Bin ich ein Dandy?

Was sad to hear of the recent death of Alexis Arquette, of the famed Hollywood acting dynasty. Alexis' best film role was in Last Exit to Brooklyn. I first met Alexis when he was a weenager. I sold him his first wig at Retail Slut on Melrose Avenue in the early 1980s. In the late 80s he performed as Eva Destruction at my monthly Cafe Hag at Cafe Kafka a Czech boite on Sunset Blvd near KNX Radio and TV Studio. Cafe Hag was the first time I attempted a 1920s style club with a continuous floor show. The last time I encountered Alexis was when he came to the opening of my Bricktops at the Parlour Club in 2002 brilliantly dressed like a high society dowager ala Marie Dressler or Margret Dumont.

Its now Autumn, which means no more warm evenings and how are things in Glacamora devil moons. I will miss hanging out at the Tiergarten with sexpert philosopher kings Daniel Tarrantino of the Humboldt Universitaet and Leon die Gottlieb, who is the most religious horn pig I have ever encountered in my life. Last time I rode my bike through the park I had a lovely flirtation with a gorgeous 25 year old blondine Polish hunk who had huge hands, feet and Jimmy Durante style schnazola.

CHEAP Funk on Re-booty FM/Kotti FM 99.1 September 10^th with Diana McCarty was a hoot and a half. Our theme was Violence Girl in celebration of Alice Bag. CHEAP Fearless leader Susi read from Alice's book and I played the “He's So Sorry” track from her self-titled LP Alice Bag. Djane Nancy gave a call-in Violence Girl Istanbul report. Part 2 of CHEAP Funk will take place Saturday Sept 24^th at 9pm with the theme International Sissies. So please check it out.

If you're in Hamburg October 21^st. I will be one of the experts making an appearance at Hannah Hurtzig's famed Blackmarket for Useful Knowledge No 19 called “The Extroidinary Ordinary” at the Kampnagel. Admission is FREE

October 14-16 I will be in Washington DC for the Creative Time Art and Political Summit whose theme this year is Occupy the Future at the Lincoln Theatre. For more info go to creativetime.org/summit

Unhuebsch

So glad I got to spend a little more quality time with a dear friend and colleague, the great Alice Bag of the legendary early LA punk originators The Bags. Besides being lead singer and founder of the Bags, Alice was the high holy priestess of early goth outfit Castration Squad, new wave hooker trio Cambridge Apostles, Chicana folksters Las Tres and my co-conspirator of Cholita the Female Menudo and The Afro Sisters. I could rally off a long list of other Bag accomplishments and music projects as she is quite prolific. I was just so appreciative that she came back through Berlin after a holiday in the right wing Republic of Hungary with her husband Jailbait Velasquez. Miss Alice was going to spend a few more days in the German capital with me, but she had to cut short her trip as her father-in-law was in critical condition back in the States. We were able to enjoy a spirited evening together at the Prachtwerk in NeuKolln during the Neukolln Art and Music Festival seeing Baby Diaper of the Hidden Cameras Joel Gibb perform a solo semi acoustic set of his new country flavoured material. The tight assed,muscular Canuck was donning a Nudie inspired goldenen suit just to add a bit more GeorgeJonesianess to the proceedings which the packed house of devotees appreciated. Thankx Diaper for putting us on your pest list.

Sunday Sept 4^th was the second installment of Rising Stars, Falling Stars – Sweet 16 millimeter at silent green Kulturquartier in Wedding.

The sudden summer downpour didn't dampen anyone's spirits in the domed Cupola to watch the rare screening of the 1976 Martha Coolidge film Not a Pretty Picture. Picture combines fictive and docudrama mashings to tell the story of Martha Coolidge's date rape at age16 in boarding school. The young actress playing Martha at 16 was also date raped in a similar fashion while in high school, and her boyfriend plays the rapist which adds another dimension to the film. One of Miss Coolidge's friends from boarding school plays herself even though its obvious she is a grown woman, so there is yet another layer after layer in a film that is still timely as we continue to live in what I consider a rape culture. The discussions after the screening were quite lively if not a bit somber in mood. Joining Arsenal Empress Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Jewish Muzlim Daniel Hendrickson and Arsenal's sensitive projectionist Olaf were Bettina & Jorg, Afrah Bayan of silent green, Anna Muelter the delightful dance curator of The Sophiensaler, recently back from Iran, Lovesexy Hannah Hurtzig of Mobile Academy where I will be performing in October at the Kampnagel,Hamburg, “It” girl Nanna Heidenreich and gal pal, Brazilian film couple Melissa Dullius and Gustavo Jahn,artist Maggie Schneider, my top student from Malmo Art Akademy Maria Norrman,Lea Schneidermann and girlfriend Arnita Jaunsubrena who were my talented students at Justus Liebig Universitaet Giessen back in 2014 Summer Framing the Freakazoid-Doing-By-Doing Seminar, Lisa Teasley's charming German fiance Daniel Dermitzel,scholar Joanna Schaefer, Facebook executive David Marcus scoping out the Berlin scene for god knows what nefarious purpose, the enchanting Ricke Merighi of Queer Lisboa and girlfriend Vera with posse, film scholar Marcuse Siegelstein, who writes the best CHEAP missives to the mailing list, fearless leader of CHEAP and RSFS fervent supporter Susanne Sachsse and a plethora of her dearest friends and acquaintances including the brilliant theatre director/set and costume designer Ida Mueller, Michael Duté, the König von Wilmersdorf, who is a fascinating painter,his boyfriend Robert (I think that's his name), who's the son of a famous photographer, Little Marc, visiting from San Francisco,Christoph,the Magnificent German historian and mathematician,James from Mendocino County wine country, who used to teach Sociology and Trans Theory at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and was a go-go dancer at the old Christian Farrow/April LaRue nitesport Bitter End in Hollywood.

