PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON

PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON was an amazing coming together of young emerging Performance Artists from Houston. Thanks to all of you, artists, photographers, attendees, and El Rincon Social for helping it to become the beautiful success that it was.

photo by Rico Svaughn

Patrick O’ Brien Doyle created two pieces for PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON, both of them were constructed rooms created out of canvas and PVC pipe. “Randomly Genderated Text” was an octagonal shaped room, lined with Christmas lights. A single camera on a stand stood in the middle at crotch height, and attendees were invited to take an anonymous picture of their genitals. The pictures will be used to create a numerically based photo alphabet. “Meditation Painting” consisted of a rectangular structure, with a blank canvas on one wall, with a chair facing it at the opposite wall. There was a clipboard and a stopwatch. Attendees were invited to meditate on the canvas and record their name and the amount of time that they meditated on the painting. For more detailed information written by the artist CLICK HERE.

photo by Rico Svaughn

photo by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

Daniel Adame placed a large black garbage bag over his head and slowly filled it with his own breath until he finally fell to the ground. For more info from the artist CLICK HERE.

Photo by Rico Svaughn

THE MCCORDS created a FUKBOX, a white box made of PVC and white sheets, in which they had sex during the exhibition. You could see faint shadows through the walls of the box. After they were done the FUKBOX was spontaneously used by other attendees of the show for even more public/private sex. For more more pictures and information from the artists CLICK HERE.

photo by Rico Svaughn

photo by Matthew Glover

Emily Sloan invited the audience for a “cuddle puddle” to rest and get ready for the rest of the show. Attendees followed her up into a loft, and then rested together on the ground as she read them a story. For more information from the artist CLICK HERE.

photos by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

photos by Rico Svaughn

Julia Claire Wallace spanked her ass to Carrie Underwood’s country hit Cowboy Cassanova, and then she, along with volunteering audience members, peed into a glass vase. Then as Jessie’s Girl played loudly over the speakers she attempted to throw pennies into the vase of urine while screaming her own desires.

photos by Rico Svaughn

NICKTEEL spent the first hour of the show lying naked in the middle of the warehouse. Then, in a back room, Nick did repetitive movements as his timed lights went on and off.

photo by Rico Svaughn

John Richie gave a passionate political speech in which he implored the crowd to vote for him as the next World Emperor. For more information about his piece, and a transcript and explanation of his speech, CLICK HERE.

photo by Rico Svaughn

photo by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

Sway Youngston shared a dramatic dance inspired performance about the shifting of power and the loneliness of relationships. Her piece included segments where she watched television while using her lover as a footrest, as well as a sexy strip tease. For more information about her piece, and more pictures, CLICK HERE.

photo by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

Jacob Calle presented two video pieces, one where he drank his own blood, and another where he let his friends repeatedly punch him in the face as he walked down sixth street during SXSW.

Travis Kerschen did a video and sound piece entitled, Il mio amore per te cresce sempre, which “explored being in love and the complex emotions which surround the concept of being in love, including: devotion, adoration, possession and obsession.”

photos by Rico Svaughn

Aisen Chacin had the audience hold onto a large white sheet, and fill it with air like a gym class parachute, and attendees ran beneath the sheet as other audience members covered them with the sheet. A large donut was projected on the video screen.

photos by Rico Svaughn

Melanie Jamison created a piece entitled, [convergence]. The piece “explored a collectively individualized interpretation of sound. Melanie played an electroacoustic track comprised of piano and industrial noise while the audience participated in the repetition of sound-based nonsense lines.”

photo by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

John Zambrano, musician from local band Muhammadali, did a noise/vocal piece entitled, “Chew off my own dick.”

photo by Craig Hart Christie Jr.

Beth Fort cut up a designer bag and created bracelets for the crowd.

To see Rico Svaughn's entire album of Performance Art Houston photos CLICK HERE.


For Craig Hart Christie Jr.'s PAH photos

CLICK HERE and click on the El Rincon Cum Show album.

NEXT PERFORMANCE ART NIGHT

is on MAY EIGHTH, at El Rincon Social.

Please email juliaintherye@aol.com

with ideas and proposals.

