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parasitegirlLast year's art show was A Series of Secrets. This year I am showing
Confessions (the new work) Secrets and Elements (lumped in on the flyer as
"and all", because I wasn't sure if I was going to include the frog-people
series and it sounded better) Last night Herman asked me what the secrets
were, he's not the first.
If you ask me what the secrets are I'll tell you how Secrets ushered in a
return of symbols (and color) to my work: Flowers grew from some mouths and
were forced into others. Fish swam by. Vines covered words covered by paint
and vines were covered by words. Bandages wrapped figures. Masks were worn.
If you ask me what the secrets are I'm probably not going to tell you. If
you know me well you'll make your guess and not demand to know if it is
right. Where there are blatant symbols there is something gnawing, burrowing
deep, demanding expression in whatever form I am willing to give.
My work always has moments of these symbols. In college it was halos, beams
and pin emitting from heads, bugs as details (as opposed to the bug as
subject work I did) stenciled letters, shaved heads, matches. Then it swung
back into solitary figures. Somewhere in between we have all the limb
amputations that went on in my work for years and years. A lot of limbs were
removed. Piles.
Is the Confession series about telling those specific secrets? It's not that
simple. I call those works Confessions because they are about being naked,
unleashing and taking impact without flowers and vines to pretty things up.
As Annie Dillard says: Winter reveals what summer conceals.
Last year my reception performances were darker. I was connecting to Gloomy
Sunday in a specific way. I did fall to the floor exhausted and have to pull
myself up for a drum solo that could be called brutal at points. Anaan
was controlled and slow. Farasha was ephemeral and vulnerable. We didn't
smash people over the heads with this, we started light, went dark, and came
back. We took the journey..but there was a certain atmosphere to the rainy
night.
Tonight I want to have a blast. I have some lovely costumes begging to
be elegant worn and moved in: the burgundy velvet, my white bella, the
emerald city. They would look lovely surrounding my art and I look smashing
in them... But I want to put on balkan fusion, some fancy pants, lace up
some tight armbands and enjoy the hell out of shit. Last year I had my
gnawings and my symbols and I needed to go deeper, in my dance, my writing,
my emotions. Now, after having been naked, having at some points looked at
my artwork and cried , having gone deeper and come up... I figure I get to
put on pants and celebrate.
And I suspect that the tone of the evening, even though I haven't discussed
it with the dancers, will be celebratory. Mika is so happy to be asked to
perform and our friendship is growing. She's getting excited about Turkish
music and I just keep "hooking her up." Anaan reports that she's busting out
jazzy beats with a touch of the Middle East. I suspect Farasha will be
wearing her new costume and to see how excited that costume makes her when
she's just touching it?
We gonna have fun tonight (Some folks might wangchun tonight, you never
know)
Speaking of fancy pants. Dad, I got my Christmas package. Congrats on
beating the rush and not having to cross out any words on the cards to make
them past-tense! I hope your reading at the Vietnam Wall went well. I have
already spent the money on new fancy pants
(http://melodiapants.tribe.net/photos/485042c9-b6c6-4469-9ed3-43ca2d6ef938)
Tell JoAnne that I have no clue when you guys will see me next.
These pants?
I think I need to start studying more Black Sea dances and traditionally
male-Turkish-folk dances.
Confessions (the new work) Secrets and Elements (lumped in on the flyer as
"and all", because I wasn't sure if I was going to include the frog-people
series and it sounded better) Last night Herman asked me what the secrets
were, he's not the first.
If you ask me what the secrets are I'll tell you how Secrets ushered in a
return of symbols (and color) to my work: Flowers grew from some mouths and
were forced into others. Fish swam by. Vines covered words covered by paint
and vines were covered by words. Bandages wrapped figures. Masks were worn.
If you ask me what the secrets are I'm probably not going to tell you. If
you know me well you'll make your guess and not demand to know if it is
right. Where there are blatant symbols there is something gnawing, burrowing
deep, demanding expression in whatever form I am willing to give.
My work always has moments of these symbols. In college it was halos, beams
and pin emitting from heads, bugs as details (as opposed to the bug as
subject work I did) stenciled letters, shaved heads, matches. Then it swung
back into solitary figures. Somewhere in between we have all the limb
amputations that went on in my work for years and years. A lot of limbs were
removed. Piles.
Is the Confession series about telling those specific secrets? It's not that
simple. I call those works Confessions because they are about being naked,
unleashing and taking impact without flowers and vines to pretty things up.
As Annie Dillard says: Winter reveals what summer conceals.
Last year my reception performances were darker. I was connecting to Gloomy
Sunday in a specific way. I did fall to the floor exhausted and have to pull
myself up for a drum solo that could be called brutal at points. Anaan
was controlled and slow. Farasha was ephemeral and vulnerable. We didn't
smash people over the heads with this, we started light, went dark, and came
back. We took the journey..but there was a certain atmosphere to the rainy
night.
Tonight I want to have a blast. I have some lovely costumes begging to
be elegant worn and moved in: the burgundy velvet, my white bella, the
emerald city. They would look lovely surrounding my art and I look smashing
in them... But I want to put on balkan fusion, some fancy pants, lace up
some tight armbands and enjoy the hell out of shit. Last year I had my
gnawings and my symbols and I needed to go deeper, in my dance, my writing,
my emotions. Now, after having been naked, having at some points looked at
my artwork and cried , having gone deeper and come up... I figure I get to
put on pants and celebrate.
And I suspect that the tone of the evening, even though I haven't discussed
it with the dancers, will be celebratory. Mika is so happy to be asked to
perform and our friendship is growing. She's getting excited about Turkish
music and I just keep "hooking her up." Anaan reports that she's busting out
jazzy beats with a touch of the Middle East. I suspect Farasha will be
wearing her new costume and to see how excited that costume makes her when
she's just touching it?
We gonna have fun tonight (Some folks might wangchun tonight, you never
know)
Speaking of fancy pants. Dad, I got my Christmas package. Congrats on
beating the rush and not having to cross out any words on the cards to make
them past-tense! I hope your reading at the Vietnam Wall went well. I have
already spent the money on new fancy pants
(http://melodiapants.tribe.net/photos/485042c9-b6c6-4469-9ed3-43ca2d6ef938)
Tell JoAnne that I have no clue when you guys will see me next.
These pants?
I think I need to start studying more Black Sea dances and traditionally
male-Turkish-folk dances.
