Friday, July 08, 2011

LESEN LASSEN
Monday we started Communist Bigamist-Two Love Stories rehearsals. Well we aren’t actually rehearsing but putting together the multi media sections of the new piece Communist Bigamist that I am collaborating on with the divine Susanne Sachsse of CHEAP kollective. This new project is based on the 1950s film The Bigamist starring Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino and Edmund O’Brian that was directed by Miss Lupino. In our version Susi and I play Ruth Fischer and Angela Davis who are both married to Communism which will be represented on stage by light and sound. As Angela Davis, Communism and I adopt the Black Panthers while married to Ruth Fischer Communism has a biological child that takes the form of Socialism. John Blue aka:kJohnny is doing the sound design, while the beautiful Nazli Kilerci who is half Turkish half Kurdish is the production assistant. The sets will be designed by Nebojsa Tabacki who designed Stofel, the CHEAP kollectives children’s piece at the Parkaue Theatre. The lighting is by Jackie Shemesh the Israeli lighting designer who works with international art shtar Yael Bertrana and lives in London. The costumes will be designed by Jacob Lena Knebl of Vienna’s Tanzquartier. Makeup and hair will be created by that fashion powerhouse - the gorgeous Tan Binh Nguyen who designed the makeup for CHEAP Blacky in 2007 and Daddy in 2009. Tan Binh is singlehandedly taking over Fashion Week in Paris working with designer Boris Bedjian and also Commes Des Garcson. In fact Tan Binh was flying to Paris to do a photo shot with Asha Mines, who use to be Rick Owens assistant and is now one of the most in demand fashion photographers on the planet. I first met Asha when she was a student of mine at Cal Arts with Scarlette Rouge, the daughter of Michele Lamy. See how interconnected life can be.
On Monday we met at Frau Sachsse’s compound where she cooked a deliciously nutritious luncheon and we went over the script outline and watched the movie The Bigamist. Tuesday we met at Tan Binh’s spacious Kranoldplatz flat for make-up tests and Wednesday at Jurgen Brunnings Wurst Film studio on the Haupt Strasse where we started photographing the elaborate projections that will be part of the performance piece with lighting help by Jurgen’s editor Michael. Nazli took the photos. The 50s era pulp fiction detective novel adverts were our inspiration and TB beat a flawless face on the doll that left everyone in utter hysteria.
Later I met up with Ms. Susi at the Veneklassen Werner Gallery at Checkpoint Charlie for a film presentation Zurueck in Die Zukuntt (Back Into the Future) by the German guru of experimental film Wilhelm Hein. The program began with the rare screenings of Kali Filme that featured a collage grouping of wit and profundity ranging from ladies in prison, women with weapons, sexploitation and the brutalities of war and death mashup ending with a lesbenisch flirtation and passionate kiss. Simply Perfect. After a short beer intermission Tim and John(kJohnny) Blue performed rivetting live music to the rarely seen W&B Hein classic Doppelprojektionen. What an evening of love it was. On hand sharing in the magic: steamy French booty pies Michel Belague and Guillaume, prima ballerina Trixi Cordua and her art/filmmaker husband Ludvig Schoenherr, art photog Annette Frick, Susanne Sachsse looking very sommer sportive, American painter Matt who will be living in Berlin for four months and whose prinzlauber flat and studio are provided for by the Veneklasen Werner galerie. Matt use to live in Neu Koelln a few years ago and I first met him through photographer Ryan McGinley at the turn of this century. He has been living back in New York, and with his gay clone beard and scraggly hair was almost unrecognizable from the cute young cleanshaven dark ginger fag I meet at Carnegie Hall in 2001. Well the last time I saw Ryan McGinley he had morphed into an Amanda Bearsely style lesbian so I guess no one ever remains the same.
Thursday Susi, Nazli and I were at kJohnny Blue’s Kreuzkoelln recording studio working on sound collages that will feature in The Communist Bigamist. It was tough work but lots of fun. We went around the corner for luncheon at the famous Kofte Boite and really chowed down.
Later in the evening I was back at the Veneklasen Werner Gallery for the second half of the Wilhelm Hein program that featured a screening of his masterwork You Killed the Underground or the Real Meaning of Kunst Bleibt Bleibt.The section featuring Susanne Sachsse and Marc Siegel fornicating with a strap-on and black double headed dildo was just so amazingly beautiful in a classically poised way. I love the color of their skin which seemed to glow and the music from Tristan & Isolde. The other scenes featuring Annette Frick in the Canary Islands was also quite lovely and with everything that Wilhelm does there is so much whimsy, humour and youthful zest and affirmative love of life.Its hard to believe that Wilhelm is now 70 years old. His spirit is that of youth personified. Among those in the audience: Prima ballerina Trixi Cordua, Nazli Kalerci and her hot Greek artist boyfriend Yorgos, Tim and kJohnny Blue, Susanne Sachsen & Marc Siegel, drag queen gallerist Juwelia, the Montgomery Gallery girlz and whordes of Hein followers both new and old. I was starving after the screening so I whisked off with Frau Sachsse and Herr Siegel for grub at Andy’s Diner in nearbye Potsdamer Platz. The food isn’t great there but its one of the few places opened late. Around Checkpoint Charlie and also at Potsdamer Platz the summer evening was producing skads of juicy scantily clad tourist boys who were a constant source of distraction to the doll.
In the morning at the Chocolate Grinder film Kollective offices I had a Skype conference call with video artist Wu and her producer Roya who is also the girlfriend of Shari Frilot the head programmer with Sundance’s New Frontiers.Shari use to be my boss at Sundance and for the Platinum Experimental Film Festival in Los Angeles. Wu is going to have me voice the Silver Platter Bar in Westlake/MacArthur Park for the majjical realness documentary film Wildness that centers on the famed art party night at the historical immigrant tranny bar in downtown Los Angeles.

