Selecteer een pagina
The Vivid Angel

The Vivid Angel

The Vivid Angel

Text JF. Pierets

 

She’s the queen of alternative performance, won the Twisted Cabaret Crown World Burlesque Games in 2014 and is this edition’s cover model. But most important, sometimes you just meet one of those people who make you think YAY! 

 

How does one become a performer? 
When I was 20 I moved to Amsterdam and started my performance career. At a certain moment I’d done so many things, as a dancer and artist I had been on television for so many times that I wanted something different. I was working with Torture Garden and they asked me to come to London, because of all the work I would be able to do. So I went. I’m living here for 16 years already despite my intention to stay only for 2. Back then there used to be not as many performers as there are today. I’m talking about the year 2000 now. I guess we had about 10 or 15 really great performers. So I was always working, always abroad. Nowadays it looks as if there are way more people wanting to be an artist then 5 years ago. And as it usually goes, the party promoters rather fancy a lot of girls for less money than one or two very professional ones with a normal salary. But I’m not complaining. The year just started and I already have a good list of new assignments and bookings.

There’s a lot of burlesque these days, which is completely different than performance art. 
There is a lot of burlesque and a lot is the same all over again. I guess it gets the audience and promoter confused and they don’t quite recognize the stylings anymore which goes from performance art to cabaret to burlesque. For me those are all different kinds of shows. I do wish that those younger performers would do a little research. Looking what other people do, or have done, and trying to be a bit more original. Really find your own stories and styling for you shows, it gives for a longer career.

Can you specify what it is that you do? 
I call myself a ‘Jack of all trades’. I basically started out as a dancer in the beginning of the nineties, being a full time gogo dancer on Dutch television. When the rave scene commenced I danced at biggest house parties and finally ended up working in a fetish store called DeMask. 3 month later I found myself on a stage with my own show. A show performed in the fetish scene in which you can just ad that twitch of extra darkness to the act. Compared to a mainstream production, that is. In my first show someone laid dead on a bed, a second person would cut open the body and I would jump out as some kind of revenge spirit. For me it was a very important point in my career because I got to work with the artist called Crazy White Sean. We were both beginners when it came to performance art but we really felt each other when it came to designing new shows. 10 years later they called us ‘the most famous couple in the fetish scene’, he emerged into freak shows and I became The Vivid Angel. I’ve been performing at the largest festivals, in the biggest clubs. I worked with Alice Cooper, Dita Von Teese, Roger Taylor, you name it. I did and still do very exciting things. 

Do tell!
I have a show called Art Noir where I’m creating a painting, live on stage, by using syringes and injecting coloring pigment through my skin. This particular show has been reviewed as ‘suffering for your art’ and you can take that quite literally. I’m going through a pain phase to manufacture that painting. Most of the time those kind of shows are my favorite ones because they are not about entertainment. I generate this surreal world where I try to bring the audience in an atmosphere that’s out of their comfort zone. But no worries. I also have an entertaining side to my personality and I also love doing shows where I can make people laugh, where all is beautiful. 

That’s very bilateral.
That’s why I chose to use The Vivid Angel as my name. The vivid is my dark, weird, crazy side and the angel is the sweet, fun and sexy appearance. I always felt those two features both in my being, as in my performance career. 

Both mainstream and non-mainstream? 
There are not many non-mainstream performance artists. I have the feeling not many people dare to be confronting or extreme nowadays. I have this show about school bullying which you can, by all means, call autobiographical because those were terrible years. Doing that show really get’s to people. Some say after the show that they didn’t like it, while months later they confess that after doing some thinking, it really got to them. And I think that’s the difference between performance art and entertainment. What I do is not only beautiful and easy to digest. But I do hope the tendency will once again reach back to performance art because it’s an honest and very emotional art form. And if well represented, it’s one of the most beautiful things you can witness on a stage. I always find it very interesting to hear what people encounter after seeing my shows. I have my opinion about it and I’m always pretty sure the message is quite clear, yet that’s not always the case. When I was doing my Art Noir show it always astounded me what people made of it. One woman even told me it was about the circumcision of African women. And although I’m listening with amazement to these stories, they are ok. If she get’s that message and it get’s her to think about the phenomenon, that’s ok. As an artist you have to live with the fact that people project there own horrors, joys and everyday life issues to your work. That’s the beauty about being a performer, unconsciously you touch certain spots which you never would foresee. People don’t have to like you when you are on stage because it’s nice to encounter the challenge to get them excited and curious about the world and environment you are creating at that particular time. Whether it’s beautiful, ugly or scary. It keeps me humble and appreciative for every given moment that I can share my art, even after 20 years. 

20 years is a long time. Are you still performing fulltime? 
Not fulltime, no. Since long I’ve been writing a theatre play involving acting, video and word, which I love to exhibit in a small theatre or gallery. The piece itself is about the tide of life and the rolling about until that one moment where you just break through boundaries and limits. I’m also planning to write a book about my performances and myself. The crazy situations I’ve been in and the ludicrous moments I’ve encountered. But also hints and tips for people who have the ambition of being an artist. Next to that I’m working on a book about Crazy White Sean, whom I’ve been telling you about, and who sadly passed away recently. 

