Why hello there, dearest Filthy Dreams readers! We made it! To the end of 2017 that is. We know–we didn’t think it would happen either. Since the end of the year pretty much makes wrap-up listicles mandatory, we thought we’d grudgingly accept by counting down our favorite art world social media meltdowns of 2017. 2017 … Continue reading
This week, I spent a little too much time attempting to be Tracker McDyke, an aptly named lesbian private eye searching for a trans woman Tessy LaFemme in the 1980s video game Caper in the Castro. The landmark first LGBT-themed video game, Caper in the Castro was long assumed to be a lost relic–gone the way of the 8-track and LaserDisc
But, the Internet Archive recently got their hands on a copy courtesy of floppy disks found by the game’s developer C.M. Ralph, who sent the game to Andrew Borman, the Digital Games curator at the Museum of Play in Rochester. Created as “CharityWare,” encouraging players to donate to an AIDS charity of their choice, Caper in the Castro takes players through the gay-borhood as Tracker finds herself in the center of a larger conspiracy, which includes, of course, several bars. Continue reading
“Los Angeles is not what you see in the movies. It’s like Detroit with palm trees.”–Don Draper I never liked the Los Angeles episodes of Mad Men. Well, at least at first. Something about Don losing himself in the sun, sand and vivid colors of California just felt wrong. He belonged guzzling an Old Fashioned … Continue reading
Last week, Vanity Fair published “Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick: A Brief, White-Hot and Totally Doomed Romance,” a rambling yet nostalgic look into Andy and Edie’s short-lived mutual obsession. Comparing Andy and Edie to, at once, Marilyn Monroe and Romeo and Juliet, the article is a lot, but it also managed to rekindle my fascination … Continue reading
In her essay “Video Remains: Nostalgia, Technology and Queer Archive Activism,” Alexandra Juhasz discusses the importance of “queer archive activism” in preserving the lives of queer folks. Speaking in reference to her own documentary Video Remains, Juhasz explains, “It is not our suffering that is compelling but our willingness to name and record it, and in so doing, make communal and move into the present” (328). Continue reading
“Writing & Drawing Are Sister Arts,” announces banners flowing from an old-timey quill pen on a drawing in Nayland Blake’s solo exhibition #IDrawEveryDay at Matthew Marks Gallery. Even though this proper, decadent illustration, culled from a book of 19th century penmanship exercises, seems at odds with the bulls, bears and bunnies in the surrounding drawings, the work, titled 6.1.15, acts as the show’s manifesto. As with the sister arts of writing and drawing, Blake reveals how daily drawing practice can record a visual memoir. Continue reading
Why, hello there dearest Filthy Dreams readers! Need something to do this Thursday (November 30) evening? Well, you’re in luck! Your faithful co-founder Emily will be in conversation with artist Devan Shimoyama, whose work she’s covered several times on Filthy Dreams including his current show Sweet. Join us from 6-8PM at De Buck Gallery (545 W … Continue reading
Living in New York, you get used to loss–not necessarily just the loss of beloved people, but of establishments. These bars, clubs, dives and cafes, particularly queer and queer-friendly spaces, are not just favored locations to grab a bite or a beer, but they’re where communities and even, worlds are built and thrive (even if temporarily). Continue reading
A girl in KISS makeup, a hillbilly, a computer nerd, a couple of witches and four Black women walk into a singles’ mixer. Although it reads like the start of a hack joke, Mike Kelley’s sculptural and multichannel video installation Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #8 (Singles’ Mixer), currently on view at Luhring Augustine’s Bushwick gallery … Continue reading
In his chapter “Fading, Twisting and Weaving: An Interpretive Ethnography of the Black Barbershop/Salon as Cultural Space” from Performing Black Masculinity: Race, Culture and Queer Identity, Bryant Keith Alexander explores the role of the Black-run barbershop as a space for community-building and performing Black masculinities away from hegemonic white culture. “I remember,” he begins, “the … Continue reading