Artist Profile: Jonatan Lopez

I recently attended the opening of Aisen Caro Chacin's La Lengua Muerta ( which is STILL up by the way, at LaBotanica, til the 15th) and was super impressed by the performance art piece of Jonatan Lopez. Hopefully he will be an artist an upcoming Performance Art Nights. He did a great job answering my questions. Um, Did I mention that you can see a picture of his cock if you go see the show? Yeah, check it out.

How does Performance Art Function for you?

As an artist I am interested in addressing social issues and creating interactive spaces that invite the viewer to become part of the installation and experience it at a deeper level. Experimenting with performance art takes my approach a step further, it allows me to transform an installation into a situation in which the viewer and the performer become equal components of artistic expression.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?

Houston is a great place for performance art. Experiencing the performance pieces of artists like, Julia Claire Wallace, Aisen Caro Chacin, Daniel Adame and Emily Sloan has influenced me to make the jump into performance art and join this talented group. These artists are also doing a great job at promoting and helping other artists express themselves through this genre.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.

So far, my first major performance entitled 'Latin Lover Conservation' is my favorite piece. Within the opening 'La Lengua Muerta' at Labotanica, I presented the idea of launching a non-profit organization with the aim of preserving the "Latin Lover" species and our culture. I auctioned 3 male Latin Lovers for dates and sold romantic services such as "One minute make out sessions" and "Sultry words whispered to your ear" for suggested donations. Our clients were also able to read their sex reviews that were actually written for me. Even though one of the targets of this piece was to manipulate the audience into believing that this operation was legit, some aspects of it became true. Two of my actors found consensual dates at the end of the night and we collected a great sum of money, which was used to pay the actors and as a donation to the gallery. This piece was a social experiment, Labotanica encourages us to make art without having an objective in mind but to find out what the objective is. Not knowing but trusting. And the result was an installation/performance that adressed a myriad of issues including societal classification, sexual liberation, exhibitionism and sexual taboos. I was happy to be able to sell my first performance and to follow Labotanica's mission of presenting art in new formats and through experimental collaborations.

Here are some photos from the event:


and there is also some video footage of the show:
the guys got make out ( sexy man on man actionnnn)
and the girls got romance all for a very affordable price.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?

Santiago Sierra, Marina Abramovic, Herman Nitsch, Ellia Arce, Julia Claire Wallace


And a little more about myself

I am an installation artist
Metal sculptor
Filmmaker
Exhibitionist
Ex porn star
I dig performance art
Art talks to me in dreams
I am trampled by religion
Sex rules my life
I aim to carve my name in a book of art history
I love science
I dig performance art, did I mentioned that already?

CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE
unfortunately it doesn't have much performance art on it YET, but i bet its cummin.

DiverseWorks is bringing PERFORMANCE ART to RUDZ

UPDATE: THIS GOT CANCELLED DUE TO AIRPORT/VOLCANO ISSUES, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL STOP BY ON THE END OF THEIR TOUR!!

CHECK IT!

PERFORMANCE ART IN BARZ IS ALWAYS GOOD.

Its like ten bucks if you pay at the door,

but pay what you want if you pay online now. (SWEET!)

Action Hero: A Western April 17 & 18, 2010 Location & Time to be determined Presented by DiverseWorks w/ Fusebox Festival (Austin) & British Council Experimental UK Theatre Company Action Hero presents their latest performance A Western to Houston bar goers in April. A Westernis a performance and collaboration between the audience and the actors where the immediacy and intimacy of live performance collide with the epic emotional experience of the cinematic blockbuster, a celebration of failure to capture the true size and majesty of the Wild West. Like any good ol' western, there will be a saloon, a scene where someone walks into a bar and everyone stops talking, cowboy hats and ketchup blood, someone cheating at cards, a whore that begs to be loved, a scene where someone dies in a long drawn out death.