I also remember Boy James as a regular at such notorious 1980s underground haunts as Fake Club, Plastic Passion, Dirt Box, Rhythm Lounge, Nairobi Room and Power Tools.

James even remembered every detail of SPEW 2-The Homographic Convergence at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions where he saw an early Cholita! Performance.

If that isn't enough I even shrimped Boy James' big feet at my Bay Area oneoff Natural Born Shrimpers(subtitle: Aunt Jemima Lite and HotSauce) in the early 90s with Joan Jett Blakkk.

Also scene & herd: everyone's fav lesbiana Paula, an old friend of Pia Thilman from the Drag Kingz of Berlin days, beautiful guardian of the gate Richard Gabriel, handsome tall Afro Brazilian/Brit actor Alfred Enoch(How To Get Away With Murder) with his fellow UK musical bubble butt beau Jake Bugg, and Manuel Schubert aka Vicki Baum of taz, die tageszeitung whose pod cast love it or hate it you can listen to and share here:

http://tinyurl.com/rsfs201609not

Verguckt

Before spiriting off to Prague with CHEAP, one of my dearest, oldest girlfriends from the old days Ms. Alice Bag came to Berlina to visit lil olde nelly me.

I've known Missy Alice aka Alicia Armandariz Velasquez before the rains of Ranchipur and floods of Gegamesch. The queen of LA punk rock and her young mega chorizo husband Jailbait took a pitstop in Berlin before their major holiday in Budapest. Its been over ten years since we've last seen each other, but we easily picked up where we left off. Alice or Sad Girl her name in our band Cholita, the Female Menudo, looks healthy and very beautiful with her hair in a bright pink bob.

She came bearing gifts of the Magi in the form of her new self titled LP which I can't wait to add to my playlist when I Djane at events. The record was 40 years in the making as Alice has never put out a formal release in her 4 decades long career as a pioneering feminist musician and artiste extroidinaire. Hard to believe but true.

I love how Alice keeps herself current with connections with younger musicians and students mentoring at college & universities throughout the U.S. She also brought me a plethora of new generation zines with titles like Pizza Face, The Undesirable Black Girl, Trans Lives Matter, Post-Depression Blues, Mala, I'm a Trap Girl, Noche de Jotiar and the self esteem and body issue pictoral by one of my most gifted LA children now all grown up into a lovesexy young man and creative juggernaut Rudy Bleu. Alice also gave me a copy of Rudy's beyond genius Chicano pinga y nalgas mix tape Sancho Saturday Night. Orale Mijo!

Alice y Jailbait will come back through Berlin after Budapest, so hopefully we can spend more time with each other catching up on every little thing like her tour of the USA.

The next morning I was in a good mood and off to Prague with CHEAP fearless leader Susanne Sachsse and Marcuse Siegelstein on what must have been one of the hottest days of the year. The four hour train ride was smooth, and I simply adored the mid century Communista Park Hotel where all the party leaders would host their whorgies.

Handsome highcheekboned Jacob of the Goethe Institut Praha picked us up from the hotel promptly at noon and took us to a festive luncheon at the cute traditional food cafe Potrefena Husa. I had been told that the food in Prague wasn't very good, but we all liked what was put before us scarfing it down with abandonment. We weren't staying in the touristy section of the city, but in an area that was outside of the olde town and was pretty empty as the locals hightail it to their summer cabins. Jacob took us to an old amusement park that was pure carny heaven like in the 1978 film starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey. I even braved the rickity analog funhaus and dangerous bumber cars, that have no padding so when you collide its immediate trauma for your knees and neck. There was no way I was getting on the roller coaster which I didn't think could handle my enormous two tons of fun. It was nice to be able to do something other then just work, but since we weren't on holiday we did go straight into workmode meeting with Pavel Bicek the young director of the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival and his charming crew to check out the space at the oppulent Lucerna Theatre. Because of the hot weather I found myself melting away while we were being escorted around town looking at site specific locations. I was starving by the time Jacob took us to dinner at the delightful Peperoncino Restaurant where we sat in the expansive garden. Joining us for dindin was Adam Budak the head curator of the National Gallery. Adam has been a CHEAP supporter for over a decade having brought CHEAP to Poland back in 2003. It was lovely having a reunion with him and enjoying a Czech feast.