Aren’t you going to miss the stage? 
Well, I won’t quit entirely because like they say, ‘there’s no bigger addiction than a stage’. Over the 20 years on the podium I had busy and less busy times. And of course in those fewer active junctions you start longing to get back up there. I read a note the other day, stating that if an artist stops performing or painting, he or she commits emotional suicide. And that’s very true. The hunger to throw out your sentiment will always be there. Luckily I have more tools at my disposal than only being a stage performer. It’s time to project my energy into other creative outlets. Maybe I’ll take up painting again and combine it with performance, who knows. There are many ways to go and  there’s no lack of activity or inspiration in all those future plans. It’s time to note down some document. Time to take some further steps. I still like working in clubs but I became more selective when it comes to locations and people I want to work with. People who know me and respect my work. But I came into a phase in which I don’t necessarily have to be everywhere. I think I became way too experienced to drop into yet another small club where nothing is arranged and not one thing you asked for is at hand. That said, the stage keeps on being the best spot to exorcist my demons. 

Otherwise you might have been a serial killer. 
O goodness, who knows? But having a creative outlet, which you don’t respond to, eats you alive in the long run. That’s true. 

When I look at you I don’t see the average diva. 
And glad not to be! I might be a Queen, but I not a diva. Every time I go on stage, it feels like the first moment all over again. And to be honest, I don’t want to get used to it. I have artist friends who are ‘just going through the moves’, I would hate that! It makes you very humble when you have to promote your own shows to the venues. The show is just part of the whole package. You have to do your own bookings, write your own invoices, make the deals, etc. And sometimes that’s a pity because it stops you from being entirely, exclusively creative. Which sharpens the pink edges that would normally smoothen the transaction between you and your audience. But.. if you have the opportunity to be a full time artist, it’s a beautiful choice to make. 

 

 

‘Every time I go on stage, it feels like the first moment all over again. And to be honest, I don’t want to get used to it. I have artist friends who are ‘just going through the moves’, I would hate that! ’

Talking about choices, your performances have a lot to do with physical pain. Why does one do that? 
When I first began I never thought I was about to start using needles and syringes. I was more the horror-effect and illusion kinda gal. It was always fake. But when I came to London and got to work with Miss Behave and Lucy Fire we designed a witch show. We all had our own ‘powers’. Lucy was good with fire, Amy swallowed swords and I was into blood effects. But then the others decided to begin the show with putting out a cigar on your tongue. And although I didn’t want to do it, I was kind of pushed into it. After a while I thought it might be great to actually master those skills and I started practicing. Slowly I started to intervene little things into my own shows and that’s when I got the question to perform a freak show. In 2005 there was this movement where people were really interested in seeing freak shows performed by woman, and there weren’t many performers fitting the bill, so there you go. I think once you’re able to cross the boundaries of pain, you’re capable of doing a lot of things. Needless to say the first time I stuck a needle in my arm was pretty weird. I’m not a masochist at all and the ‘pain versus pleasure’ concept is wasted on me. But I realized I could take it, and all of a sudden it was more of a ‘mind over matter’ thing. As soon as I realized that my mind is stronger than my body and that my mind has control over my body, I was able to take it to the next level. I like it when people can see that I’m actually in pain in order to create my art. That said, I must be honest and confess that I sometimes terribly injure myself during one of the shows.

What does such a thing to your body? 
Well of course I have to be very careful with what I do. I never drink alcohol before a show because if you become less attentive or arrogant, you can really hurt yourself. But then again, some things are beyond your control. Fire for instance. You have quite little influence on fire, if you start to think about it. Fire does what it does and you have to learn to work around it. In my entire career I got terribly burned a couple of times. On my mouth, my arms, by just being that itch too quick or being a tad too negligent. Or people from the club that are leaving the airco on, well, you know what happens then. I also use a lot of piercings and staples on stage and like my boyfriend always says: ‘It doesn’t make her prettier’. Over the few years I gained so many scars that it’s quite a sight when I get a tan during summer. When people tell me they are interested in performing these kind of shows, I always ask them if they are ready to get marked. When you stick needles in your skin or you jump on broken glass, you always have to keep in mind that there will come a day when it goes wrong. Once I was unable to walk for 3 months because I cut my foot that deeply. Let’s say there’s a price to pay. 

You must have developed a different view on external beauty.
A few years ago I involuntarily got into a fight. They knocked me down and I hit my head on the street, there was a big jaw in my face and my front teeth were in pieces. I had a lot of photo shoots for catalogues going on in that time. And I remember waking up, scared that all was finished and things could never be restored. But of course it does. And what I learned is that beauty doesn’t come in a framework. It’s what you carry in your soul. If you manage to be happy with whom you are, if you have self-esteem, than that’s your most attractive feature. My outer shell doesn’t really matter to me. Let’s say I grew out of it. I don’t look like the average woman yet I find myself in the possession of an interesting face. People love it or hate it and therefor beauty is not something that I dwell on. What I love to hear from people is that I have charisma when on stage. And that’s the main thing as a performer, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, I always want to look good and want to make a good impression, but I know I will never be your typical Burlesque beauty.

