TAG SALE COSMOLOGY

TAKE ME

I thought about posting this video on youtube for a while but had this idea that I wanted to ask permission from Patrick McGuinn, the filmmaker behind Suroh: Alien Hitchhiker, since I used so much footage from it. And of course I didn’t know how to contact him and so I put it off over and over again UNTIL I had the bright idea to check myspace. And he was there! He responded very kindly to my note, so I now offer you TAKE ME…

See excerpts from some of McGuinn’s videos HERE.

From the video description:
Found footage collage by Erica Magrey, 2005. This video was made in response to an assignment to recraft found footage into a new work. It was inspired by and borrows heavily from Suroh: Alien Hitchhiker by Patrick McGuinn (the first five minutes are almost all re-edited or shortened scenes from Suroh), but also incorporates footage from the following: Doctor Who - Planet of Evil, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by D.A. Pennebaker, Barbarella, dir. by Roger Vadim, Glam Rock music video collection, and various music videos. The music is also from Suroh: Alien Hitchhiker.

Who is this woman?

So far I have the basic costume and this very short audio clip to work with. Somehow these elements will transform themselves into a performance over the next couple of weeks. Any ideas about what type of character or story these sounds and images might conjure? Who is she? Where do you picture her? etc. Any suggestions are welcome.

More photos HERE.

Redman’s Crib

OK, so this is old news, but it’s new to me. A coworker sent me this MTV Cribs episode featuring Redman’s snazzy “de la casa” de Staten Island. There’s no frontin’ here - Redman’s tour is replete with unkempt details: crap scattered all over the floor, porn videos, frozen fishcakes, a passed out guest, and a broken doorbell (he instructs us how to twist the wires together in order to get his attention when visiting). I’m pretty sure there’s piss in the toilet too. I laughed out loud multiple times while viewing. Now this is quality reality TV.

Comments are back!

At least for now. I’ve installed a new anti-spam plugin and re-enabled comments for all posts. Hopefully this will allow y’all to post without me having to sift through tons of spam on a daily basis. Wahoo!!!

“Maude’s Problem”

I rented the first season of Maude from Netflix the other day, and I’m pleased to report that I’m already hooked after the first episode. When I plucked the DVD from my friend Jose’s queue and added it to my own many months ago, I didn’t realize Maude was the work of Norman Lear, who’s also responsible for the great Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Maude aired from 1972 to 1978, starring Bea Arthur of Golden Girls’ fame, a spinoff of All in the Family. Though I had never seen the show, my boyfriend often referred to it in reference to my ugly (in his opinion) oversized smock-type shirts, a style that Maude is apparently famous for.

Anyway, so I get the DVD and start with Season 1, Episode 1: Maude’s Problem. We are immediately informed in the show’s opening theme of the charming characteristics of “uncompromising, enterprising, anything-but-tranquilizing, right-on Maude,” compared in turn to Lady Godiva, Joan of Arc, and Betsy Ross. Her brash, straight-forward, demanding, and also very strong female lead dives right in to controversial subject matter in the first minute or so of the episode, discussing a friend’s hysterectomy with her fourth husband Walter. Shortly afterward, her daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau!) storms into the house, upset, wearing dark glasses, and refusing to tell Maude what’s wrong or why she is home so late. (Barbeau’s character is older and has a son but she is divorced so they live with Maude and Walter.) Maude eventually puts two and two together and realizes that Carol has been seeing a therapist and crying afterward (hence the dark glasses). She’s mortified and immediately declares “I WAS A GOOD MOTHER!” to which Carol responds “Maybe….” which is too much for Maude to take. In the ensuing tense dinnertime conversation Carol reveals her doctor’s name; Maude decides to pay him a little visit to set the record straight.

Of course when Maude enters the waiting room there is an insane patient repeatedly stating what time her appointment is for, and Maude manipulates the woman into giving up her time slot, forcibly entering the doctor’s office. Once inside, he cannot help but psychoanalyze Maude, though she is sternly resistant to his instincts to do so. She’s got classic textbook issues and the doc sees right through her. She’s going along with it until he asks her a direct question about her own overbearing mother, which prompts her to swiftly leave his office and close the door. Camera stays on the door and like clockwork, five seconds later she’s back in the chair.

Cut to next scene where Carol is fretting about why her mother is so late for dinner. Suddenly Maude bursts in the front door, wearing dark glasses, holding a pose with her hand on the doorknob for what seems like an eternity (see below). Long pause for studio laughter and dramatic effect. Of course she too has been crying from her visit with the therapist.

I can’t say Maude changed her ways as a result of her single therapy session, but I must say I was very happy to see her in the chair. I say YES to Maude for taking it to the shrink in the very first episode. Gotta love Norman Lear for exploring common neuroses in these half-sitcom/half-soap operas when they were being skirted around in a majority of TV shows. Looking forward to rapidly digesting the other episodes on this DVD.

UPDATE: Just found out that it wasn’t my boyfriend who said I wear shirts like Maude. Was it my dad? Scary.

Super 8 Post-Apocalyptic High School Movie

Here for your viewing pleasure I present a six-part post-apocalyptic themed movie called Doctor Death made by teenager Webster Colcord in 1989. A quick glance at Colcord’s youtube channel shows more recent stop motion work, and his website touts his animation work on features such as James and the Giant Peach and Antz. But this early gem is still the major draw for me. Young Colcord, despite his doubtless miniscule budget, manages to blow up and/or destroy everything in sight - a bus, a car, a body falling off a cliff, a dog, a hand, and a head, among other things. The effects are super sweet in their innocence. I love seeing work that pushes the boundaries of what is believable…even if that wasn’t the filmmaker’s intentions. Colcord says the film is “Sort of a comedy homage to the Road Warrior, but my real inspiration was a low budget Road Warrior knock-off movie called ‘Metalstorm’.” Aren’t the lowest budget movies generally the most inspiring? I think so.

The entire movie is only about 15 minutes long and begins here with Part 1 of 6:

Continue on to Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (Credits). Hang on until the end of the credits for a nice surprise.

Hope you enjoy the original music by Kevin Looney. I did.

Muppet Music

Just watched The Dark Crystal again last night and I’m having a wave of puppet warmth and nostalgia.

Shiny Happy Monsters - R.E.M.

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

School’s Out - Alice Cooper

Ghost Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash

Of mimes, masks, and motion

Aga-boom (?)

Mummenschanz

Colorful Jumping Something (Human Slinky by Veliamin)

Peformance Lab Tonight

I’m participating in a peformance event this evening at Broadway 1602, a gallery located at 1182 Broadway (Suite 1602) between 28th and 29th streets in Manhattan. It’s the culmination of a performance lab hosted by artist Shana Moulton. It features performances by FERESHTEH TOOSI, BRYAN ZANISNIK, BLITHE RILEY, CIRCULAR FILE, ERICA MAGREY, BJORN KJELLTOFT in collaboration with SHANA MOULTON, and others. More info here.

Thumbnail for Mime video

I started working on this project in January or February and suddenly stopped because I didn’t know where to go with it. I’m revisiting it now, trying to figure it out. This is a thumbnail with no audio.