ABOUT ACTION HERO Action Hero make live art and performance that seeks to use audiences as collaborators and co-conspirators. Action Hero are interested in creating work that links audiences together and unifies them as part of the live event, building a temporary community. Their process has been defined by necessity: a raw aesthetic has become central to their work. While exploring the epic, they create performance that is intimate, distinctive and invigorating. Action Hero is the collaboration between artists Gemma Paintin and James Stenhouse. They have been making performance together as Action Hero since 2005, and they live and work in Bristol, England where they are Arnolfini Associate Artists and members of residence. www.actionhero.org/uk

COME AS YOU ARE- call for entriez

From DiverseWorks:

Come As You Are: HOUSTON, September 2010

Local Performing Artist Open Call, Written Submissions due April 6, 2010

extended!! til April 14th

DiverseWorks Artspace, as part of the Theater Offensive’s national Come As You Are project, issues an open call for Houston-area performance artists from a variety of ages and genders who explore the theme of QUEER SEX: sex in and out of relationships, online sex, sexting, chatting, camming, hookups, bdsm, anonymous sex, trans sex, genderqueer sex, masturbation, sexual fantasy, erotica, pornography, cruising, condoms, toys, sexual addiction, sexual liberation, sex and mourning, long term sexual relationships, role play, sex work, sexual play, sexual lessons, sexual love, sexual sacredness, sexual healing, sexual purity and any other aspect of sex that will contribute to the discourse on Houston’s diverse queer sex cultures and queer sexual values. We seek short, 3-10 minute, original works. Think performance art. Think skits, monologues, dance, song or dialogues. Think not just drag, but the sex behind the drag; not simply spoken word, but the sex behind the spoken word.

Submit your name, contact information, title, and a 500-word description of your performance to blake@diverseworks.org. Deadline for submissions is Tuesday, April 6, 2010.

We encourage you to visit the Come As You Are: HOUSTON facebook page to post discussion about queer sexuality and values, art and sex, questions on these topics you wish to explore with the community, and performance ideas.

Come As You Are is a national project of the Theater Offensive, designed to stimulate a community conversation about sex and sexual liberation on the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. For more about the project, go towww.comeasyouareonline.org.

For more information about DiverseWorks Artspace, visitwww.diverseworks.org.

Come As You Are is supported by The Arcus Foundation, National Performance Network, Flynn Performing Arts Center, Composition, and The Theater Offensive.

Patty Chang in H-TOWN.

I dunno how i didn't hear about this sooner!

Stoked.

University of Houston Clear Lake

PATTY CHANG – THE TRANSNATIONAL and the ARTIST’S PROCESS

"Contortion” 2003 “Fountain” 1999

UHCL Presentation and Workshop APRIL 13TH, 2010, Two sessions: 11:00 and 6:00 in the Garden Room at UHCL Bayou Building
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
New York-based performance/film/video artist Patty Chang will present her work and discuss the artist’s process in two presentations on Tuesday, April 13th. The workshop is a rare opportunity to gain first-hand understanding of how an artist succeeds in collaborating across artist groups, studios and galleries in today’s globalized field of contemporary art. Chang’s latest video installation entitled “Die Ware Liebe” the Product Love (2009), shown at Mary Boone Gallery in New York, presents a two channel video, running 42 minutes long. The subject of the installation is based on the 1920s Hollywood star, Anna May Wong, who left the U.S. to live in Europe where she captured the fascination of the critical theorist Walter Benjamin – he subsequently met with and interviewed Wong and wrote an article in the literarische Welt in 1928. For “Die Ware Liebe,” Chang hired actors in Shanghai to perform a re-enactment of the fantasy fascination that both Anna May Wong and Benjamin evoked.

Chang undertakes the transnational subject that has long existed in visual culture and renews the concept within the frame of contemporary expression. Her 2006 video/sculptural project entitled “Shangri-La” explores James Hilton’s 1933 “Lost Horizon” by incorporating filmic images of the town in China called “Shangri-La” that was recently renamed by the province to exploit its touristic potential. The video/sculptural project was shown at theUCLA Hammer Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. Chang underscores the rich and complex meanings that are produced when art and ideas cross cultural boundaries in history, time and international locations to become shared amongst a multiplicity of artists/actors, programs, and audiences.

This event is sponsored by the UHCL Arts Association, the Women’s Studies Department, and Student Life Cultural Arts.

Any individual who requires a special accommodation for a specific disability should contact 281-283-3432 at least one week prior to the date of the program/event.
Contact: Jane Chin Davidson, DavidsonJ@uhcl.edu,
281 283 3432

Thank you for an amazing show.