Are you happy?
I really am. I lost a lot of beautiful friends in the past two years, which made it a very emotional ride, and I experienced a pretty rough childhood. But I use that sentiment in my art. I try to develop all those bumpy roads and negativity into a story that I hope people can use for the good. But like I said, I made some changes recently and I would like to cut down to one show a week instead of three, and take more time to write my play and my book. Discovering new horizons and looking for people who want to join me in this new adventure. 

Exciting times!
O yes! And I’m scared shitless! But if I have to choose one thing I really would like to accomplish, then it’s that theatre play. Last year I was able to work with the English National Opera House on Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and that made me really proud. It was literally a dream come true to stand in the West End. Every time I went up those tube escalators I faced all these production posters of those big shows and I always thought ‘one day!’ I was so proud to work with such a solid firm and with all those award-winning professionals. And the Coliseum theatre is so beautiful that I started to cry when I first entered the stage. It is very different you know, performance art and theatre. And I hope I learned enough to make my own interpretation. It’s scary, but it’s something I really have to go for, how nerve wrecking it might be. So ’Put your head down and get to it girl!

 

www.thevividangel.biz

Related articles

Jorge Clar

Jorge Clar

We caught up with poet and performance artist Jorge Clar in his home in New York, and talked about words, sounds, and image. An ideal for living. Initially, you came to New York because you wanted to be close to the disco scene. That was…..

Lees meer
Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus

It took more than one year for Jeroen Olyslaegers to write the text for Jan Fabre’s 24-hour theatrical performance Mount Olympus, to glorify the cult of tragedy. A labyrinth of time where the actors sleep and awaken on stage, dance and move…..

Lees meer
Kabarett der Namenlosen

Kabarett der Namenlosen

Ever since the beginning of Et Alors? Magazine we have had a soft spot for singer, model, bon vivant and muse Le Pustra. Being inspired by the same artists and artwork such as the Oskar Schlemmer’s costumes for the Bauhaus movement…..

Lees meer
Shania LeClaire Riviere

Shania LeClaire Riviere

When you’re visiting Provincetown in the summer, you’re in for a creative treat. Every other Friday, performance artist Shania LeClaire Riviere dresses up and takes his work onto the streets to show his latest creation. Art on Shania is a walking art…..

Lees meer
The Vivid Angel

The Vivid Angel

She’s the queen of alternative performance, won the Twisted Cabaret Crown World Burlesque Games in 2014 and is this edition’s cover model. But most important, sometimes you just meet one of those people who make you think YAY!…..

Lees meer
Criaturas

Criaturas

Criaturas is the name Saskia De Tollenaere and Olivier Desimpel gave to the world they created for everyone who dares to dream. An experience concept where their passion for theater, art, fashion, beauty, spirituality and emotion merges in the form…..

Lees meer
The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

When two of Et Alors?’s favorite artists decided to do a personae switch, a smile appeared on our faces. Queen of fetish cabaret and diva extraordinaire Marnie Scarlet, transformes into Mr. Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse. We leave it up to them to…..

Lees meer
Extravaganza

Extravaganza

Lars de Valk founded Extravaganza. The first extravagant bears, lesbians, muscle boys, club kids, drag queens, fag hags, fetish clubbers party with a positive vibe in Antwerp, Belgium. Bringing you happiness with themes such as Asian Persuasion, Sinners…..

Lees meer
Mister Joe Black

Mister Joe Black

‘A constantly evolving cabaret chameleon, blurring the lines of decency within entertainment and continues to drive music and performance into strange new realms’ and ‘No stranger to the absurd, Joe Black creates a world where the shocking is the…..

Lees meer
Mr. Pustra

Mr. Pustra

“I wouldn’t mind appearing on the cover of Vogue.” Mr. Pustra aims for no less than the sky when he is asked about his goal for 2012. Knowing one should never run before one can walk, he tests the waters with an interview for Et Alors? Magazine…..

Lees meer
Marnie Scarlet

Marnie Scarlet

Although the definition of Burlesque says “a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects”, one cannot erase the image of Von Teese…..

Lees meer

 

 

 

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

Photos Sin Bozkurt

 

When two of Et Alors?’s favorite artists decided to do a personae switch, a smile appeared on our faces. Queen of fetish cabaret and diva extraordinaire Marnie Scarlet, transformes into Mr. Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse. We leave it up to them to tell you all about it. 

 

Name Marnie Scarlet
What Getting under Le Pustra’s skin

I have known Le Pustra for a number of years now and I have always valued and admired him as a person and a multi-faceted visual artist. We appreciate each other’s style which both compliments and contrasts. I love the inner strength of his various characters, the dark and melancholy aspects, as well as the beautifully executed make-ups and outfits. When Le Pustra approached me with the idea of a Cabaret Switch, I was honored and excited. We started laying out the plans and asked good friend and experienced Cabaret photographer, Sin Bozkurt to immortalize the project. We have both worked with Sin before and he understands both our characters very well. We decided to swap two of our Looks/Characters. We both have a pop-culture icon based act in our oeuvre: for Le Pustra that’s a phenomenal Klaus Nomi act, for me that’s a tribute to Marilyn Monroe in Warhol style. It was amazing to be transformed into le Pustra and to be transform by him in return. Quite spooky and magical. During the shoot we truly transformed into each other’s creations which was an amazing creative process. When some of the photos went up on our respective Facebook sites, it actually did cause confusion as to who was who, and what was going on. The reaction we wanted!

