades marching to a different beat. Can you say witch hunt? Last year was the first since 2001 that more gay military personnel got discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” than the year before (700 something up from 600 something).

Other ways American tax dollars are put to use are paying the CPs (Curfew Police). Full gear military out and about making sure our boys are back before midnight else the threat that their carriages turn into pumpkins. They peek their heads into all the local bars checking off a roster that I'm sure they turn into Santa at the end of the year.

About the statue, it’s called The Statue of Brothers not the statue of lovers. It is one of many reasons to visit the expansive and very moving Seoul War Memorial that I’ll post some more pictures from later.