Performance Art Houston was a huge success, thank you to everyone who came, more info and pics will be posted as they surface.

if you have pics! LEMME KNOW! juliaintherye@aol.com

Check out these great pics from Craig Hart Christie Jr.

Here is his complete album.

Here is his website!

THANKS CRAIG!!!!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON ART EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER NEW PERFORMANCE ART FROM YOUNG EMERGING HOUSTON ARTISTS

PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON curated by Julia Wallace

March 27, 2010, 8:00-10:00pm (one night only), free

El Rincon Social, 3210 Preston, Houston, Tx 77003

Houston, Texas, March 5, 2010- Performance Art Houston, an art exhibition curated by Julia Wallace, presents new performance based work from young, Houston performance artists on March 27, 2010 at the alternative art space, El Rincon Social. The exhibition will include a number of live art pieces, interactive art experiences, and performance-based video art. The exhibition includes works that explore the shocking, intimate, sexual, provocative, simple and spiritual. This exhibition will bring to light the new performance art that is happening in Houston.

PERFORMANCE ART HOUSTON is a gathering together of performance and performance based work that has been previously presented in alternative Houston art events such as Free Press SummerFest 2009 and Notsuoh’s Performance Art Night, an event that has become notorious for its shocking, provocative, yet often touching performances, often invoking the criticism ‘this is not art’. Performance Art Houston will bring these controversial and exciting pieces together and place them in the context of a traditional art exhibition for the first time.

Artists include: Patrick O’Brien Doyle, Jacob Calle, Travis Kerschen, NICKTEEL, Brian and S---- McCord, Aisen Caro Chacin, Bethany Fort, Sway Youngston, Julia Claire Wallace, John Zambrano, Emily Sloan, Daniel Adame, John Richie and Melanie Jamison. Many of these artists were involved with sexyATTACK the Houston based geurilla art project that became a viral youtube video, as well as the paint slip and slide that was a huge hit last summer at SUMMERFEST. Julia Wallace and NICKTEEL created the controversial videos that were featured on Wayne Dolcefino’s Houston art expose’.

Patrick O’Brien Doyle will be showing two conceptual interactive pieces that use participants as a medium to create art pieces. Jacob Calle has created shocking video of his “stunts” including drinking and vomiting his own blood. Bethany Fort will perform a piece in which she destroys a designer bag, using its pieces to create multiple wearable items for attendees. Sway Youngston has created a dramatic movement exploring human relationships. John Zambrano will collaborate with local musicians for a disturbing, yet heartfelt noise piece entitled, “Chewing Off my own Dick.” Aisen Caro Chacin has created an interactive video piece, in which audience members are invited under a giant sheet in front of the projection of a donut. Julia Claire Wallace will present performance based video work that shares her quest for spiritual understanding through sometimes shocking means, such as urination and masturbation. She will also do a live interactive performance exploring sex and pride. John Richie will give a passionate speech imploring attendees to vote him as the next World Emperor. Melanie Jamison will enlist the help of attendees to create a participatory sound piece. Travis Kerschen will share video projection piece. Brian and Stevie McCord will have live sex during the exhibition in the privacy of a white “fuck box”. Daniel Adame will share a slow piece, using his breath to inflate a large bag around his head. Emily Sloan will invite attendees to join her in a relaxing ‘puppy pile’ and rest together as a group. NICKTEEL will dress as a black woman and sing a love song.

About the Curator- Julia Claire Wallace is a young Houston Performance Artist, recently graduated from the University of Houston with her BFA in Painting. She made her first exciting television debut as the ‘soda specialist’ in Wayne Dolcefino’s Houston Art expose. She is one of the founding members of sexyATTACK, Houston’s favorite geurilla surprise dance piece. She also served as a facilitator for Performance Art Lab, Houston’s most mischievous art collective. She is also the creator and curator of Performance Art Night, a monthly performance art event. She also created the Performance Art Houston Blog located at www.performancearthouston.blogspot.com

Press Contact- Julia Wallace, 832-317-5185 juliaintherye@aol.com.

Directions- El Rincon Social is located at 3210 Preston (between Roberts and Velasco Street) East of Downtown. From 45, exit Scott street and turn North on Scott (away from the University of Houston), continue on Scott as it becomes York Street, turn left on Preston (the small street past Harrisburg) cross over Roberts, El Rincon will be on your right.