 

Name Le Pustra
What Wearing Marnie Scarlet’s (shiny) skin

I approached Marnie regarding this concept in late 2013 as there are so many similarities between our public personas. I thought it would be interesting to portray each other and see what happens. I really adore her visual style and skill as a latex designer and visual artist. Marnie was very happy to be involved and we decided on switching our ‘icon’ characters e.g. Klaus Nomi and Marilyn Monroe – both latex – and our signature ‘Marnie’ and ‘Le Pustra’ looks, e.g. the Pierrot clown and Rubber Dolly. Photographer Sin Bozkurt agreed immediately to be part of the project and we even used our favorite studio in London. I think it was quite tricky to do each other’s make-up and it was interesting to find out how well we knew our own faces. Yet doing our own face on someone else, was definitely a challenge. Marnie even made a latex outfit in my size to wear as her Rubber Dolly. How wonderful was that? Since she has let me keep it, there might be a chance you may spot a slightly larger Marnie running in the streets in the near future. I must confess how much I admire Miss Marnie for wearing her, sometimes restrictive, latex costumes. The amount of effort and thought she has put into those designs. I don’t know any other artist whose work is so detailed and so clever.Bravissima, Marnie! Collaboration between artists can be such a rewarding experience and Marnie is one of my most favorite people on the scene as she is just brimming with talent, color and energy. And she has a heart of latex gold. I would work with her any day and look forward to see how she evolves over the coming years. I expect nothing but greatness from the First Lady of Latex. It was a fun experience being someone else for a day.

 

www.marniescarlet.com
www.lepustra.com

Related articles

Jorge Clar

Jorge Clar

We caught up with poet and performance artist Jorge Clar in his home in New York, and talked about words, sounds, and image. An ideal for living. Initially, you came to New York because you wanted to be close to the disco scene. That was…..

Lees meer
Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus

It took more than one year for Jeroen Olyslaegers to write the text for Jan Fabre’s 24-hour theatrical performance Mount Olympus, to glorify the cult of tragedy. A labyrinth of time where the actors sleep and awaken on stage, dance and move…..

Lees meer
Kabarett der Namenlosen

Kabarett der Namenlosen

Ever since the beginning of Et Alors? Magazine we have had a soft spot for singer, model, bon vivant and muse Le Pustra. Being inspired by the same artists and artwork such as the Oskar Schlemmer’s costumes for the Bauhaus movement…..

Lees meer
Shania LeClaire Riviere

Shania LeClaire Riviere

When you’re visiting Provincetown in the summer, you’re in for a creative treat. Every other Friday, performance artist Shania LeClaire Riviere dresses up and takes his work onto the streets to show his latest creation. Art on Shania is a walking art…..

Lees meer
The Vivid Angel

The Vivid Angel

She’s the queen of alternative performance, won the Twisted Cabaret Crown World Burlesque Games in 2014 and is this edition’s cover model. But most important, sometimes you just meet one of those people who make you think YAY!…..

Lees meer
Criaturas

Criaturas

Criaturas is the name Saskia De Tollenaere and Olivier Desimpel gave to the world they created for everyone who dares to dream. An experience concept where their passion for theater, art, fashion, beauty, spirituality and emotion merges in the form…..

Lees meer
The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

When two of Et Alors?’s favorite artists decided to do a personae switch, a smile appeared on our faces. Queen of fetish cabaret and diva extraordinaire Marnie Scarlet, transformes into Mr. Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse. We leave it up to them to…..

Lees meer
Extravaganza

Extravaganza

Lars de Valk founded Extravaganza. The first extravagant bears, lesbians, muscle boys, club kids, drag queens, fag hags, fetish clubbers party with a positive vibe in Antwerp, Belgium. Bringing you happiness with themes such as Asian Persuasion, Sinners…..

Lees meer
Mister Joe Black

Mister Joe Black

‘A constantly evolving cabaret chameleon, blurring the lines of decency within entertainment and continues to drive music and performance into strange new realms’ and ‘No stranger to the absurd, Joe Black creates a world where the shocking is the…..

Lees meer
Mr. Pustra

Mr. Pustra

“I wouldn’t mind appearing on the cover of Vogue.” Mr. Pustra aims for no less than the sky when he is asked about his goal for 2012. Knowing one should never run before one can walk, he tests the waters with an interview for Et Alors? Magazine…..

Lees meer
Marnie Scarlet

Marnie Scarlet

Although the definition of Burlesque says “a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects”, one cannot erase the image of Von Teese…..

