Music is by far my oldest passion, having been mortally seduced as a very young boy. When you're 7-8 years old and every week a brand new Beatles song is rocking ur tiny little world, how could you not be "seduced"? Fav's? Let's just say that if it's good, has something to say musically or lyrically, and contributes something original to the aural landscape, chances are it'll resonate with me.
Some fav's in no particular order: "killer B's": Bjork, Beck, Billy Corgan (SP), Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and of course, the Beatles! Bjork never ceases to amaze, inspire, seduce--one of the most talented musical artists around. John Lennon is my all-time favorite sound artist and a personal hero: for his imagination, idealism, compassion, and uncompromising individuality..."The Day the Music Died" for me: Dec. 8, 1980).
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Other musical favs: Tom Waits, Radiohead, John Coltrane, Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, David Bowie, The Minutemen, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers; NIN, Black Flag, Portishead, Kronos Quartet, Pink Floyd, SoundGarden, Ministry, Concrete Blonde, PJ Harvey, Stevie Wonder, The Cure, James Brown, Royal Crescent Mob (an OH/KY "thang"); Eleventh Dream Day; Freakwater, The Pixies; Guided By Voices, Iggy Pop, early De La Soul; hometown Louisville boys My Morning Jacket; Mazzy Star, some Johnny Cash; "Kerouac: Kicks joy Darkness" (tribute album); George Clintion & P-Funk; Wayne Shorter, early Cowboy Junkies, Queens of the Stone Age, Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath; Talking Heads/D. Byrne; Soul Coughing; Simon & Garfunkel; Jimi Hendrix; The Doors; Janis Joplin; Prince; Stevie Ray Vaughn; Public Enemy; The Strokes, Led Zeppelin, Al Green, John Hiatt, Charlie Parker.....it goes & goes.
John Coltrane "Naima" 1965. This is what creativity, passion, and the quest for the transcendent in music are all about....
Movies
Like music, I admire and appreciate filmmakers who have something truly original to say and contribute to the medium. I have a special fondness for experimental filmmakers working in small-gauge film formats such as S8mm & 16mm film. Actual "film", while kind of old school, is so cool because it is very tactile ("hands -on")---you can manipulate it in so many ways (in shooting, processing, splicing, etc.). Acetate film also has a nice analog quality that video & digital does not (and vice versa, of course).
Much like music too, it seems many times an artists' earliest efforts are more to the point of what they have to say--raw, direct, edgy, and a bit free--form. Unfortunately, this edge & vitality is often missing in successive works---it becomes "formulaic", a '"schtick", or simply derivative of what others do/have done. Commercial success also tends to undermine the initial "energy" and rawness that makes the early stuff so original, provocative, edgy & vital. "Stay Hungry" (an old Talking Heads song) and "real" seem to be postive antidotes to these pitfalls. Most any art form that has "soul", that is from the heart, is authentic, and unlike anything I've seen before, always compels me.
I also seem to have a special predilection for films whose theme in some way revolves around "liberation". Some examples of mainstream films I consider classic in their way: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; several Stanley Kubrick films: 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange; Dr. Strangelove; Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire" & "Paris, Texas"; David Lynch: Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Elephant Man; Eraserhead; Mullholland Drive, Lost Highway; David Cronenberg: Naked Lunch & Crash (James Spader/Holly Hunter); some of Jim Jarmuch's stuff (Down by Law); The Piano; Castaway; Frederico Fellini: 8 1/2; Several Robin Williams films: Dead Poets' Society, The Fisher King, Patch Adams. Awakenings---Robin seems to have a special insight for themes about liberation---which isn't too surprising considering that's essentially what he's all about. Vanilla Sky & Magnolia are wonderful--again , "liberation". The origianal "Alien" was great, as was "Bladerunner"; Several Peter Sellers movies are classic: Being There, original Pink Panther, and Strangelove; American Beauty; Harold & Maude, Breaking the Waves (Lars Von Trier); Peter Greenaway: A Zed and Two Naughts & The Thief, The Cook...; The Graduate; Monty Python's Holy Grail & Life of Brian; Catch-22; Apocalypse Now; Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein & Blazing Saddles; Oldies: A Touch of Evil, "Glen or Glenda" (wonderful, surreal, cross-dressing quasi-documentary from Ed Wood (a Hoot!); Brothers Quay (esp. "Street of Crocodiles"); Original Dracula, Frankenstien and King Kong! The 2005 "Crash" movie. The Wizard of Oz--superb. "21 Grams"---totally underrated and underappreciated. Leaving Las Vegas, The Royal Tannenbaums; Michael Moore's documentary films. Christopher Walken is one of my favorite actors---bizarre, eccentric, edgy, all with great irony & humor---totally unique. Martin Scorcesee has made many great, original films and will ONE day be so recognized. Rocky Horror--total liberation film. Sin City; Tarnation; Charlie & the Chocolate Factory--Burton's best film to date: creepy-cool surreal, bizarre, funny (and yes, liberation...again!); To Kill a Mocking Bird; Pulp Fiction , True Romance, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Reservoir Dogs, porn with real passion....