Hotter than a dog in HEAT.

PERFORMANCE ART NIGHT SIX

All those people are performing PLUS i (julia claire wallace) am doing five performances.

I think it will be the best yet.

PLUS Nickteel and Aisen Caro Chacin may perform if we are lucky.

YAY!

ARTIST PROFILE for TEX LONESTAR

So That guy in the hat is Tex Lonestar and he runs a little thing called Doomsday Wrestling here in Houston.
I don't even know how to describe it except to say that it is some crazy Houston performance art for sure.
CHECK OUT THEIR SHOW TOMORROW!!!



Here are his answers to my questions....

How does Performance Art Function for you?

It gives me an outlet to do something besides work a job and pay rent or go to a bar. A creative outlet purely. I do it purely for expression, not to make it into a scene or anything phony like that.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?

We seem to get pretty good crowds at every show. Thank you Houston!

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.

I don't know. I'm really critical on them! I am really proud of Doomsday: World War 3 though. It just came together really well and the crowd bought everything we were selling that night. I don't mean merchandise, I mean the ideas we were trying to get across. Our merch needs to sell better!

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?
Andy Kaufman. PT Barnum. Neil Hamburger. Plus Mad Magazine and a lot of comic books.

Here is their Website.

Check them out on YOUTUBE.

Next Performance Art Night- Jan. 29th, 2010 10:00 Notsuoh

and in case you didn't know - Notsuoh is located at 314 Main Street in downtown.

TEN ARTISTS THIS TIME,
That is more than ever!

Facts about each artist-

Daniel Adame once slapped me in the face so that i would give him a painting. This is how we met.
NICKTEEL makes an amazing salad, he cuts vegetables really well.
Beth Fort likes Miranda July.
Emily Sloan has been puppy sitting.
John Richie enjoys reading self help books.
Julia Wallace has withdrawal headaches if she does not have her Dr. pepper by six o clock.
Sway Youngston is searching for the perfect farm in California to call home.
Angela Whitford loves to DANCE!
Jacob Calle was once called fishy, and he did not like it.
Aisen Caro Chacin called her clit her little raisin when she was young. cute!

CUM OUT!

Naked Video Shoot

Muhhamidali is having a naked music video shoot.

This is one of my favorite bands, not only because the songs are all written about me (kidding), but because they are good. Plus they often have some really amazing performance art to accompany their performances, often involving babies or balloons or fake blood.

Here is all the info:

Hosted By:
MUHAMMADALi And freepress


When:
Saturday, Feb 6, 2010 3:30 pm

Where:
freepress warehouse
3412 yupon
houston
Texas
77008

Muhhamidali says, "Well we need is for people to come and party and go crazy and get naked while we play a few songs!!! We will supply kegs, trashcans filled with dirt, balloons filled with cool stuff all you need to do is show up!!!!!"

Don't go unless youre willing to get naked, masks are acceptable, and i am guessing you could get away with panties only.

Yeah and if you get a chance to talk to the lead singer, tell him he is a cheating liar.
just kidding again.
i totally forgive him.
go, it'll be great.

.

ARTIST PROFILE for FRANCIS GIAMPIETRO

I went to school with Francis Giampietro at the University of Houston, and I had the privilege of witnessing the performance pictured above.
Francis rolled this 500 million pound wheel around over and over and over and over until it looked like he was about to die, and then he rolled it over a few more times.
It reminded me of being in P.E. in middle school, when our coach made us run until we threw up.
I hated my coach.
Anyway.
Francis created a powerful experience, it was difficult to watch, in that I-can't-stop-looking sort of way.
I feel like i recognize myself in some of Francis' work, we seem to have a similar discomfort in our own skin.

He is having a show called, "Am I Demon" on January 15th (NEXT FRIDAY!!) at The Temporary Space 1320 Nance Street, Houston, TX, 77002. For more info click here.

He says, "the show on the 15th most likely wont have any live performance work in it. But I do feel that all the work in there is directly related to some task other than the making of the object itself."

Also you can check out his website here. He has a blog!

Here are his answers to my questions:

How does Performance Art Function for you?