Lees meer

 

 

 

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

Holestar

Holestar

Holestar

Text JF. Pierets

 

Despite being a biological woman, she dresses as a super, fabulous, over the top version of a girl. So yes, she’s a drag artist. Yet not a queen or a faux queen; ‘there’s nothing fake about me!’ She prefers to be called a Tranny with a Fanny or Drag Goddess and her aesthetic is 80’s big hair, clashing colors, animal print, Divine and Jackie Beat. ‘I’m too freaky to be mainstream’. A conversation about expression, freedom, fun and a very long time spent in-front of a mirror.

 

I guess everyone starts with this question but nevertheless: the tranny with the fanny? 
I was Holestar, the artist at first. Being the Tranny with a Fanny was a gender bending idea born out of frustration with drag queens being misogynist and vile about women. Feminism gave women many fabulous freedoms but it killed off a lot of glamour. My aim was to reclaim over the top fabulousness and exaggerated femininity to the female body. I was initially called the ‘cock-in-a-frock-without-a-cock’ for a while but it’s a bit of a mouthful.

When did you realize you wanted to be a dragqueen? By the way, I’ve read it’s called Faux Queen? 
My American sisters call themselves Faux Queens but I’m not fake anything honey. I like the term Drag Goddess. A goddess is higher than a queen isn’t it? Being a drag starlet was supposed to be a one off art piece, but I met a DJ who wanted me to MC with him. He thought it was a good idea to workshop the idea in front of an audience and it took off. Eleven years later, I’m still spending hours in front of a mirror for art and the entertainment of others.

You ever considered surgery? 
Hell no. I don’t buy into the so-called western ideal of what someone is supposed to look like to be considered attractive. I like my transformations to be temporary. I’m full of imperfections but love who I am, lumps, bumps and all. Never say never though. There could come a time when I go for the full Wildenstein.

How do the male to female queens react on your appearance? 
Most of them are fine and ok with it as I tend to play and perform on the alternative scene where black and white gender expression is less of an issue. However there are a few girls who have been bitchy or aggressive, as if I’m stepping on their toes. They’re frequently the ones with no talent and or anything interesting to say. Que Sera Sera. 

I’ve seen your make-up tutorial for Beige and I wondered; who’s the girl behind the make-up.
I grew up all over England and left school with no qualifications as I’d discovered sex, drugs and dance music. I spent two years in the British army, worked as a professional dominatrix for ten years, discovered art, moved to Vienna, became the Tranny with a Fanny, moved to London and got a Fine Art Masters at Central St Martins. I’m now a DJ, writer, artist, singer, Mistress of Ceremonies, club promoter. Lover not a fighter.

 

‘Being the tranny with a fanny was a gender bending idea born out of frustration with drag queens being misogynist and vile about women.’

What do you do next to performing and making music? Do you have any hobbies or is everything Holestar related? 
Drag and creativity consumes so much of my time. Pretty much everything I’m interested in (art, film, LGBTQ issues, music, performance) is part of what I do as a performer so there’s not much left outside if it. I’m quite quiet in everyday life, an introverted extrovert. I love my dog, travel, watching trash TV, cake.

You’re one of the people behind Hot Laser. Can you tell me about the movie? 
I founded the documentary ‘Hot Mess/Dress As A Girl’, around six years ago. The East London alternative scene performs every year at the NYC Downlow at Glastonbury Festival and one year I thought; someone should be filming this. I approached my friend Colin Rothbart to direct a British version of Paris is Burning and we now have five years’ worth of footage that is currently being edited. We need a lot more funding to complete it though. It’s an honest film about how fabulous dressing up and performing can be, but also how human we are underneath it all. My aim is for at least one queer person to view the film, see that they’re not the only one who is different from heteronormative or mainstream gay society and that’s perfectly ok. They can be whoever they want to be, come through all manners of adversity to accept and be comfortable with whom they are.

Do you want to get a message out there?
Love yourself. Be the best you can be. Don’t be shady, be a lady. The biggest love affair you should ever have is with yourself. Queer people have come a long way in the west but there is still work to do. We need to stop bitching among ourselves and help, love and encourage each other more.

Lots of love…for everybody!

 

www.holestar.com

Related articles

Virgin Xtravaganzah

Virgin Xtravaganzah

As an impersonator of the Virgin Mary, performance artist Virgin Xtravaganzah talks about how Mary actually loves the gay community and that people got it wrong in the books. That God doesn’t care whether you’re gay or straight; he just…..

Lees meer
House of Trannies

House of Trannies

‘Out with political correctness! Tranny is an endearing and loving term used amongst the drag, lgbt and queer communities to describe anyone who is transvestite, dragqueen, or does not identify with any set gender role.’ There you go! House of…..

Lees meer
Dr.a.g.

Dr.a.g.

About seven months after one of our favorite books came out, its publisher was going out of business. Passionate about its content, respect for the performers and certain about it’s power to affect change made Christopher Logan start all over…..

Lees meer
Holestar

Holestar

Despite being a biological woman, she dresses as a super, fabulous, over the top version of a girl. So yes, she’s a drag artist. Yet not a queen or a faux queen; ‘there’s nothing fake about me!’ She prefers to be called a Tranny with a Fanny or Drag…..