Poor Fearless Leader Susi was suffering from a summer cold, but she didn't let that detract or derail her. She is the ultimate trooper. We also enjoyed a delightful meal at a small boite near the hotel called U Zlatych Rucicek Restaurant. Adam gave Marcuse and I a private tour of the giant National Gallery which is across the street from our hotel housed in what had once been a Roaring 20s Dept Store. The National Gallery boasts one of the oldest collections in the world as we went through what seemed like endless gorgeous rooms and mind altering artworks. Adam is a former student of Douglas Crimp so he has so much enthusiasm and joy as he talks about his curatorial vision for the museum. He also gifted us with a copy of Generosity-The Art of Giving a thick coffee table art book released in conjunction with the museums 220^th anniversary. Adam and Michaela Pejcochova being the books editors.

Leaving Prague was difficult. It was my first visit and I was mesmerized by all that eye candy on the streets in the form of attractive young tourists from all over the world dressed in their skanties because of the hot temps. Plus the sheer beauty of the ancient city.

The train back to Berlin seemed to take forever. The air conditioning kept going out and the wagons were packed with people standing throughout. Thank Goddess Freya we had reserved seats.

Kisses to Jacob, Adam, Pavel & Company for all the langorous hospitality.

Irrlichter

When you've existed for centuries mentoring naturally comes with the territory. When I was teaching in Berlin back in 2007 at the Weissensee Art Akademy I met a scrappy 21 year old blondine boy from France who just warmed my heart with his wild enthusiasm for living life as a mobiliac artfraction. That youth with the aristocratic forbearing was named Christophe DeRohan Chabot and now he has his first solo exhibition at the marvelously forward commercial Berlin gallery space This is Exile.

The installation on view is sublime in its minimalist splendour, the carefully placed and balanced naruda in the darkened space is meditative and distruptive at the same time, something like the cosmos of the artist who is not the child barely out of his teens anymore but a grown man of 30 approaching his Jesus Christos Christie Himmelfahrt. The brilliance that I first saw in my Make Art or Die seminar has now come to roost. Call it genius, call it phat and f*cked up, but call it you will Mortimer.

You only have till September 3^rd to see the DeRohan Chabot diaphanous gay goth drapes, Trilogy of Terror Totem and other quirky ephemera so make haste.

Exile

Kurfuerstenstrasse 19

10785

Thur – Sat 1-6pm by appointment only.

***

Not one of my ex students, but the young gorgeous artist Elly Clark is always up to something dazzling, engaging and no good.  She just sent me this latest missive of activitat.

Remote Intimacy Digital Residency at Fabrica with Marlborough Theatre & Brighton Digital Festival - September 14th-17th

In May this year I was awarded commission by Fabrica Gallery in association with Brighton Digital Festival exploring the subject of 'Remote Intimacy' with my ongoing #PhysicalDigital #OnlineOffline #Sergina drag performance project. 
For it I developed two new participatory performances: Waiting for Ice Cream, Waiting for #Sergina: Private Performance / Instantaneous Newsreel and I Got My Phone in My Wallet Ghetto blaster induced Flashmob #Serginacise, and upgraded a third - #Sergina's Stimulatingly Sexy Simultaneous Simulation of Herself - by bringing it to a new city, introducing new performer Katy Pendlebury, and incorporating a new song with music by Simon Clark.

On Wednesday 14th September I'm taking part in a panel discussion about my work with Magda Tyzlik-Carver.

All events listed below. All are free but booking advised. Click on the links for further info. 

- 14th September 6pm: Panel Discussion of Elly Clarke with Magda Tyzlik-Carver at Fabrica. - 14th - Thursday 15th September: Waiting for Ice Cream, Waiting for #Sergina: Private Performance / Instantaneous Newsreel - at Fabrica. Participatory performance which invites people to enter a blue screen booth dressed and made up as #Sergina, and to deliver their own rendition of#WaitingForIceCream which is instantaneously broadcast via #Sergina's YouTube Channel. - Thursday 15th September: I Got My Phone in My Wallet Ghetto blaster induced Flashmob #Serginacise - where we dance the dance of I Got my Phone in my Wallet to willing or unwilling audiences around Brighton. Starting at Fabrica at 7.30pm. - Saturday 17th September: #Sergina's Stimulatingly Sexy Simultaneous Simulation of Herself simultaneously at 7:30PM GMT / 8:30 CET in:        

         #Brighton at Fabrica with Katy Pendlbury at 7:30pm
         #Brighton at The Marlborough Theatre with Elly Clarke at 7:30pm
         #Berlin at Silver Future with Thomas Doherty at 8:30pm
         #Belgrade in a Top Secret Venue to be Revealed with Vladimir Bjeličić at 8:30pm

Nach dem Applaus

The Vagimule woman child returned to Hannover's Kunstverein for a public conversation with the museums wonderful young artistic director Kathleen Rahm. Back in June I gave an artist talk during their celebrated Tanz Congress to a huge audience of spirited internationalists.

The Koerper und Buehnen exhibition that features my Memory Island installation complete with iconic make-up paintings and ephemera will close August 28^th so be sure to take a day trip to Hannover to see it before then, you won't regret it.

