OZMA OF OZ

Being a ghetto queen, growing up poor and disadvantaged I sometimes wonder what would have happened to me if I had been a normative person, instead of a crazy artst/fartsy type. Two boys I went to school with who were also born very poor went on to success in the lamestream world. One kid named Michael a very beautiful black child with the most striking green eyes graduated from Harvard and became a successful engineer. Another one of my black peers has been getting a lot of attention in the American press because he dared to criticize President Obama at some inaugarel breakfast. When I knew him he was very soft spoken and shy. He barely spoke louder then a whisper. The other day he was on NPR and still has that lovely soft tone to his thoughtful voice. His name is Dr. Ben Carson and he is now the director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at John Hopkins Medical Center.

Before running off to work on my latest project I got together with Manuel Schubert of Filmanzeiger (filmhighlights) to interview sexy French filmmaker Michel Belague. I’ve known Michel since around 2005 when he worked with CHEAP for the Poker im Osten Festival at HAU I. He is now 30 and so handsome in a dirty whiteboy way that I just adore. Michel has been working on this Cairo Cimatech project with filmmaker Tamir Said and I will be showing an Egyptian film from 1950 Zeinab by Muhammed Karim for Rising Stars, Falling Stars-We Must Have Music on Sunday March 24th at 8pm at Kino 2 at Arsenal Inst Fur film und video kunst, so it was perfect having a sweet interview with Michel and catching up on his proclititties.

There was a recent gossip report about me and Ronan Farrow the young son of actress Mia Farrow and director Woody Allen. I think Ronan who was born Satchel is gorgeous, but we are not fornicating. I could only wish to get such a hot kid in the sack. He has the most delicious pillow lips imagineable. We have only had contact with each other twice and he is very warm and personable. We will see each other again soon in Shanghai and Busan, Korea.

Someone emailed me asking what I thought of the new James Franco movie Oz the Great and Powerful. I am a huge fan of the original Oz books written by L. Frank Baum from 1899 to 1919. This new Oz film by Disney is being billed as a prequel to the 1939 MGM classic. I wish they had taken their ques from the text in the original Oz books and its mythology instead of refrencing the 1939 film so much. I found the film a bit flat and the performances quite lacklustre, even from Rachel Weisz who I adore.

I feel the time is ripe to re-issue the 1977 Sidney Lumet film version of the Broadway musical The Wiz. It was a collosal flop when it was first released starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Nipsey Russell and Mabel King. Its much better then this new return to Oz and The Wiz benefits from chewy musical arrangements by Quincy Jones.

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER

The last two winters in Berlin it sems the authorities have gotten better at clearing sidewalks of snow and laying down sand on pathways to prevent slipping and sliding because in 2010 so many people were injured and the law suits against the city mounted.  In 2010 I was teaching a block seminar at the Malmo Art Academy in Malmo Sweden so I avoided the worst of the snowy winter that lasted from January to April.  Of course it was cold in Malmo, but since it lies on the water not snowy.

The few days I had before taking off to prep for Shanghai gesture project I spent a lovely afternoon having coffee and kuchen with Piero Bellomo of La Kolleczione.  Piero is the handsome boyfriend of Muslim seperatist  Daniel Hendrickson.  I also had a nice breakfast at Mokalola on Lebener Strasse in my kiez with hot and humpy intellectual jock Christian F. Weber and his angelic pal Jan.

Received my preview copy of the March-May Sissy Magazine which features Charles Laughton on the cover.  My Cheese Endique Studio looks very spacious in the wonderful DVD collection photo taken by Susanne Sachsse’s talent young son Richard Gersch.

Just received this emug from sweet Miss Elly Clark:

Dear Friends, Family & Colleagues,

Just a little reminder that Thrift Radiates Happiness opens this Thursday 5-8pm and is then open on Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 12-6pm. Quite apart from the art(!) this is an incredible chance to see inside this building, which was once, and still in some ways a source of great Civic Pride in Birmingham - but never normally open to the public.

My project, Half Crowns in their Petticoats, was commissioned especially for this exhibition and has evolved into a total of 58 tracks of recordings from interviews/conversations I have had with more than 17 former employees of the Birmingham Municipal Bank over the past 3 months. These are to be presented in the main banking hall.

You can see more about the project, with a link to one audio snippet, here: http://www.ellyclarkephotography.co.uk/ellyclarke/index.php?/news/half-crowns-in-their-petticoats/. Otherwise please do come either to the opening on Thursday, or over the weekend.

But please DRESS WARMLY as it is very chilly in there!

FRAME_extension is also still up, until next Monday, with all work fro sale too. So two reasons at least to come to Brum this weekend! More about FRAME_ is on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/events/330466120408470/ and the full catalogue visible here: http://www.projectframe.net/frame_birmingham

It would be great to you. Proper invite to Thrift Radiates Happiness follows.

Best wishes,

Elly