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we hate this couch:
on dismantling unfashionable seating instruments through emphatic action and projecting identity on to zero waste crafting exploits
the revolution begin at home
sweet home
activist rhetoric for zealous youth with fledging accountability and an endearing cliche phrase to be ornamentally carved into sugar pine, painted in pastels and hung on a front door, perhaps with the image of a stoic goose.
this is my political background in disruption of the home front. beyond uncomfortable family dinner with careful tip toes, i desire to tie my organs into delicate ribbons and spray paint stencils on the inside of my stomach; something funny or ironic like an anatomical heart or “meat is murder” or perhaps inscribe an inspiring manifesto i will someday write along the inner lining.
gross, anyway…
we hate this couch (it has got to go)
loose change
part of me hopes that tearing apart this couch will be like an epiphany, finding loose change between the cushions or perhaps a ten dollar bill. part of me believes in ghosts. these aspects of myself are different, but important when beginning a fresh undertaking.
expectation and pretension. wide-eyed wonder and intrigue.
as i tear apart this couch i hope it has been loved. not because of sadist fantasy but along with ghosts i believe that the only things that are worth dismantling are things that have been loved. otherwise it should be destroyed.
cushion s
this couch was made for the landfill. not quite the simple ikeaonic structure yet still manufactured in a cheap fashion. this meaning, though it is held together with staples, wood glue, and cheap screws, it is still heavy and hard to disassemble.
zero waste sounds like a picketing slogan or a welcome mat, perhaps with an embroidered pineapple. it sounds like something that could be adopted and orphaned by whole foods.
though it feels like an application of ideals.
process infused with desire.
take things seriously
homebody
there are inward truths, such as i enjoy my privacy (minus the flaunting of couch wrecking) and i am afraid of the dark and finding latent suicide notes beneath cushions and abandonment fascinates me.
if i saw this couch on the curb i would want to sit in it.
if it were torn to pieces and smattered across an empty lot, i would want to take photos striving for perplexing but beautiful composition. this is a somewhat problematic desire, for it requires the fetishization of disparaging environmental conditions that I am privileged enough to not be subjected to. the couch becomes a symbol for greater issues in this context, one that is reflected in both personal life and practice and how that relates to environmental/ social justice.
this seeks not to be a model for decisive action or the workings of a guilty conscious, but translating desire and aesthetic ingrained in a manic psyche into
…a destroyed couch…
the couch fragments are now smattered between the floor, kitchen, hallway, and bedroom. this is a b re e d in g g r ou n d
from the wreckage small beings begin to form, awakened sprites emerge.
with purpose unknown, the sprites take to stumbling down the hall
while scaring the cat in an unintentional manner
all the sprites have an inherited w a nd e r l u st
dismantle with love end part one
new england in the autumn is a welcoming site… short drives and colorful landscapes and the hospitality that warms a smile like a cup of tea…
the first venture of the dysphoric cyborgs tour was a concotion heart-warmth through homes and friends, delerious car rides, and ever frustrating interactions.
the reason to travel, to perpetually be creating/ the inability to stop creating and traveling, is the desire for connection to a broader (queer and transgender) community and to awaken the little snippets of myself that I witness emerge out from depression and self-doubt: to be intentional with this process.
awakening is more encompassing word for touring and artistic process in this context.
perhaps this is a heavy load to carry, to squeeze inbetween puppets, keyboards, and guitars to expand into the spaces we temporarily occupy.
this is a ramble. i am rambling.
with every tour and every performance there is a forever realization:
no matter how hard the fight against transphobia: it still exists
and hits like a ton of bricks
and also that decent/ wonderful people still exist as well and they want to make life so much more pleasant than it tends to be (especially on the road)…
moral of the story: this experience has been and continues to be
rough and beautiful as
t um ult u ou s r ain bo w s
…
keep it going… Dysphoric Cyborgs Midwest Tour November 3rd – 18th
(click below for details)
Dysphoric Cyborgs take full advantage of the queer fountain of youth
THE FEMME SHOW!
October 2nd and 3rd 8pm @ The Cambridge YWCA 820 Mass Ave in Central Square
The Femme Show premiered to sold out crowds in Jamaica Plain, MA in October 2007. The Femme Show is a revue of smart, sexy, interactive performance about queer femme identity that features film, dance, literary readings, burlesque, drag, and performance art from award winning artists. To bring The Femme Show to your area, email info [at] thefemmeshow.com.
This years show features 14 different fabulous artists and performers.
Also…
MadFemmePride Presents the Femme Show After Party on Friday, October 2.
Fun mixing and mingling games, Great Conversation, Signature cocktails and cash bar, Free snacks, music and dancing.
$2-5 suggested donation to help us cover costs.
The Elks Club, 55 Bishop Allen Drive.
Directions from the Cambridge YMCA Theater: Coming out of the theater, turn right on Mass Ave. Turn left on Prospect, walk one block, then turn right onto Bishop Allen. The Elks Club is a little more than 2 blocks down. Follow signs to the bar.