Was picked up at the Hannover Hauptbahnoff  by Kunstverein's gorgeous 19 year old lovesexy intern Ali Siranetzi- Chalil and taken to a breakfast feast at Pado Patisserie Cafe Lounge in the Hannover Turkish Quartier. Sweet Ali escorted me to the City Hotel am Thielenplatz where I was able to rest up for the evening program. My boutique hotel room was very sampatico and comfy.

Frau Rahm picked me up at the hotel around 3pm and treated me to a nice aperitif, then walked me to the Kunstverein so I could start beating on a proper face. An attractive intergenerational audience came to hear us klatch. It was all quite lovely and intimate—just a coupla pretty chicks sitting around and talking. Things were so smooth and relaxed that I forgot to show some clips I had prepared. After a congenial Q&A with no showboating from the audience the gathering adjourned for cafe und kuchen.

Later in the evening the stately Landgraf Ulrich Klessmann who is on the museums advisory board of directors cooked and hosted a banquet in my honor at his townhouse compound in the heart of the cities empire district. I was starving, having not eaten a thing since breakfast.The mood during cocktail hour was teutonic festive and genteel. Herr Klessmann's grand drawing room was magical. The muscular manservants and maids galore flitted and floated about the room while we sipped some very strong Compari Sin-sations as the main apero. There's nothing I love more then a mega stocked exotica bar.
The Landgraf' studied theatre science in the US so he speaks perfect American style English and now works for the Enercity Group in PR and advertisement.  His palatial home is furnished with beauteous antiques and paintings that must be from the archive of his ancestral estate. Of course the food was exquisite with Vogerlsalat / Kuerbiskernoel, Tafelspitz,Gruener Veltliner white vino, three stately Dessert Patisserie made by dinner guest Bodil the enchanting wife of photographer JankoWoltersmann(www.woltersmann.de)The Landgraf had a copy of the photogs book which features incredible textural poloroid fotos of my hometown of Los Angeles that brought out that ribald quality of the city. The pics reminded me of my youth in the late 70s and early 1980s though they were taken between 2009 and 2011. The others at table included art shtar Sasha Hahn, attractive power art couple Caro Jap Lim and Peter Jap Lim who came to Hannover visiting from Berlin,handsome, tall and boyishly charming solicitor Dr. Benjamin Lueders who is a board member and fervent art lover and supporter,Kunstverein director Kathleen Rahm and the world renown Haniels from Duesseldorf.
I love that Ulrich Klessmann the ultimate party host doesn't allow anyone under the age of 14 at his soirees.

The next day Kathleen Rahm gave me a VIP pass so I could explore the Sprengel Contemporary Art Museum Hannover. I parked myself in front of a Francis Bacon for over 30 minutes to absorb his sick tasty world plus a plethora of Neue Sachlichkeit gems and some die abstrakten morsels. I was so engulfed with the Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Fernand Le'ger and Max Ernst that I almost missed my train back to Berlin. Thank Junifer that my train was delayed by 30 minutes. Shout out and thanx to intern Ali, Kathleen&Sasha, Herr Klessmann,Peter Jap Lim for being my astute museum companion, Kunstverein staff members Harry, Sven, Sexy Silvia and Monika.  You all  made my time in Hannover  a mercurial delight.

Fearless Leader of CHEAP Susanne Sachsse hosted a sumpteous dinner party for visiting filmmaking royale Bruce “Judy” LaBruce who is in town to work on editing his new feature film The Misandrists that stars the beautiful La Sachsse, Kembra Pfahler and Viva Ruiz. Earlier in the week handsome Judy LaBruce had a book release party for his new tome Porn Diaries or How to Succeed in Hardcore Without Really Trying. Judy signed a copy of the book for me and I can't wait to dig in as it is the perfect summer read.

Was so much fun to laugh and gossip about a millions different topics like the recent debacle of the Berlin Biennale to Austrian philosopher Armen Avanassian and his Accelerationism movement. When it comes to philosophical movements I prefer Audrey Hepburn's Empathicalism from Stanley Donen's Funny Face movie. With Susanane Sachsse, Judyline LaBruce, Marcuse Siegelstein and Muzlim jihadist Daniel Hendrickson you can't go wrong in headstrong conversing. Speakaing of the power top Muzlim, who is my partner in grime with Rising Stars, Falling Stars-Sweet 16 Millimeter. RSFS is going on 9 years as a Berlin institutional event. We have moved from the Arsenal where we did our performative screenings every month to silent green Kulture Quartier in Wedding and will now present quarterly. Mark September 4^th on your calendaria as we will screen the rarely seen 1976 Martha Coolidge film Not a Pretty Picture about the filmmakers own date rape when she was a teenager. The movie is a brave piece of documentary/fiction blend that has lost none of its power as we still live in a culture of sexual violence towards women. While digging through the archive with Muzlim Daniel I noticed Martha Coolidge's name in the database, as she directed the curiously engaging low budget film from 1983 Valley Girl that features an early performance by Nicholas Cage when he was young and cute, and the award winning Rambling Rose, 1991 starring Laura Dern and her mother Diane Ladd.

I had never heard of Not a Pretty Picture but after watching the movie on the Steinbeck I couldn't get it out of my mind, so Muzlim and I after talking with Empress Stefanie and some other women about the movie decided we needed to show it. So please tell everyone you know to come to silent green 8pm Sept 4^th to see this very important film.