Lees meer
Haus of Haunt

Haus of Haunt

The Haus of Haunt is the Pittsburgh based drag troupe around Sharon Needles, a self-described “stupid genius, reviled sweetheart, and PRB princess,” rose to prominence on the 4th. season of the reality competition series, Ru Paul’s Drag Race…..

Lees meer
House of Hopelezz

House of Hopelezz

If you’re lucky you can bump into them when in Amsterdam. Accompanied by a human cluster of flies, they picturesquely attract and they puzzle. With their expression of beatific good humour and their gaily coloured dresses, people are vying for…..

Lees meer

 

 

 

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

Mister Joe Black

Mister Joe Black

Mister Joe Black

Text JF. Pierets    Photos Scott Chalmers

 

‘A constantly evolving cabaret chameleon, blurring the lines of decency within entertainment and continues to drive music and performance into strange new realms’ and ‘No stranger to the absurd, Joe Black creates a world where the shocking is the sublime and the ridiculous is the beautiful’, are just some of the numerous quotes we find when reading about Mr. Joe Black. An interview with the gin drinking cabaret darling, musical comedy misfit and acid tongued ringmaster.

 

How would you describe what you are doing? 
Attempting to evoke the dark spirit of Weimar Berlin through the use of modern song and comedy nonsense.

Have you always been the creative creature that you are today?
I suppose so, yeah! I always loved acting and showing off. I meddled briefly in the world of filmmaking but decided my calling was performing rather than being behind the camera.

Would you like to tell me about your childhood? 
My mother was a jackal and I was often followed around by a large black dog….that was the plot of The Omen, wasn’t it? Though I enjoyed drawing, painting, dressing up and playing games in my mind, I was always fascinated by villains. I wanted to be a super villain and take over the world.

What social reality lies beneath all that make-up?
I seem to have molded everything into one big messy ball. I perform and produce shows on a full time basis, so there isn’t really much of a gap between my reality and my art. I’ve let it envelop me and I don’t think I would ever change that. I love it.

Do you feel the urge to push boundaries?
All the time. I often have been told ‘no, you can’t do that. It’s taking things too far’, but I’ll try to push them as often as I can.

Does your look give you the chance to become who you want to be?
I think it aids it, definitely. Once the make-up and costume goes on, I feel like I’m ready to go on stage. It helps me to fully realize what I’m trying to achieve.

Do you aim for a gender- and sexless look?
Yes, completely. I want people to have to second-guess my gender. I don’t aim to look like a woman and I don’t aim to look like a man.
I want to look like a painting. Something from a twisted imagination!

On you’re website you talk about dark cabaret. Will you be able to do what you do for a long time?
I will continue to do it as long as I can. When the time comes where I can’t do it… I’ll probably still do it. Regardless!

 

‘I want people to have to second-guess my gender. I don’t aim to look like a woman and I don’t aim to look like a man. I want to look like a painting.’

Do you live in a fantasized parallel world?
Sometimes. I think it depends how many performances I have coming up. In times that are very busy, it is easy to become detached from reality and lose yourself. Sometimes I take my makeup off and I don’t recognize the person looking back at me.

When and why did you make the step from street performances to indoor shows?
Street performing can be cruel and unkind. I preferred the idea of a dedicated audience, rather than people who may not be interested or those who may feel aggressive against it. I think I did street performing for about a year and then fully took it inside. I haven’t done a street performance in a very long time.

Do you think legacy has become important for an artist? If so, what do you want to achieve?
A legacy is all the artists’ work. It is what they leave behind. I think it is incredibly important… it’s everything. What would be sadder than to do all that work, when nothing would be remembered? An artist’s legacy is their mark. It’s their tattoo on the world. I don’t think that should ever be forgotten. It should be appreciated for times and times to come.

Am I taking the whole thing too serious?
Not at all. Performing is a serious thing. Whether it’s a funny performance, a sad performance, a  emotionally devastating performance or even just something really lighthearted. You leave a lasting impression on people. I think that is something to really be treasured.

 

www.misterjoeblack.com

Related articles

Jorge Clar

Jorge Clar

We caught up with poet and performance artist Jorge Clar in his home in New York, and talked about words, sounds, and image. An ideal for living. Initially, you came to New York because you wanted to be close to the disco scene. That was…..

Lees meer
Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus

It took more than one year for Jeroen Olyslaegers to write the text for Jan Fabre’s 24-hour theatrical performance Mount Olympus, to glorify the cult of tragedy. A labyrinth of time where the actors sleep and awaken on stage, dance and move…..

Lees meer
Kabarett der Namenlosen

Kabarett der Namenlosen

Ever since the beginning of Et Alors? Magazine we have had a soft spot for singer, model, bon vivant and muse Le Pustra. Being inspired by the same artists and artwork such as the Oskar Schlemmer’s costumes for the Bauhaus movement…..

Lees meer
Shania LeClaire Riviere

Shania LeClaire Riviere

When you’re visiting Provincetown in the summer, you’re in for a creative treat. Every other Friday, performance artist Shania LeClaire Riviere dresses up and takes his work onto the streets to show his latest creation. Art on Shania is a walking art…..