Come hungry and bring cash…..the bakesale chock full of sweet, savory, and vegan delicacies supports the work of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.
preface: the car accident
tall building hover overhead as clouds, bridges overtake sky, and the screams and cries of speeding metal careen by as greens and blues peak through concrete.
i never thought of a car as a wounded beast before but as fluids leak from the damaged form onto pavement and puddle at my foot… sympathy overwhelms me. i feel as though i somehow failed this creature that i thought was supposed to protect me.
the other driver examines the lack of damage to their vehicle and a thought occurs: she was not wearing a seat belt.
it was not until an hour later until i could attend to her despite the obvious trauma. checking on the well fair of your seemingly inanimate object i guessed might make me appear unstable. car accidents are very stable events. standard and procedure.
she appeared ok; laying on the ground with feet over head amid cassette tapes and odd trinkets: but who is really ever ok? she has not said a word since.
buttons and stitches…
epilogue:
everything is ok!
Below is a message from Trans-Genre.net , a website that offers free promotion for transgender artists, musicians, and performers and showcases the diversity and creative energy exuding from the broader transgender community.
The first Trans-Fusions CD featured an array of musicians and visual artists including Coyote Grace, Ryka Aoki de la Cruz and Dylan Scholinski among others.
If you are a trans artists or know of any pass on the word…
Hey There!
Here at Trans-Genre we Love our community & are dedicated to promoting you and your work. That is why, unlike other Promotional Services we offer opportunities at absolutely No Cost to our artists. That means no Submission Fees & No “Minimum Buy” Requirements to Participate. Just our way of saying “Thank you for all the amazing work you do.” <3
We currently have 2 Promotional Opportunities in the works covering the areas of Audio and Visual Art. Since we know you’re busy & we like to keep it short and simple we’ll give you the basics here and provide links to the site with more information (i.e. submission guidelines & forms).
Currently Seeking Submissions:
1. the 2nd Trans-Genre Compilation CD
-
Submission Deadline: Extended! Oct 15th
-
Audio/Visual
-
Compensation: Copy of Final Trans-Genre Compilation
2. Sticker Madness Contest
-
Submission Deadline: Oct 15
-
Visual
-
5 winning Designs chosen
-
Compensation: set of all wining designs + 25 stickers of your own Design
i really enjoy the process of making a puppet. sculpting cardboard, roving through recycled fabrics and found objects, experimenting with balance and movement: i find this as interesting as the actual performances.
here is a puppet i have been working on for a short peice for the femme show , a showcase of queer/ femme performers in boston october 2nd and 3rd (click link for more info) and for a longer peice as part of the dysphoric cyborgs tour (more on this soon).
next post: face, feet, and diy puppet fashion
i recently spent an intense/ incredible few weeks at mountain meadow summer camp, a camp that a focus on kids from LGBT families and/or identities.
it was a very nurturing environment where social justice and anti-oppression was an essential focus. everyone (both staff and kids) came from an array of backgrounds and experiences. the space created wholeheartedly embraced this: a rare experience, especially in a hectic work environment.
i held down the ‘art shack’: a long building filled with more arts and crafts supplies then i would ever know what to do with (well perhaps…)
the work produced by the kids with their insight and creativity truly inspired me. i wanted to share some of their work:
environmental scuplture
puppetry
big win!
also featured journal making and nature painting plus misc. artwork
after creating a puppet i am often left with an array of awkward cardboard pieces and dollops of recycled paint. in an effort to use materials to their last bits and scraps and bring the concept of zero waste ever more into my artistic process, i started making small masks from this refuse.
these masks were asking to adorn the urban environment, so i obliged.
…more soon
Recently the transgender community lost a very witty and fabulous woman.
Mary Yolanda aka Mary Magician passed away in late July due to complications with prostate cancer.
Mary dazzled audiences across the Midwest with her magic and humor and performed at Southern Comfort and with the Tranny Roadshow in 2008 and 2009.
I first encountered Mary during the Tranny Roadshow Rocky Mountain Tour in 2008. Always the center of excitement even outside the performances, Mary was known to pull out magic tricks at airports and restaurants, tell jokes that you might never repeat but love to hear, and enjoy the nightlife, outlasting other performers, some 30 -40 years younger (including myself).
Mary helped question my view of an inter-generational trans community: the fact that we need elders to inspire us and give us hope for the often volatile lives of transgender folks.
mary crooning an audience in cincinatti
one the most exciting parts of summer is walking around the city and seeing all the street art ad grafitti in full bloom.
fortunately for us, we have the internet so we can also view different projects and works from artists and collectives all around the world!
us – 1 technonlogy – 50871
i have been working on a few peices which will be posted soon.
here are some of my favorites:
Poster Pocket Plants
guerilla gardening + media subversion = brilliant
more here: http://posterpocketplants.blogspot.com/
Outdoor Knit
knitting street art is some of my favorite with artists including knitta and radical cross stitch holding it down.
i cam across this site recently: http://outdoorknit.blogspot.com/
You Are Beautiful
this project never ceases to inspire me and seems to always turn up in the most random of places, sometimes just when you need it.
http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/
spotted in chinatown, philadelphia
check out www.woostercollective.com a website that features an array of street artists, collectives, and projects on a daily basis