Gegen den Strom

Just heard that Clyde Grimes of the American ska band The Untouchables died.  Clyde was a very handsome, stylish black boy who I didnt really know at all, but I had several dealings with people in the two tone movement and mod scene as I was a features editor with the mod fanzine Twist Magazine back in the early 80s using the moniker of Kayle Hilliard.
The editor of Twist Magazine was Dave Lumian who also managed The Untouchables, Phranc Downey Mildew and a few other post punk groups. Clyde lived in West Hollywood in a very cute apartment on Fountain Avenue near Fairfax near the church where they held Gay AA and NA meetings.  During this time when I was staying  at 7850 Sunset Blvd at the flat that was also my Hag Gallery back in the 1980s.  I was surprised when  Clyde came to a few of my Hag openings with a retinue of very cute boys, as my gallery scene wasnt necessarily part of his cosmos. 
Looking back I didnt know anything about Clyde other then he was close with a woman named Maris Sofra another Twist Mag staffer who had gone out with one of the Untouchables and was a good time Charlene of a fun girl with a middle eastern background who loved her black boys.  She even lived in South Central Los Angeles.
I always got the feeling that there was a little sugar in Clyde's tank, but I have no evidence to back that up. Mr. Grimes was very sexy and sleek who looked like a hot boy from the early 1960s.
He was a very good musician and had quite the stage presence.  Seeing the early performances of the Untouchables at the ON Club in Silverlake on Sunset Blvd was electric.  The mod scene in LA and Orange County was also a fantastic and exciting youth culture movement.  The Northern California scene was even more devout then the Southern Cali.  There was even a regular mod club hosted by a pimply faced kid named Bryan Fox at the Lhasa Club on Santa Monica Blvd and later it moved to the Haunted Studios off of Hollywood Blvd and Cahuenga.
Oh and the scooter rallies were majestic.  I hosted and MC'd a rally sponsored by Twist Magazine at the Federal Building where I put on a fashion show featuring the Buffalo culture designs of Fertile La Toyah Jackson where I used some cute East LA Chicana girls and some rich Hancock Park white teenage boys.  For some reason there were a lot of mods from Hancock Park and Larchmont Village.
Had a sweet reunion with the talented novelist Lisa Teasley who stopped off in Berlin to meet with her new German beau before going off to Shanghai for a two month writers residency.  Miss Lisa is a gorgeous beauty if ever there was one.  She hasn't aged a bit, and is the ultimate vision of the phrase "black don't crack".
My protege Christophe DeRohan Chabot is doing very well for himself in the art world.  He has a solo exhibition at the prestigeous Berlin gallery Exile that you should check out:


EXILE. christophe de rohan chabot. august 1-31,

http://thisisexile.com
https://www.facebook.com/exilegallery/
https://www.instagram.com/e_x_i_l_e/
http://www.indexberlin.de/exile

By appointment
rsvp@thisisexile.com

Furchtet Euch Nicht

The Arsenal Institut für film und video kunst summer film series are always clever and intriguing. This year they are saluting the legendary director and actress Ida Lupino.  Ida is one of golden era Hollywoods few female directors in the Directors Guild.
Ida was a Brit signed to a long term contract to Warner Brother First National Pictures who was no nonsense in every aspect and brought that quality to her writing of scenarios, producting and helming B and noir films with a decided social bent.  Fearless leader of CHEAP Susanne Sachsse used the 1953 Lupino film The Bigamist as inspiration for her 2009 theatre piece Communist Bigamist.
Felt lucky to catch Miss Lupino in the 1947 drama The Man I Love directed by Raoul Walsh where Ida plays a seen it,done it  band singer.  This film inspired Marty Scorcese' New York, New York in 1977.
Last night i saw the Ida directed feature film Never Fear also known as The Young Lovers from 1949 starring Lesbian hotcake Sally Forrest and a very young, hunky Hugh O'Brien.  If you're visiting Berlin rush to Arsenal at 2 Potsdamer Strasse at the Sony Center Potsdamer Platz and see rare screenings of her other films she directed like The Hitchhiker 1953 and Hard, Fast and Beautiful 1951 also starring Miss Forrest.
***
Sumpteous meaty meats on parade, saladas and tasty side dishes were in abundance at the farewell BBQ of Empress Stefanie Schulte Strathaus at her Wrangel kiez penthouse compound.  Our lovely Empress will be away attending to business in Cairo for three weeks and she will be missed by all her loyal subjects.  Enjoying the hearty feastage:  Big peniled scholar Marcuse Siegelstein, his lady love Susanne Sachsse handling the grill duties, Daniel Hendrickson the Jewish Muslim and his hot Italio beau brummel Piero Bellomo who will be heading to Italy for ten days to help celebrate his mama´s birthday.
Had a reunion of sorts with my old run-around Sue pal Ix aka: Steffan Santoro. Ix was an androgynous youth that I first met in the early 80s when he was a behind the Orange Curtain weenager hanging out with suburban kewpie doll and Good Time Sally Mischa, and the late infamous Xiola Blue immortalized in song and lore by her lover Perry Farrell in his band Jane´s Addiction.  I had forgotten that I was the one who introduced Xiola, a green dreadlocked Orange County teenage nymphette to the big peniled post punker. Mr. Farrell in those days was working a mile long dreadlock look himself while leading the band Psi Com.  Ix and I also did some modeling for some various clothing lines and a bunch of fashion shows, and he received quite a bit of attention in the early 90s when he was featured in Reza Abdul´s stage piece The Bogeyman which also starred the late Cliff Diller who i loved dearly and Goddess Bunny plus a million other Hollywood freaks.