Function? Um... well the little bit I have done has allowed me to expose aspects of myself and in doing so see these things from an alternate perspective. I’ve been able to get them outside of me and look at them from a distance. You can get a better look at the glass when you’re not drinking out of it.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?

Not entirely sure yet.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.

I don’t know if this is my favorite but I’m currently working on a project with another artist and recent UH graduate Terry Hurley. We are building various epic mark making devices and doing endurance sorts of performances with them. The first one was a strange amalgamation of a cross and a plow. These won't be in the show sorry.

The "performance" that has stuck with me the most so far has really been one I called Additive Sculpture. For this one I gave myself the task of taking on my younger brother's strict football diet and weight training regiment for 3 months in an attempt to reach 200lbs. I've been making sculptures based on this performance for a while now and some will be featured in the show "Am I Demon" on January 15th.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?

Janine Antoni, Shaun El C. Leonardo, Chris Burden, I’m into Kate Gilmore’s work right now, Matthew Barney’s earlier work (his sculpture is amazing!), and tons more.

Check it.

THE HOUSTON ALTERNATIVE ART CHRONOLOGY

click on that shit!

This is one of the best things I have run across on the internet in a long time, apparently the Art Guys helped create it as part of the No Zoning show that was recently at the CAMH.

And since its wikipedia, i am guessing that if you have anything to add, you can. I haven't tried it yet though...

One of my favorite entries-

Jim Pirtle Is Forrest Gump
Artist Jim Pirtle produced a video parody of the famous Hollywood movie by lip-synching the actual appropriated soundtrack with himself in the starring role. Shooting entirely on the grounds of the Zocalo artists’ compound, he enlisted many artist friends (Nestor Topchy, Mark Flood, George Hixson, Michael Battey, Giles Lyon, The Art Guys, among others) to play various characters in the movie. The video was later screened at various underground and alternative venues such as Aurora Picture Show and Cue Foundation.

ARTIST PROFILE for JENNY SCHLIEF

So I work at this great art establishment called DiverseWorks, and they had a show recently entitled “Now that I’m by myself,” she says “I’m not by myself, which is good”. Thats where I discovered superSEXY Houston artist, Jenny Schlief, her piece was a video of her jumping around and singing in her underwear alone.
love it.

so yeah i checked her out and
okay
i also love this piece:



AND
a shower party!?!?



I love all masturbation done in the name of Performance Art.
Check it.



She is having a solo show opening at Box 13 Artspace in the “Closet Box” on January 16, 2010.

Here is her description of what will be in the show-

"New work consisting of several rim drawings and a rim sound sculpture/iPod dock. The subject matter is a collection of Houston area rap culture removed from its original context by a white female conceptual artist. The work explores themes of identity associated with certain consumer goods and consumer cultures, with a glance towards the bravado and ridiculousness this consumer culture promotes. A Cadillac rim is transformed into an iPod dock that blares a screwed and chopped version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and pictures of custom rims are rendered tenderly in pencil."

(sounds like it won't have too much performance, but other art is cool too, sometimes i guess.)

and omg
check out this
amazing
promo pic....



Go read more about her at her website.

Yeah so, i am pretty stoked to find out there is a chick like this in my city.

I also heard she ate a bunch of strawberry milk and pink flowers and threw it up.

seriously.

bad.
ass.

Here are her answers to my questionz:

How does Performance Art Function for you?
I like to do performances that catch people off guard and make them re-evaluate the human experience and their interactions with others, like social sculpture in a way. I'm pretty nervous around people and in social situations, so for me personally it's a way for me to think about that and how it affects me. I also do performances as supplements to installations or videos during an opening or something, because I really like interacting with people interacting with art, if that makes sense.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?
Houston is great because there are so many different types of people here and random places and things to see. I appreciate it's humbleness, it's silent greatness and it's dirty secrets. I'm a native Houstonian, so making work is easy here. There is a comfortable art scene that is informed, friendly, and respectable, and it doesn't exist as some sort of black hole. The people here, including myself, are very much informed by the greater art world, and this city allows a great deal of access to that world.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.
VOTE JENNY seems to be one that people are pretty attracted to. In this piece I bake over 100 vanilla cupcakes with the words "EAT ME" in red icing on strawberry frosting that act as ballots. A period of time for voting begins once I set up tables with a banner reading "VOTE JENNY" and place the cupcakes out for people to eat while I stand behind the table dressed in business/conservative attire. If they eat their cupcake, they have cast their ballot for me as the best artist in the world.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?
I'm so bad at this question always but the first person that comes to mind is Vito Acconci, then Paul McCarthy. Others are 60's video artists like Bruce Nauman and John Baldessari. I always try to look at other current contemporary artists and their work too like Janine Antoni, Janet Biggs, and Andrea Fraser. I really like Jimmy Kuehnle and Bunnyphonic from San Antonio; Rachel Cook, Leona Scull-Hons and Jill Pangallo in Austin.