Lees meer
The Vivid Angel

The Vivid Angel

She’s the queen of alternative performance, won the Twisted Cabaret Crown World Burlesque Games in 2014 and is this edition’s cover model. But most important, sometimes you just meet one of those people who make you think YAY!…..

Lees meer
Criaturas

Criaturas

Criaturas is the name Saskia De Tollenaere and Olivier Desimpel gave to the world they created for everyone who dares to dream. An experience concept where their passion for theater, art, fashion, beauty, spirituality and emotion merges in the form…..

Lees meer
The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

When two of Et Alors?’s favorite artists decided to do a personae switch, a smile appeared on our faces. Queen of fetish cabaret and diva extraordinaire Marnie Scarlet, transformes into Mr. Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse. We leave it up to them to…..

Lees meer
Extravaganza

Extravaganza

Lars de Valk founded Extravaganza. The first extravagant bears, lesbians, muscle boys, club kids, drag queens, fag hags, fetish clubbers party with a positive vibe in Antwerp, Belgium. Bringing you happiness with themes such as Asian Persuasion, Sinners…..

Lees meer
Mister Joe Black

Mister Joe Black

‘A constantly evolving cabaret chameleon, blurring the lines of decency within entertainment and continues to drive music and performance into strange new realms’ and ‘No stranger to the absurd, Joe Black creates a world where the shocking is the…..

Lees meer
Mr. Pustra

Mr. Pustra

“I wouldn’t mind appearing on the cover of Vogue.” Mr. Pustra aims for no less than the sky when he is asked about his goal for 2012. Knowing one should never run before one can walk, he tests the waters with an interview for Et Alors? Magazine…..

Lees meer
Marnie Scarlet

Marnie Scarlet

Although the definition of Burlesque says “a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects”, one cannot erase the image of Von Teese…..

Lees meer

 

 

 

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

The Pansy Project

The Pansy Project

The Pansy Project

Text JF. Pierets   

 

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse and operate as an antidote to it. After they are individually planted, the pansy’s location is photographed and named after the abuse received.

 

The Pansy Project has had many incarnations; from small scale unmarked individual plantings to free pansy ‘Hand Outs’ where the artist speaks to passers-by about the project.  Additionally, installations of thousands of plants at the site of homophobia and exhibitions of the photographs the artist has made over the last seven years. The Pansy Project has garnered a worldwide following and has featured in various festivals and exhibitions internationally from New York to London. 

How it all began.
A string of homophobic abuse on a warm summer’s day was the catalyst for this project. Two builders shouting “It’s about time we went gay bashing again, isn’t it?” is how that day began. It continued with a gang of guys throwing abuse and stones at the artist and his then boyfriend, to end with a bizarre and unsettling confrontation with a man who called them ‘ladies’ under his breath. Over the years Harfleet became accustomed to this kind of behavior, but later realised it was a shocking concept to most of his friends and colleagues. It was in this context that Harfleet began to ponder the nature of these verbal attacks and their influence on his life. Realizing that he felt differently about these experiences depending on his mental state, he decided to explore the way he was made to feel at the location where these incidents occurred. What interested Harfleet was the way that the locations later acted as a prompt for exploration of the memories associated with that place. In order to feel differently about the location and the memories it summoned, the artist wanted to manipulate these associations somehow. Planting  unmarked pansies as close as possible to where the verbal homophobic abuse had occurred became his strategy. He would entitle the photograph after the abuse and post an image of the pansy alongside the quoted abuse online.

A positive action versus a negative incident.
Harfleet did not feel it would be appropriate to equate his own personal experience of verbal homophobic abuse with a death or fatal accident; he felt that planting a small unmarked living plant at the site would correspond with the nature of the abuse. A plant continues to grow through experience, as the protagonist does. Sowing a live plant felt like a positive action, it was a comment on the abuse and a potential ‘remedy’. He was interested in the public nature of these incidents and the way one was forced into reacting publicly to a crime that often occurred during the day and in full view of passers-by. He had observed that the tendency to place flowers at the scene of a crime or accident had become an accepted ritual and considered a similar response. Floral tributes subtly augment the reading of a space that encourages a passer-by to ponder past events generally understood as a crime or accident. The artist’s particular intervention could encourage a passer-by to query the reason for his own ritualistic action.

Very quiet yet extremely visible.
Without civic permission to plant one unmarked pansy to mark his own and latterly other’s experiences of homophobia, Harfleet continued as The Pansy Project developed. As growing numbers of pansies were planted with titles such as “Let’s kill the Batty-Man!” and “Fucking Faggot!” a particular view of gay experience which often goes unreported to authorities became apparent. When verbal homophobic abuse is experienced the assailant forces the unwilling participant to assimilate and respond to this public verbal attack; ignore or retaliate? The Pansy Project acts as a formula which prevents the ‘victim’ from internalizing the incident. The strategy becomes a conceptual shield; a behavior that enables the experience to be processed via the public domain, in this case the location where the incident occurred and, latterly, the website which collates and presents the incidents and operates as a virtual location of quiet resistance.