Nach Aussen und nach Innen

So thrilled to have been invited to the Tanz Congress in Hanover.  The Tanz Congress is one of Germany's premiere art festivals.  My participation was in conjunctions with KunstVerein Hannover's  Bodies and Stages Exhibition which featured artists Alexandra Bachzetsis, Adam Linder's Some Cleaning performance with the charming and lovesexxxy Linder look-a-like performer Enrico Ticconi, Linder's lover Shahryar Nashat and the Vagimule doll's film installation Memory Island, as well as make-up paintings, slides and ephemera.  The fourgy at the KunstVerein represents a parallex view of the bodacious bod in relation to the space time continuum.
The Greek Goddessa Ms. Bachzetsis and her video installations the standout by far.  The Lady Bachzetsis looks like a young, more sensual Irene Papas---stately and elegant.  In her solo performance "Private: Wear a mask when you talk to me" she evoked at the same time all of my favourite gypsy dance legends like Gwen Verdon, Ann Reiking, Joan McCracken, Chita Rivera, Vera-Ellen,Cyd Charrisse, Joan Caulfield, Lola Falana, Lola Albright, Marilyn Maxwell plus both Marge and Gower Champion.  Male and female she has got it covered.  Geniustrata!
The opening of the Tanz Congress was spirited in front of the Staasoper with a public warm-up conducted by the self titled famous Gallic bossy bottom choreographer Boris Charmatz. Later 20 intergenerational dancers and performers led the publicum through the opera house transformed into the Musee de la danse of the 20th Century. 
On Saturday it was a delight to meet the fab young artists Sheena McGrandles, Winnie Ho, Joy Mariama Smith and Tove Sahlin who created a marvelous intervention "Who's the Party Now Sister" which included lost memory lecturinas by curator Bettina Knaup and the celebrated Berlin based feminist collective Female Trouble.
My own presentation was beyond packadermus with a juicy mongering crowd of youngsters and veteranos including Anna Muelter of the Sophiensale and her parents who are Hannover natives, the lovely Kunstverein artistic director Kathleen Rahn and her hunky lover Sasha, Senior Kunstverein curator and glamazon Ute, Adam Symzek formerly of the Kunsthalle Basel and the director of the upcoming Documenta, Anna and Sortsis who are Alexandra Bachzeitsis's beautiful right hand stewards, Birte who handles the PR at the KunstVerein, Rolf the senior tech authority and his assistant Harry, interns Inga and Ali, the wonderful Silvia, Andrea Niederbuchner, Prinzessin Alix de Ligne and her handsome new hubby Guillaume de Dampierre, blondine DJ Calvin Harris and Afro German basketball shtar Maik Zirbes.
I feel like Hannover is becoming my new second hometown.  Was loving all the magnifique brunches, lunches and dinners at places like Loretta in the Staatpark, and a special BBQ at Frau Rahm's spacious compound hosted by her sweet bear daddy pal Ulrich where i got to meet sleek and patrician Kunstverein boardchairmen Alexander and towering brawny matinee idolisch power top solicitor Benjamin.
The Love Camel aka Andrea Novarin joined the doll on her first trip to Macedonia for the Skopje Pride Weekend Art Festival at the Kino Kultura Performing Arts Center.  Those of us in the tired west could learn a great deal from the queer activist of this Balkan nation.  We certainly take way too much for granted here in Berlin.
Much love and kissyz to cutie pie Slavco Dimitrov of the Coalition "Sexual and Health Rights of Marginalized Communities", the fine folks of the LGBTI Support Center, Slavco's hot lover Stefan and his lesbian husband Biljana from Bitola, the legendary Koncho, the first openly gay person in Macedonia, Goddess Biljana of Kino Kultura, Pavle, Irena and Blagica.
No one was expecting such big crowds at all the events with over 300 people crammed in the Kino Kultura to see me perform on what was the hottest evening at 40 degrees celcius weather.  The Celebs in attendance:  Zoja Buzalkovska the famed theatre director, renown actress Irena Ristich, journalist and editor Marina Kostova who got into hot water with the right wing regime over her fearless advocacy,  film Director Milcho Manchevski of the international hit Before the Rain, Ljubomir Frchkovsk, professor in Political Sciences at the State University UKIM, Lupa Angelov the frontman of the psychodelic surf disco punk band The John, and Boryana Rossa the Bulgarian/American artist whose wonderous hommage to Carolee Shneemann "On Focus: The Interior" features her wearing an Amazon Armor lens-bra and full gold metal Kubrick style straight jacket.  Divine!!!!