ARTIST PROFILE for TRAVIS KERSCHEN

The first time I saw Travis Kerschen he was playing in his music project A Thousand Cranes.
He meditated during the entire set as a strobe light hit the room.
It was. like. bad... drugs.
I talked about it excitedly for days, happy to have had such a unique experience at a rock and roll show.

He was one of the first people I contacted when I began performance art night @ Notsuoh, and I am always interested when he has something to share.

Here is a short list of things i know/think about Travis-
He has lived in warehouses.
He loves film.
He is an anarchist.
He speaks spanish.
He has alot of brothers and one is named Tex.
He is really nice, tall and encouraging.
He is either really interested in Buddhism, or he is a Buddhist.
He is a vegetarian.
He also makes movies.

Here is a video flier he made for one of his shows.



And here are his answers to my questions-

How does Performance Art Function for you?
Performance art is an avenue of personal expression/creative expression. It can be fun and mentally stimulating to try to make art in this medium because as performance you try to engage, and as art you try to break boundaries.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?
I think it nurtures it. Houston is not an easy city to live in, nor does it have the most supportive environment for creative arts, so performance art here empowers me to express things as I wish. Also, Jim Pyrtle is here.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.
I went to Deerbrook Mall, and with one person dressed like Tiny Tim and one like Santa's Elf, and myself like Santa, we had a giant posterboard that said "Bomb Iraq for Christmas". This was in the winter of 2002, and we had a petition where we goodheartedly and smilingly tried to get people to sign that bombing children and people in Iraq increased the Christmas spirit.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?
Yoko Ono is probably one of my performance art heroes. I have too many inspirations and influences to even begin.

Travis has also been a contributor at performance art night and you can see a video of one of his performances on this earlier post.

THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD

PERFORMANCE ART MOVIE ALERT

I highly suggest that you make some plans to visit the ANGELIKA and SEE THIS SHIT, cause its inspiring, and it'll prep you for the upcoming Yes Men exhibition & workshop that will be at DiverseWorks next year. 

PERFORMANCE ART NIGHT 4

I have been putting together Performance Art Nights at Notsuoh once a month. We just had the fourth night and it was the busiest yet. 

Hosted by FUTURE THIEF- Ian Fernandez

Jacob Calle opened up with a sexually explicit lecture on pain. He ended by demonstrating. Painful&exciting to watch. 

Travis Kerschen did a video projection piece, using notsuoH and the audience as his screen.

NICKTEEL turned the photographers of the night into his own paparazzi as he invited the audience to makeout with him. Daniel Adame and Aisen Chacin answered the call, then luckily 

for all of us, Claudia Cruz and Michelle crashed the party with some hot GIRLonGIRL action.

Melanie Jamison had a beautiful interactive projector set up as she shared a sound piece.

Claudia Cruz did a crowd interaction piece.


Julia Wallace provided a variety of stationary for the attendees to use for writing letters to strangers, then later she masturbated while covered in sugar.

(photo cred- Boby Kolloor! THANK YOU!!)

Dan Gordon, visiting us from NYC, collaborated with the crowd to create a madlibz about his beloved hometown, HOUSTON.

Aisen Chacin did a drunken auction piece that became a Jerry Springer piece that was so controversial it was shut down.


John Zambrano did a surprise performance that I believe was entitled- Sometimes I feel like chewing off my own dick.

There were also surprise performances by pretty Niki, and Lynn Wheatly (sp?) 

It was a helluva night, and this post just about kicked my ass.

XOXO.

If you want to be a part of the next one, send me an email.