Gary Larson's "The Prophet" and Kahlil Gibran's "The Far Side".....(yep, I'm just "wired all wrong & wild at heart!" ;->)
Heroes
Well, when I'm NOT worshipping at the altar of "George 'W'; Carl 'spinmeister' Rove, tricky Dick C., "Condysleeza", and war pig Rumsfeld.....there's got to be a special place in Hell for those guys & gals....<:-<( Basically, anyone who follows the dictum: "to thine own self be true" and has the guts, passion & heart to stay the course--most especially when swimming against the current. Conversely, I despise politcal & social correctness for its' own sake and the sheep (anti-heros) that blindly "baah baah" along the footpath. People I admire: though a flawed "hero", my dad; Better known heroes: John Lennon; Pat Condell(!), Billy Corgan; Bjork (amazing talent); Diane Arbus; Robin Williams, Johnny Carson; Bill Clinton, Gary Larson ("The Far Side"); George Carlin, Bill Mahr, John Coltrane, Robert Frank, Miles Davis....and of course, Austin Powers/Dr. Evil, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Jethro Bodine Clampet, and the whole Hee Haw gang! '-))
"He who looks outside, dreams; he who looks within, awakens."
__C.G. Jung
"Use my eyes," said a celebrated painter, in reference to a model that his interlocutor thought frightful; "Use my eyes, sir, and you will find it sublime."
__Charles Gounod
" If the doors of perception were cleansed
Everything would appear as it is----infinite."
__William Blake
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
__Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Art does not reproduce the visible. It renders visible."
__Paul Klee
"Until we accept the fact that life itself is founded in mystery, we shall learn nothing."
__Henry Miller
" I learn by going where I have to go."
__Theodore Roethke
"Craft must have clothes, but truth loves to go naked"
__Rousseau
" Imagination is more important than knowledge."
__Albert Einstein
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious"
__Albert Einstein
What Rattles My Rusty Cage/###/
Art, Music & Nature top my list of passions, music being the oldest. It's always there in me little head, pulling (strumming?) strings like the Great Oz. Sometimes it really does seem a bit (and sometimes a lot!) like "The Truman Show" whereby the tunes in my head provide context---or even define-- the reality I'm experiencing at any given time. Hmmmm...the Great Oz has spoken!
I also enjoy a good road trip now & then, with or without a real destination--at least half the fun is getting there --even if there isn't much "there". Beyond that, I enjoy bowling about once every 3 or 4 years... ;)
About My Work
"You are lost the instant you know what the result will be."
Photography/art takes up much of my time and the studio is my playground. I have a lot of accumulated "stuff", much of which seems to find its' way into the the work. I also enjoy working on location when a particular environment or space beckons. Printing in the traditional BW darkroom is also a nice old-school kinda pastime ;)
I find I usually work best with people who are open-minded, patient and willing to think out of the proverbial "box". It's always a nice challenge to try and do something with the figure even remotely akin to "originality"--ie, to make it one's own. I typically work with friends & acquaintances who want to create something un-ordinary, and my approach tends towards edgy, dark eroticism. My primary interest is less about flattery or glamor, than being compelled by concepts & themes that interest me. "Flattery" and glam are simply byproducts of the process.
As it is a collaborative process the input & personality of whomever I work with necessarily contributes to the look & feel of the finished work. People with unique looks or unusual physical features obviously add to the possibilities. Physical abnormalities or deformities are also very interesting. While a nice physique is a definite plus, an open, creative imagination is even more important to the process. I've found too, that the longer I work with someone the more interesting the images seem to get over time.
Lastly, since I don't charge for my work (all is trade-for-work exchange), I will only work with serious, reliable people. Life is too short and the work requires too much time & energy. "Tempus Fugit" :P
Who I'd like to meet: Like-minded space wanderers hell-bent on exploring and deconstructing the future and all unknown or yet-to-be defined realities. Compass & silver jumpsuit optional; humor and a thoughtful sense of the absurd are not. Also, any person whose voice, song, idea, touch or the memories thereof which make my head tingle.
