Setting aside music motivated by genocidal tendencies and bigotry, I couldn’t think of other music too disturbing for me to listen to. So I went on a Google search. Gangsta rap/horrorcore popped up most, the likes of Brotha Lynch Hung’s Rest in Piss, and  Three 6 Mafia evoking tall tales of hood life, the thuggery within hyperbolic by design. So not disturbing for moi, in fact I enjoy both (I’ve liked hip-hop since the 1980s). As for all the misogynist lyrics and videos out there in this genre and others, I can pick and choose, and while some of it might offend, I’m not creeped out. I couldn’t even press play on this live footage vid of Blood &Honour , a British neo-Nazi punk band — I leave that to the less fainthearted.

Of course death metal bands also came up a lot. After a graphic account of the gory lyrics in Cannibal Corpse’s “Evisceration Plague” by a fan I had high hopes, but even the official HD vid caused not a stir. Mostly just giggles, especially after learning they’re from my hometown of Buffalo.

And then circuitously, as these Google School reports often go, I wound up on The Autarch’s YouTube channel, listening to spooky-weird soundtracks from video games. A truly happy discovery! This is Disturbing Video Game Music 15: Zant at Lakebed, there are many more just as good. I noticed other people doing the same, gathering together scary video game music, a subcultural niche/trend I’d have otherwise never discovered! Most are homespun (I love the taste disclaimer in this vid, Top Ten Creepy Songs in Nintendo Games, though of course, commercial versions have already cropped up ala this comp by the game company, Level Up. ENJOY!

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And of course in a Google search, I find out people are breeding and selling them! Why? Because they can. Its like when I recently read that in traditional Chinese medicine the bile of black bears is extracted (after caging and painful process) for god knows what purported benefit. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the efficacy of that tradition. When I lived in Chinatown, I had a roommate whose friend was a Chinese herbalist, and he gave me a script (in Mandarin) for a recurrent upper respiratory infection that I took to an herbal pharmacist who only served Chinese. I just watched him read the note, and pull out of the battered odd-sized drawers of his old wooden dispensary various plants, bulbs, leaves, twigs, etc., which he then ground up into a tea.

(an approximation)

It was syrupy and woody in taste, a little nasty, but it did the trick! Sans the dizzy effects of most decongestants ala pseudoephedrin. So maybe there is some great tonic in bear bile, but it sounds pretty esoteric, and unnecessary. I mean if someone told me that an ingredient in my tea was obtained in this horrific way, I’d have said, thanks, but no thanks.

(red golden version)

Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when my curiosity to learn about a creature leads to: “www.efowl.com › Adult Pheasants‎ $114.99 Buy Lady Amherst Pheasants from eFowl.com. Have Lady Amherst Pheasants safely shipped directly to you. The Amherst Pheasant is an excellent aviary bird”. Though it does reinforce my general antipathy toward what I’m calling late-stage humanity. Wondering what that might be like, owning such a beautiful creature? I don’t know, but here’s a sense of how pleasant life for the pheasant looks . And of course there’s the impossible allure of the feathers, this pic from a fishing tackle/bait site. I guess we just can’t help ourselves.

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Anyway, at the moment I’m applying for a teaching job, and in updating my CV came across this literary/writing resource I used when I taught a Critical Writing/Design Theory course at Parsons, should it be of help to anyone else.

Also, check out the work of artist-musician Larry Krone, who I’ve known for years and just did an interview with for Art in America on his amazing show at Pierogi, and upcoming one at Joe’s Pub (all info. included in either link). And before I forget here’s the latest in my Alternative Models series on Huffpo. It focuses on film/video orgs with programs I find radically smart AND community-based (my highest praise!) that I hope you will support!

OK, well I may weigh in tomorrow nite, not sure yet, but if I don’t, your mayor wishes you all a dazzling and dignified new year! (why dazzling and dignified? I’ve no idea…perhaps it’s my unconscious sayonara to Leigh Bowery, my chosen spirit guide of 2013?) And look good whatever you do, it always helps!

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There are two ways of spreading light;
to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
– Edith Wharton (from Vesalius in Zante, 1902)

Mona Hatoum, Current Disturbance, 1996 (White Chapel, 2011 installation)

I love this the quote, and when I thought of coupling it with an image, Mona Hatoum popped into my head! (I fell in love with Hatoum’s work at her New Museum solo in 1998). Its a pairing that yields a lot of pondering and tension – perfect for the longest night of the year! Read more about it here.

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Ever heard of Baker-Miller pink? Me neither. I came across it randomly on a recent image search and it intrigued me. The idea of a color that could calm violent prisoners. It was devised by a researcher, Alexander Schauss, in the 1970s. He wanted to know, specifically, if various wavelengths of light – ie. color – could trigger “profound and measurable responses in the endocrine system”.