Oden an Die Melancholie

So sorry folks in cyberland that I have been lax in my blogina writing but the Vagimule doll has been one busy blacktress crisscrossing around the planet with one project after another. My North American trip to New York City was granada. Fearless Leader of CHEAP Susanne Sachsse and I scored major kudos with Magic Flute Part Two: A Film in Pieces which opened June 8^th at the 80 WSE Gallery in Greenwich Village NYU compound across the street from Washington Square Park. The film installation by the legendary Michel Auder with assist by Michael Stickrod came together in a spectacular fashion and of course Jonathan Berger and his adept crew did an amazing job in mounting this fab exhibition which will be on view till August 12th so if you are in the tri-state region go and see it.  My iconic make-up paintings and other ephemera are also featured. 

The Goethe Institut put Susi and I in the cute Chelsea Gem Hotel at 300 West 22^nd Street which was conveniently located near every place we had to venture to. The Gem is a former single room occupancy turned mini boutique hotel with no frills or thrills. The staff was very sweet and accomodating though the lobby lighting isn't flattering to someone like myself of a certain age,but they had a most charming tiny rooftop garden.

The Magic Flute Part 3: Press Conference at Goethe Institut was a crazed hoot and a half, Deconstructing the panel discussion was our aim and we succeeded with the divine assist of luscious Lia Gangitano of Participant Inc as moderator and Cleofus Gwenvere of punk band black fag as respondant. The Irving Place auditorium was SRO with a divoon Manhattan audience that included exBerliner Annette Knol one of my former Weissensee students and her vivacious significant other Amelia Bande, Jeanne Vaccaro, Viktor Neumann, Ektor Marie Garcia of the gay ceramix club, who was also one of my kids from The Chicago  Art Instititute now a grad student at Columbia, Josefina from Sweden,Bricktops at the Parlour Club's Charity Hope Valentine who now writes for Bomb, Chicano hungthrob Sean Carillo, the legendary scholar Douglas Crimp looking very handsome and dapper as usual, juicy glam power couple Asya & Ted Berger, Prince Alex Casso, lovesexy artist extroidinaire Damien Davis, Ian Alcock, Ralph Baylor, Chris Blue, Lucio Castro, Emily Clayton, Izzy Cohan, Kelian Delice, Samuel Draxler, Dustin Foster, Jacquelyn Gallo, Sara Gil, Roger Matthew Grant, Juliette Hayt, Bonnie Lane, Sawyer Mitchell, Julia Moses, Kit Tyson, Punk Rock Dave Perett, Patricio Schmigeglow, Zachary Shoenhut, Sara Tasini, Scotland Zief, Jess Garcia, Glenn Belverio, Mark Morgan Perez, Baseera Khan,Wenzel Bilger, and the incredible Michele Lamy visiting America from Paris, France checking up on the east coast Rick Owens Empire.

Susanne and I were the special guests at a fundraiser for Lia Gangitano's amazing Participant Inc.Gallery, the only not for profit gallery space left in New York City. The bodacious event was held at a secret garden studio of Israeli artist Izhar Patkin that was part indoor/outdoor.  Participant After Dark was modeled after Playboy After Dark.  The alcohol and middle eastern food constantly flowed with a delectable array of celebutants that included: Robin Richman the Chicago fashion supershtar, interior designer Dean Holdiman, Michelle Handelman and her partner Vincent, secret dealer Brian Kish, the wonderous Kathe Burkhart, Elisabeth Kley, Marja Samson, Douglas Ferguson, David Everitt Howe of Bomb Magazine, Olga Dekalo, Jackie Rudin, Rafael Sanchez, Pati Herting, Glendalys Medina, Rafael Melendez, Robert Boyd, Spencer Product, Marti Domination of Jackie 60, Mr. Twinkle, Amanda Trager, Gary Indiana, Slava Mogutin, Lucien Bahaj, John Brattin, the delightful Gala Verdugo the daughter of actress Elena Verdugo of Marcus Welby MD fame and former Universal Pictures starlet in the 1950s with husband Benjamin Tischer of Invisible-Exports Gallery, Nath Ann Carrera, Gavin Downie, Pailo Heitz, John Kelly, Craig Hensala, Amy Scholder, Elisabeth Subrin, Bibbe Hansen, Richard Gabriel, Ross Evangelista, diva of divas Kembra Pfahler, Hunter Reynolds, Justin Vivian Bond of Kiki and Herb fame, Jack Waters, Ethan Weinstock, Steven Azo Michaels, Glenn Belverio, jewelry goddess Jelena Behrend who made a CHEAP kollektiv dazzler for VD and SS with her lady love Ruta Petrakovaite, T. Delong,Cady Noland, Scott Ewalt, AK Burns, and Christian Music. The weather in New York was boiling hot and humid so of course Lady Ms. Davis was forever sweating and not exactly looking her best.

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Art photog Annette Frick converses with Anette Kubritza who wrote the feminist cult book Fluxus, Flirt and Feminism in the new Camera Austria nr. 134. Pick it up now!!!!

Stammtisch im Himmel

The inaugral presentation of Rising Stars, Falling Stars: Sweet 16mm,Never Been Kissed at silent green Kulturquartier was a late Spring/Early Summer triumph. I've never seen an audience of such dazzling intergenerational faces all geared,greased, and ready to have a grand old fashion hoot of a time.

