So
sorry my darling readendrums I beg your forgiveness that I have been
so utterly remiss in writing, but ever since my recent New York City
triumphs, my schedule has multiplied quadrakupliky with projects that
have my head spinning Charlotte’s Web freaky stylus.
Not
only do I have so many commitments that were signed, sealed and
delivered over a year ago, but I have to fullfill all the new things
on the porkyline litmus test. My neurosis has my poor therapist
running on empty in Jackson Brownville.
Blick
und Begehren(Gaze and Desire) the performance I did as part of the
wonderful feministiche festival Making Waves at the beauteous
deconsecreated St. Elizabeth Kirche in Mitte was messy and sloppy.
So very much in keeping with the tenats of performance art.
Melissa
Perales the founder of the festival had seen me do the piece at the
New Museum in NYC, and thought it would compliment her event. I
rarely accept a last minute gig, especially when I was already booked
a year in advance teaching my Framing the Freakazoid performance art
workshop through the Institut fuer Medien, Theater and Populaere
Kultur Stiftung Universitaet Hildesheim. Melissa’s festival I felt
was so important that I had to try and make it work so I rushed back
to Berlin just in time to make soundcheck, which went well, but I
was so exhausted from teaching that I felt completely excrement for
brains on stage. Thank god for Melissa’s wonderful rocksteady crew
that consisted of assistants Danielle, Melissa II, top notch
coordinator suprema Bade Kaya, the fab Dugga, Nemo of Kenya, Vey and
tech staff: Alpha male Vladimir, Frederic, Arne and Luka who handled
the lighting. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast time at the hotel in
Hildesheim. After soundcheck I could have had dinner at the
hospitality canteen in the church rectory, but I didn’t want to
have that bloated feeling on stage or as the fantastik theremin
performer and singer Dorit Chrysler bluntly put it, “Have to take a
shit”
Make
Waves Festival started on Thursday Nov 9 till Saturday Nov 11 the day
of my performance with such a diverse array of artists like Stella
Chiweshe the Mbira Queen of Zimbabwe, Chicks on Speed, Meredith
Graves, Juliana Barwick, Isabel Lewis, Kos_MicQAndi, Edna Martinez
and so many others plus panels, discussions, workshops and
roundtables.
*
The
students I worked with at Hildesheim really rockt out! Led by my
student assistant the lovely gamine Friederike Haensel who I couldn’t
have done the workshop without. Friederike worked tirelessly
babysitting the Vagimule Doll who is really very much like a helpless
infant. Hildesheim is a pretty campus but its big and mazelike.
Because of summer flooding the location of my workshop was changed
and
so I was also put in a hotel that was a considerable distance from
campus and with my bad sense of direction I wouldn’t have found
anything without Friederike picking me up daily from the Hotel to
class, and escorting me home afterwards. We all worked so hard that
after class ended I didn’t even eat dinner I just collapsed on my
bed into a deep boogie slumberland—hey!hey!
My
students were very eager beaver. They expertly handled performance
art bootcamp like saucy tigers moms. Don’t dream it! BE It! Was the
mantra chanted forming their own super post, post punk rock art
bands. Not only that but a Hustler White Petite Bougeous Brechtian
Chorus, and choreographing a Look Ma, I’m So Pina Bausch Variete’
Review. Along the Road to Oz, killing it with every step taken on my
standard exercises like: You Stepped Out of a Dream from the 1941 MGM
film Ziegfeld Girl, and creating their own mini psycho dramas with
You Gotta Pull Strings.
These
young artists are definitely ones to reckon with so watch out world
here they come!
I
also want to give shout outs to the handsome and dynamic Eike
Wittrock who invited me to campus and took me to an incredible
welcome dinner at this olde school German restaurant housed in a
building from 1540. The food and wine was breathtaking in its
comfort. Just what I was in the mood for after doing an opening
lecture for the entire school population. Also kissyz to gorgeous
scholar Ekaterina Trachsel and Hildesheim secretaire Anke Lehrke for
making me feel so welcome and for their top notch organization.
I
have several new painting exhibitions coming up with my NYC
gallerists at Invisible-Exports and my Berlin Gallerist Dan Gunn both
at Miami’s Nada Art Fair and an upcoming exhibit in London and a
few other European cities so there is no rest for the mercurially
wicked.
I
collaborated with Rick Owens to make some special limited edition
T-shirt designs as a fundraiser for Lia Gangitano’s Participant
Inc, which is the only not for profit gallery left in New York City.
Lia does magnificent work and so you should all go to Participant After
Dark and support her efforts.
Here
is the info:
Participant
After Dark (Vol. 3)
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 7-10pm
A winter garden party
to celebrate
PARTICIPANT INC's
15th Anniversary
And to welcome new Board Members
Derrick Adams
Justin Vivian Bond
Jeffrey Gibson
April Hunt
Rose Lord
Sheri Pasquarella
Elisabeth Sussman
And Advisory Board Members
Pati Hertling
Amanda Hunt
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 7-10pm
A winter garden party
to celebrate
PARTICIPANT INC's
15th Anniversary
And to welcome new Board Members
Derrick Adams
Justin Vivian Bond
Jeffrey Gibson
April Hunt
Rose Lord
Sheri Pasquarella
Elisabeth Sussman
And Advisory Board Members
Pati Hertling
Amanda Hunt
Plus
a preview of our latest edition
Vaginal Davis x Rick Owens for PARTICIPANT INC
Visit participantafterdark.org
for more info and to purchase tickets
image:
Baseera Khan, "Psychedelic Prayer Rug (Purple Heart}," 2017, handcrafted silk rug
Vaginal Davis x Rick Owens for PARTICIPANT INC
Visit participantafterdark.org
for more info and to purchase tickets
image:
Baseera Khan, "Psychedelic Prayer Rug (Purple Heart}," 2017, handcrafted silk rug