Well, as someone who’s had her share of hormonal issues, ha!, I thought it was rather telling that my bedroom walls, while not this particular chemical mix, have been some shade of pink for years. And increasingly hot and saturated, lolz. I’ve also been drawn to vivid yellow, which I call “artificial cheer” because it instantly elevates my mood (like the Christmas lights I keep up all year).

Growing up though it was all about purple. Perhaps as a rejection of pink, or the kind of baby pink associated with girls?

One of Schauss’s primary influences was the work of Swiss psychiatrist Max Lüscher, who argued that color preferences were psychologically revealing. He theorized this using four fundamental colors/associations:

Blue: Contentment[1]

Feeling of belonging, the inner connection and the relationship to one’s partner.
“How I feel towards a person that is close to me”

Green: Self-respect[2]

Inner control of willpower and the capacity to enjoy.
“The way I want to be”

Red: Self confidence[3]

Activity, drive and the reaction to challenges.
“How I react to challenges”

Yellow: Development[4]

Attitude of anticipation, attitude towards future development and towards new encounters.
“What I expect for the future”

I recall being aware of some of these associations as a kid, which makes me wonder if the choice to identify with a certain color reflects not what’s intrinsic psychologically, but what’s desired/projected. I also remember wanting to know everyone’s favorite color. My dad’s was green and my mom’s was red, both reflecting a pretty accurate correspondence to not just their personalities but how they strove to define themselves, I think. Also, I remember in high school when a good friend of mine became obsessed with orange, I found it inexplicably repulsive. Somehow it seemed garish and synonymous with Orange Crush – all sugary and fake. Or maybe it just didn’t go with her blonde hair and pink skin? Who knows. I actually love orange now and have a lot of it in my apartment (mostly in the form of 1960s space age furniture, which no doubt helped recalibrate my relationship to the color).

So obviously associations are environmental/cultural too. Regardless, one ever told me yellow represented development and the future. I thought it was just symbolic of sun and light and joy. I think that brightness has come to signify optimism (sun cults, etc.), and perhaps that’s what Lüscher means when he describes it as a future-oriented attitude. So maybe yellow should be the official color of utopia (notify pantone immediately)! There’s no coincidence that it dominates my blog design. And as for Baker-Miller pink, the color of calm, it has a place in the future too (my bedroom walls, no doubt!)

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(Veruschka as Chairman Mao from an issue of French Vogue 1971, photo by Alex Chatelain)

Obviously Mao was fashionable in the early 70s ala Warhol (his 1972 shot Mao – above – being my favorite, can’t believe Dennis Hopper’s estate sold it for 300Gs). So I google “Mao and fashion” to explore and I find this abstract for a paper on why there was no fashion in Mao’s China:

“Abstract:
We examine the popularity distribution of given names prior, during, and after Mao Zedong’s rule over the People’s Republic of China to clarify how exogenous and endogenous factors act together in shaping cultural change. Whereas recent work in the sociology of culture emphasizes the importance of endogenous processes in explaining fashion (Kaufman 2004), our analysis demonstrates two ways that Mao’s regime impacted cultural expression, even in a domain that was largely untouched by its radical cultural policies: (a) by promoting forms of expression reflecting legitimate political ideologies; and (b) by creating a general feeling of insecurity, whereby citizens fear that any public expression of difference could signal political disloyalty. As argued by Lieberson (2000; Lieberson and Lynn 2003) and developed further in this paper, the latter condition is important because endogenous fashion cycles require a critical mass of individuals who seek to differentiate themselves from common practice. Our analysis suggests how exogenous and endogenous mechanisms interact, with the former setting the conditions for the operation of the latter; our analysis also sheds light on the nature of conformity under authoritarian regimes as well as the social conditions supporting individual expression.”

(and people wonder why I chose not to be an academic)

What IS interesting is that the Mao suit was an anti-fashion statement, which the west tried to make fashionable, and failed. Personally, I’ve ALWAYS been attracted to the idea of a uniform/onesie/jumpsuit. Probably why I wear dresses so much in the summer. I even designed a prototype about 5 years ago (ok, it was just sketches) for a basic over-alls-meets kilt shape for which there are interchangeable parts/add-ons to create some aesthetic and functional variability. Bauhaus textile and garment design obviously were a mega-inspiration.

I was obsessed then too with finding them online/vintage versions. Most were too retro (flared in the 70s, baggy in the 80s) and I wanted a sleek unisex look in hi-tech fabric. Of course soon enough they were popular, everywhere, and while most had no functionality, some were gorgeous, I wanted, but I couldn’t afford:(. Regardlees the uniform is appealing to many if only for the utility factor (if they’re not comfortable what’s the point?), and I hope someone makes a version so great – and affordable! – that I want to put it on everyday EVEN though I don’t have to!