 

 

 

‘Sowing a live plant felt like a positive action, it was a comment on the abuse and a potential ‘remedy’.’

Pansy.
Which plant to use was of course vitally important and the pansy instantly seemed perfect. The name of the flower originates from the French verb Penser (to think), as the bowing head of the flower was seen to visually echo a person in deep thought, hence its Victorian association with effeminate or gay men. The subtle and elegiac quality of the flower was ideal for The Pansy Project’s requirements. The action of planting reinforced these qualities, as kneeling in the street and digging in the often neglected hedgerows felt like a sorrowful act. The bowing heads of the flowers became mournful symbols of indignant acceptance.

How it evolved.
What was originally an autobiographical work has become a project that has been somewhat embraced by the gay community who see the project as a strategy that explores a shared experience. Many statistics reveal that large numbers of the LGBT community have at some time experienced varying levels of homophobic abuse. In association with festivals, Harfleet also regularly hosts events where pansies are often handed out to the general public. At these events the pansies are donated to the public in exchange for hearing about the project. This subtle ‘gift’ presents itself as ‘Free Pansies’ with no catch. However the people receiving the flower take the story of The Pansy Project with them, enabling it to be communicated to a much wider, non-specific, audience.

The various on-line presences of The Pansy Project, such as blog, website, Twitter and Facebook profiles, enable the images of these – mostly ephemeral – acts to be bundled and presented to a wide on-line audience who are then vicariously able to explore and engage with the nature of this artwork and the incidents it documents. The juxtaposition of the images of delicate flowers placed in urban settings with offensive and hurtful abuse creates a complex yet anecdotal anthology of homophobic abuse as experienced by a gay population. The humbly planted pansy becomes a record; a trace of this public occurrence which is deeply personal and concurrently accessible to the public on the street and on-line. After seven years of The Pansy Project Paul Harfleet has planted over ten thousand pansies: Sometimes sowing two thousand at a time as he did for ‘Memorial to the Un-Named’ at the Homotopia Festival in Liverpool, 2008.

Four thousand were planted in the Gold Medal winning ‘Conceptual Garden’ at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, 2010, and he continues to seek out locations and plant individual flowers such as the one he recently placed at the British Embassy in Istanbul. Often unsanctioned – though frequently in association with festivals, organizations and even police forces – Harfleet continues to intuit his way through The Pansy Project. In 2011 he collaborated with London based jewelry making company Tatty Devine; together they created a small wooden pin. A hand painted pansy, adorned with “Fucking Faggot”, is a subtle embodiment of The Pansy Project so far.

In September 2012 The Pansy Project featured at the Steirischer Herbst festival in Graz; ‘Truth is Concrete’ was a 24/7 marathon camp attended by over a hundred international artists where Paul planted pansies of historical significance around Graz and spoke about his work alongside Richard Reynolds of ‘On Guerrilla Gardening’; a publication that charts the evolution of guerrilla gardening and features The Pansy Project. The image exclusively included here is taken by Malc Stone and will be the cover image of The Pansy Project publication Paul Harfleet is currently working on. For more information and background visit:

 

www.thepansyproject.com

Related articles

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Early 1940: the U.S. military dishonorably discharged thousands of gay servicemen in San Francisco during World War II because of their sexuality. Many settled in the area now known as The Castro District when the former middle-class owners…..

Lees meer
What I Be Project

What I Be Project

The ‘What I Be’ project by photographer Steve Rosenfield almost sounds like the Et Alors? Magazine mission statement. It’s a global movement about honesty and empowerment. People pose with text written all over their face and arms. Starting…..

Lees meer
Makeup 2 Makeup

Makeup 2 Makeup

MakeUp2MakeUp is a non-profit organization based in Antwerp, Belgium, that has been supporting the transgender community in Kathmandu, Nepal, since 2008. MakeUp2MakeUp offers training in hairdressing and make up, as well as English…..

Lees meer
A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions

A Series of Questions is an ongoing project by photographer L. Weingarten about the questions asked to transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming people throughout the world. The subjects hold wooden signs…..

Lees meer
Carim Bouzian

Carim Bouzian

We meet at a terrace on a sunny day in Antwerp. He says he forgot his cigarettes, I say I don’t have any but maybe he can ask one at the table next to ours. Seems that he’s too aware not to step into the “another Moroccan is asking for a cigarette…..

Lees meer
The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous estrogen-bomb dropping, creativily complaining feminists. They fight discrimination and corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture with ‘facts, humor and fake fur’. Behind their scary…..

Lees meer
The Pansy Project

The Pansy Project

‘The Pansy Project’ is an on-going initiative and artwork devised by Paul Harfleet in 2005. He revisits locations where homophobia was experienced and plants self seeding pansies to mark the spot. They act as a living memorial to the abuse…..

Lees meer
Roze in Blauw

Roze in Blauw

There are several networks that focus on specific groups within the Amsterdam police force. One of these networks is ‘Roze in Blauw’ (freely translated as ‘Pink in Blue’). It promotes the interests of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and…..

Lees meer

 

 

 

Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.