Monday, July 04, 2011

NUR DAS TRANSVESTIT
Your Vagimule Davis doll is one sickly little lady. Well let me preface this announcement by saying I am a bit of a hypochondriac, but after going to the Lung Lab the other day and getting the pronouncement by the doctor that I have Asthma it was a bit of a shockerooney to be sure. It’s a mild form of asthma, but nonetheless I am reminded of my late sister´s travails with the disease, the inhaler and constant emergency room visits. Now that I have health insurance I have been on a kick to take care of all the things I couldn’t when I lived in the United Statuals. So slowly I have been having dental work done that I neglected for years and also doing up follow-up from my Henry the 8th diagnosis of gout that I received here in Berlin back in 2008. When I first moved to Germany I was going from project to project and didn’t have time do go to the doctor but now I am making time and seeing the famous Dr. Stephen Minkx who not only does western medicine but eastern as well. Will keep you informed on my health issues. Alas the decay of age.
Daniel Hendrickson the Jewish Muslim was my date for the HAU Theatre sommer party behind HAU 1 Friday evening. It was a chilly summer night, but the BBQ and alcohol kept everyone in warm spirits. Joining the CHEAP brigade of Marc Siegel, Susanne Sachsse and Salome Gersh at the picnic tables: Sexxxy Sascha Woelck, Suave Rogier one of the queer bearded Pierrot Lunaire bandits, my old crush Paul Plamper, the radio play director who was Martin Wutke´s assistant when we were working on the film LA Faustus,Brit artist Phil Collins, curator supreme Christoph Gurk who is now the ex of artist Karen Cytter, luscious Nanna Heidenreich, demure and sweet Nadja Talmi, the gracious and elegant Susanne Goris the HAU tech directrix,
Manlische HAU bossman Mattias Lianthal looking dapper and cracking jokes in a professorial sports jacket,charming Kerstin from pressabteilung,
good time Sally´s Elisabeth and Sonja spreading joy with their portable vodka shots and the divine beauty of HAU Katrin Dodd.
I had to leave early as the next day I was performing with the feminist art band Piss Göttin at Kunst Werke Inst for Contemporary Art. The goddess was surely blessing us as it poured rain the entire day guaranteeing us a soaked by spirited crowd that included Wilhelm Hein and his art photog girlfriend Annette Frick, Tim Blue, Axel & Joanna, Lydia, Susanne Sachsse, Saul the art curator from the Frankfurt Museum with his rock steady crew and handsome Japanese/Swedish filmmaker Cary Fukunaga(Jane Eyre)with his squeeze American actress Michele Williams. Mr. Fukunaga told me that I played a mean electrikkkk guitar. As my character of Senta Burma I was only making noise as I don´t know how to play any instrument. As a free jazz punk outfit we sounded better then I thought we would. It was the drum playing of Wanya aka: Neam Lhok that kept it all together, but I certainly had a wonderful time with my musical comrades Katja von Hellendorf, Cristian Forte, Sophie Heartbreakin Fatale and the spoken word goddess Lady Gaby whose Australian accent makes everything sound sensual. The wonderful visuals and sound design by Paloma Merchan, Vika Kirchenbauer and Clara Valverde also contributed to making this quite an event. And I was happy with my yarn sculpture that surrounded the playing field. The museum posted a video if you want to see the action unfold for yourself

Das Video ist Online: http://vimeo.com/25944347

I was exhausted and didn’t party with everyone, but went straight home to feed my face and get some sleep because the next morning I was finishing the ZacKary Drucker film along with the Chocolate Grinder collective of Little Alex, Assaf Hochman and hunky Tim Schenkl the nude director of photography. Tasty Tim is one of the most gifted, talented cinematographers working in Europe, he makes everything glow and is so utterly a focused lensman, and he is very easy on the eyes with a muscular body, big thick hands and feet and a penis that can open raw clams.
One of my talented NYU students Alexander Casso is in a group show that opens tonight from 5 to 10 at this secret space:

Jardem
Dieffenbachstraße 33
Berlin, Berlin 10967
Germany

Please check it out as well as these links of this multi talented gorgeous young art star who is conquering the world with his vision. You won´t be disappointed.

http://alexcasso.tumblr.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xIq5KODXGk

Gotta run to Commie Biggie rehearsal. Ta!