This Stella McCartney (pre-autumn 2013) is nice but a bit too stiff/car mechanic-y (the sleeves could at least zip/button off, right?)…reminds me of Carl Andre who I shared a dry cleaners with near NYU (and the building Ana Mendieta “fell” from) ages ago. One day he came with a pair of bib overalls on – his artworker uniform (since the 70s I think), and after he left I said to the owner, do you know who that is? And he said, No. And when I told him he laughed so hard explaining he’d been coming like clockwork for years to dry-clean these overalls and they had no clue why.

Ah well, I will have to keep looking, or just make my own! Any seamstress interested in collabing, msg. me!

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I’m half way through Reinaldo Arenas’ The Palace of The White Skunks, 1982, and totally enraptured. It made me look up his poetry. That led to my discovery of this clip from the documentary Havana, 1990, by the Czech-born director Jana Boková . It features a poem by Arenas in a sequence directly appropriated by Julian Schnabel for his film adaptation of Arenas’ incendiary autobiography, Before Night Falls (a project that credits Boková as one of five screenwriters including – red herringly – Schnabel himself). I’ve not seen either film yet, and while the latter got rave reviews, I suspect I might feel as this frieze reviewer does who says: “The exotic aestheticization of the film does have a downside: the politics of the Fidelista and Arenas, whose insistent, hedonistic sexuality was as much about politics as personal satisfaction, are toned down. Arenas’ erotic quest is recast as more happy-go-lucky than rebellious.”

Did you figure out I’m not a fan of Schnabel’s? Anyway, I shouldn’t say I’m surprised that he would so freely take from a lesser known filmmaker, a woman and a documentarian, to boot. Someone without Hollywood connections. Its in keeping with his arrogance (which I’ve had the displeasure to witness). A grossly overrated artist (ok, the plate paintings were pretty brilliant) who turns out to a talented director, someone who knows how to assemble and lead talent. That doesn’t make him a writer or an auteur. It makes me wonder whether Boková fought for that credit.

In the same frieze review, the influence of Boková’s film is summed up this way, neatly sidestepping the matter: “Mr. Schnabel said he’d first heard about Arenas through a Cuban real estate agent in Miami named Esther Percal. ”She told me I had to see this documentary that Jana Boková made called ‘Havana,’ ” Mr. Schnabel said. ”So for $25 we bought a black-market copy of it in a bodega in Little Havana. It’s an oral history of Cuba, interviews mixed together with fragments of these people’s writings, including Virgilio Pinera and Guillermo Cabrera Infante. Reinaldo comes on and starts talking, and the guy is so funny and so modest. I was so impressed with him that I read ‘Before Night Falls.’ ”

A Variety review makes specific reference to the clip as if Schnabel created the aesthetic it borrows: “By heightening the color and playing around with film stock, Schnabel cleverly integrates archival footage — reportedly the only color film shot of the revolution — to illustrate the moment of excitement, optimism and political ferment, while Arenas’ poem, “The Parade Begins,” is heard in voice-over. This is one of several instances in the film in which the author’s writings are used to great effect and one of many skillfully handled narrative expedients….In addition to Arenas’ autobiography and other writings, Schnabel also sourced a BBC documentary on the author by Jana Bokova. Footage from a banned Cuban film titled “PM,” which is mentioned at one point, is seen over the end credits.”

Watch and see for yourself.

Obviously, Schnabel was/is sincere in his appreciation of Arenas, and I do want to see the film. I just couldn’t ignore coming across these two snippets one after the other, Schnabel’s popping up immediately (in my Google search for the poem), Boková’s precedent coming later. Is this the fate of small films and female directors in a greedy male-dominated industry? And maybe we should rethink our relationship to the notion of “appropriation” because, as I’ve said before, this is not the 1980s?

Granted, there’s no way to know how Boková feels, and I tried to find out. Perhaps she and Schnabel are great pals though there’s no evidence of that in the way of images or articles. Her Doc alliance bio says this: “She was the first to film the writer Reinaldo Arenas, about whom Julian Schnabel later made the feature film Before Night Falls, which was directly inspired by Havana.” A quiet indictment? Made me want to explore her films, if nothing else. You can watch the 1968 drama Hotel Paradise online, made just after she left Prague for Paris (how fortuitous that it includes a Camus storyline, given my post recent on him). Getting a hold of Bye Bye Shanghai, 2008, might be as easy as it gets though of course I want to see the BBC doc on Arenas first! The Cinémathèque Française gave her a retrospective in 2003, but that’s all the leads I’ve got at the moment. I wonder which version of himself Arenas would’ve preferred, Boková’s or Schnabel’s?

