TAG SALE COSMOLOGY

Good Finds Pt 1 - Fantasy Closet

A few weeks back I had a highly productive shopping excursion with Fionnuala in Northampton, MA. We found many fine items and enjoyed ourselves immensely, and just when we thought we were done, we popped into one last store - Ultra Gal. It looked like a not-too-interesting modern hippie/belly dancer type joint, and I wanted to check out the earrings. But lo and behold, beneath the main floor was housed the Fantasy Closet - 3 basement floors packed with wild and weird costumes. It was literally my wildest dream. I tried on about 30 items while Fionnuala patiently rested her weary feet. I was completely revitalized and bubbly as a result of this treasure trove. There was no one down there at all and I could basically try on everything out in the aisle. Eventually one gal did come down with her guy friend but they didn’t interfere with my fantasy. I had to really narrow it down to only a few items, and even then I ended up spending 80-something dollars. Not bad when you consider the quality of the finds.

At any rate, after taking photos of my new duds, I was inspired to start a Flickr Set called Good Finds - so see what else I got and look out for future additions.

Marnie Weber

Lately I’ve really been enjoying the work of Marnie Weber. I saw her show Variations on a Western Song at Fredericks and Freiser last year and was really into her eerie characters - masked women (some of whom seemed to be portrayed by men) wandering around, playing instruments, and causing a ruckus onscreen while also staring out from collages in odd poses. Later, I read an article about her in Craft Magazine which was centered around the fact that she makes her own costumes. I really appreciate the way she brings the costumes, performance, sculpture, and video together in her work, as it’s something that I strive to do in mine too.

Check out this video of her performing Milkmaid with The Spirit Girls in October 2005:

Also check out the new show at Fredericks and Freiser opening May 1st - my studiomate Justin Craun.

The Rite of Spring - Julie Atlas Muz

Woah, just ran into this excerpt from Julie Atlas Muz’s performance at the 2004 Whitney Biennial. I’m really dying to know what happened next!

More videos by MuzHERE.

More Troubadour on MNN Cable Access!

The friendly folks at Manhattan Neighborhood Network liked my video Troubadour enough to give it its own time slot. It ran this past Wednesday and will play again this Sunday April 27th at 10 pm, and again on Thursday May 8th at 10 pm. After these scheduled time slots the video will also be played as a filler between other scheduled shows on the network. Strange but cool, eh?

You can watch it on TV in Manhattan - Time Warner #34/ RCN #82 - or streamling live worldwide at www.mnn.org. To watch it on my mac, I went to mmn.org and scrolled down on the left to Watch MNN Live. I then chose “mms” for 34/82.

Check out Troubadour and my other videos on youtube.

Metalmags Photos by Luke Stettner

The two photos pictured below are the fruits of a photo shoot with Luke Stettner that took place in my studio a couple weeks back. Both feature original costumes, including my handmade white alien wig. Dare I say that I actually have some publicity photos now? Perhaps this state of readiness will lure media attention far and wide. If not, I’ll still have some great portraits to hold and to cherish.

beamz featuring Quiet Reverie

My friend Jon Bennett just sent me this awesome promotional video for Sharper Image’s new beamz ™ Music Performance System. Herein we are treated to several scenarios for use and enjoyment of this futuristic product. One character dons sunglasses (inside, mind you) in order to become a one-man rock band, while another partakes in Quiet Reverie in his blue-lit bachelor den (note the leather massager/recliner in the background). Family Fun is also portrayed, though I’m not convinced of the kid’s interest. Finally, we see a woman spastically tossing her hands between the towers, with the message that Everyone Sounds Great as if all women are charmingly unmusical.

I guess what determines where this thing falls on the spectrum between total cheeseball and future cool depends on its functionality. The video seems to suggest that it’s all pre-programmed midi voices that are simply triggered by movement within the beams/z. One youtube viewer wondered this too, and a Sharper Image representative responded in the thread:

The answer depends on the definition of ‘pre-sets’. Yes, the product has voices and samples assigned to each beam, but the music itself is generated algorithmically by the beamz software. The user’s playing technique determines when and how much of the sounds/melody stream is triggered thus creating a potentially different arrangement with each use.

Despite all its drawbacks, I probably would feel pretty cool waving my hands around with this thing. I mean, you know, ironically cool.