Our shorts program was odd but somehow thats what made it click, mixing Kenneth Anger, Chantal Akerman, Sharon Sandusky, Pasolini and WC Fields, plus one of my own vintage short subjects from 2001 Frau Unter Einflus that was filmed on location in Berlin during my sixth months residency with the first CHEAP kollektiv project CHEAP Jewelry.

After 8 years at Kino Arsenal its marvelous to have a proper performance set-up at silent green complete with lights, sound,spacious dressing room private bath including shower facilities. Lovesexxyline!

The SRO crowd included Arsenal Empress Stefanie Schulte Strathaus reigning majestic over the proceedings along with Jewish Muzlim Daniel Hendrickson and his hot lover Piero Bellomo, Ulrich Ziemons, the fine folks from the Harun Farocki Institut, the beautiful young blondine UdK student David Schoeler and his gorgeous friend Yannick Spiess, Marcus Ruff, a bevy of ultra attractive UdK Media Art department tyro artistes, big peniled Tobi Ashraf, prima ballerina Trixie Schoenherr,Cairo Egypt artist/curator and current Living Archive artist in residence at silent green Maha Maamoun, Manuel Vicki Baum Schubert of Die Taz Newspaper with his delightful pal Olivier Nowitsky, the wonderful Pedro Marum of Queer Lisbon Film Festival, Kathy Ann Tan who is an adjunct professor at Humboldt Universitaet and Associate Professor of American Studies at University of Tubingen, Nadine Voss and her top notch silent green crew, Berlinale Panorama's Michi Stuetz, Gweneal Radtke, Brazilian director Antonio Canto Porto de Moraes, documentary filmmaker Sebastian Winkels, the sweet lady from L'immagine Ritrovata Filmrestoration lab in Bologna, Denise Anh-Dao Beyschlag formerly of Berlinale Shorts, a bunch of other people from various Berlinale sections including William Faber, Haytham El Wardany the famous writer,Joerg Heitmann and Tina Ellerkamp,Laurie Anderson film editor Ruth Schoenegge, Lea Schneidermann, girlfriend Arnita Jaunsubrena and hot posse,

Gerrit Woltemath, Elizabeth Taylor's activist grandsons with violet eyes just like La Liz Quinn and Rhys Tivey,Peter Dundas the creative director of Roberto Cavalli seeking out Ms. D as a new muse or at the very least inspiration,London designer Michael van der Ham, actor Taylor Kitsch, Kornelia Kugler and her rock steady crew, Sophiensaler's Anna Muelter,CHEAP fearless leader Susanne Sachsse and lovely daughter Salome Gersch, Cannes film festival fav Maren Ade,and pretty boy tennis shtar Alexander Zverev.

Dem Himmel so fern

Got to see one of my top Giessen students Lea Schneidermann present a brilliant piece she directed at the Hebbel am Ufer Theatre´s HAU 2.  In the audience was another one of my ex students from Giessen Christoph Bovermann looking very hunky and get you preggers manlische.

Lea´s strident happening was playfully titled Pixel Heroes oder Das Ende einer Dynastie.  Not only did Lea direct but she designed the elegant stage where special emphasis was put on every detail including coordinating the stylish costumes by her girlfriend Arnita Jaunsubrena(another one of my class of 2014).  Arnita also provided the dramaturgy.  With Alison Bechdel´s comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” as their spirit guide you really can´t go wrong.  So proud of Ms. Schneidermann and can´t wait to follow how her career develops as she has graduated from Giessen and is now a full fledge Berliner on the scene. WoW!

Was odd being at my old stomping ground of Hebbel am Ufer.  The place has become very Belgiumy and Dutch centered under its new artistic and managing directress Annemie Vanackere.  I´ll let you fill in all the Diana Ross dot dem i´s!

Was walking near Kleistpark and saw a strange phenom.  Two black men with AfroGerman versions of the dreaded hair bun style this time in coco puff and the dreadlock variete´.  ILL and Double ILL.

Got together with my Goethe Universität student Julian Sherer for drinkypoos at the ancient fagpub Anderes Ufer on the Hauptstrasse.  So divine seeing handsome, muscular big peniled  power top Julian who breaks hearts and bungholes everywhere he goes.  Julian was relaying some personal stories about Alexander Kluge the film director, philosopher and social scientist.

One of the sweetest, pure, innocent and most talented beauties of New York city is Damien Davis who collaborated with Fearless Leader of CHEAP Susanne Sachsse and I on our Magic Flute project is.  Damien has a solo show in New York coming up in June and some other projects and you must sprint not power walk to see this gifted young mans gorgeous art work. Geniustrata par exellance.  Check out the info below: Object/Affection opening reception Friday June 10th 6-9pm Black Ball Projects 374 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn 11249.  On view from June 10th till July 17th and his first full sized quilt will be included in a group exhibition Itasca, curated by Matthew Schum at the artist run space Bindery Projects that opens June 24th. On July 14th Damien will be collaborating on a performance piece at the loft space Safe Gallery  245 Varet Street in Williamburg.