The inventor Nikola Tesla had a proclivity to give himself electrotherapeutic shocks. According to biographer Richard Munson, Tesla suffered debilitating depression, and it was not unusual at the time to deploy mild shocks to treat such an ailment. Each morning he would disrobe and stand naked upon his “vitality booster,” gradually administering higher doses. Michael … Continue reading
Michelle Handelman’s tantalizing and provocative 1995 documentary BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes And Sadomasochism is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year, which will be celebrated with a digital screening at OUTFEST Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival starting on August 26. When I first sat down to watch it on my tiny laptop screen, I was filled with … Continue reading
No. No I don’t want to visit your online viewing room, your digital group exhibition or your virtual gallery. Even more, I don’t want to review your online viewing room, your digital exhibition or your virtual gallery. And Zoom openings? I’d rather go to the opening of my toilet seat. I don’t know about you, … Continue reading
Dearest fellow obsessives and maybe stalkers, I want to personally invite you, dearest Filthy Dreams compulsives, to come together to celebrate our collective fixations–our role models or filth elders, if you will, at Idol Worship, a group exhibition curated by your faithful Filthy Dreams co-founder that opens at Smack Mellon on November 16 from 6-8PM (and … Continue reading
Is there a choice to be a hustler? That question, which flits onscreen in a flurry of bold black and white text, is posed to three iconic historical and fictional hustlers who sit on a futuristic dystopian panel that resembles purgatory for radicals in Michelle Handelman’s new multi-channel video installation Hustlers & Empires. Of course, … Continue reading
“There is no before,” exclaims Flawless Sabrina, discussing the nuances of drag names in the beginning of the iconic 1968 drag documentary The Queen. For fellow queens, trans and gender non-conforming people and generally, anyone invested in queer history, it’s nearly impossible to imagine a before Flawless Sabrina. Drag pioneer, mother and grandmother to numerous … Continue reading
The Metrograph just wrapped up a two-week-long film series that showcased over three decades of films starring Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung (張曼玉, Zhang Manyu). When asked why highlight this actress in particular, Aliza Ma, Head of Programming at the Metrograph, explained, “Not many people understand how well Maggie Cheung curated her own career.” Cheung’s … Continue reading