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There’s no easy way to sum up his work, or anyone doing important intriguing difficult visionary work in a blog post (yes, they have their limits). Its body-based, durational, in keeping with what’s been deemed the “masochistic” work of artists like Gina Pane, Bob Flanagan, and Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (my Believer piece on Gen’s Warhol show is up, btw, if you haven’t seen it!). Still that says little to nothing about the profoundly sacrificial aspects of his work, or how BDSM-queer theory have shaped it. Some performances can be hard to witness, a testament to their power IMHO, other are downright warm and fuzzy. Many people seem unable to let go of their discomfort long enough to see how deeply intelligent, thoughtful, and giving Athey is, instead – almost invariably – he’s treated like a freak show. And I’m talking about art journalists here.

BUT the point of this post was to share a few pics culled from a Google image search I did after I saw Ron’s new profile pic (after his 30-day probation). As you can see, it shows him in warrior stance, right palm above heart, tribal body sleeve almost done. I was particularly attracted to the nipple studs, the stretching of the skin to accommodate them the way ear lobs are commonly done. It looked really beautiful. Body modification as an expression of malleability interests me, and the results can be striking. The culture around it is never one I’ve been active in as I’m hopelessly squeamish about cutting into my body. I distinctly recall feeling violated when I got my ears pierced, LMAO, at 16, I guess by the violent blast of the gun. Perhaps method is everything. I don’t have any tattoos. I have friends who are covered and I love it (when the art is good, obviously), and sometimes I want to just cover my body, even my face. But I never do. Instead I wait and appreciate it on others:) But I do sometimes like to look at what people are up to, what the trends are (like last year’s bagel head).

Ok, well here are some images of nipple adornment/modification I came across that I found appealing/fun! And if its too tame for you, check out this blog by former founder of BME (Body Modification Ezine) where he talks about flayed penises.

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All love is tragic. Requited love dies of satiation, unrequited of starvation. But death by starvation is slower and more painful.” Lou Andreas-Salomé

To Lou Andreas-Salome

I held myself too open, I forgot
that outside not just things exist and animals
fully at ease in themselves, whose eyes
reach from their lives’ roundedness no differently
than portraits do from frames; forgot that I
with all I did incessantly crammed
looks into myself; looks, opinion, curiosity.
Who knows: perhaps eyes form in space
and look on everywhere. Ah, only plunged toward you
does my face cease being on display, grows
into you and twines on darkly, endlessly,
into your sheltered heart.

As one puts a handkerchief before pent-in-breath-
no: as one presses it against a wound
out of which the whole of life, in a single gush,
wants to stream, I held you to me: I saw you
turn red from me. How could anyone express
what took place between us? We made up for everything
there was never time for. I matured strangely
in every impulse of unperformed youth,
and you, love, had wildest childhood over my heart.

Memory won’t suffice here: from those moments
there must be layers of pure existence
on my being’s floor, a precipitate
from that immensely overfilled solution.

For I don’t think back; all that I am
stirs me because of you. I don’t invent you
at sadly cooled-off places from which
you’ve gone away; even your not being there
is warm with you and more real and more
than a privation. Longing leads out too often
into vagueness. Why should I cast myself, when,
for all I know, your influence falls on me,
gently, like moonlight on a window seat.

Translated by A. Poulin
Rainer Maria Rilke

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The craze of all things vampiric feels like another Romantic revival of the supernatural anti-hero, but what does it really say about this cultural moment? I did a quick Google School report to try and find out.

Here’s a good introductory overview of the trend though the author never answers that particular question. Or explains what it signified in the past. History does repeat itself, afterall.

Is it a sign of a decadent society (in the depraved sense)? This article does a better job describing the narrative import of the vampire, suggesting it represents whatever we want to shun but secretly demand. Like some masochistic embrace of a bleak future?

When I google the masochistic angle, btw, I get this feminist spin framed by the success of the Twilight series, which I’ve only watched very sporadically, kind of interesting…

I do know vampire movies were popular in the 1930s, alongside monster flicks and – notably – the rise of film noir, a period of similar malcontent (the Great Depression, rampant corruption, etc.). So perhaps its as simple as a desire for outre thrills as dark as the times? An existential fetish for the powerlessness we feel.

“Every age embraces the vampire it needs.”
–Nina Auerbach
Our Vampires, Ourselves

“Horror is . . . the state of mind induced by one’s confrontation with a violation of cultural categories.”
— Philip L. Simpson
Psycho Paths

The above quotes were included in this smart much more in-depth examination of the vampire as it evolved in literature from the Victorian age on. Though as the citations indicate, it was written pre-Twilight, in 2000. I’d like to read an updated version of it, a new edition. Anyway, that’s it for tonite. Happy pre-Halloween! (Its better than me telling you what a wretched day I had, and the sinus headache still plaguing me, right? That would certainly be more trick than treat.)

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