A happy little anecdote

So after my performance at Fierce Festival/Human Salvage last year, an audience member approached me who was extremely upset and offended by what she'd seen. I was pretty sure she was either going to start bawling or punch me in the face. Among other things, she accused me of emotionally scarring my darling volunteer Joe Baker. Joe, a student who came along to Human Salvage with his professors and fellow students, was asked to assist me in the performance before the show. He was given a general sense of what might happen, but no specifics. The angry audience member berated me for "forcing" Joe to do everything he did on stage, for subjecting a poor unknowing student to my disgusting and offensive actions, and for causing he and his friends to leave early because I "ruined his clothes" (which I didn't, right Joe?) After the show, but before hearing from this angry prude, I thanked Joe and made sure he was ok, and he seemed absolutely happy and fine. But I hadn't spoken to him since being accused of blighting his innocence.

Today I was happily vindicated. When I asked him if I could post a video from the performance of his reactions to the ketchup scene (click here to see it), he responded as follows:

"yess thats no problem at all! ... thank you very much for considering me before putting it up. after my experience with the performance, i am attempting to head into the world of live art myself- with my dissertation performance including a work quite similar to Dominic's performance in human salvage (the tattoo part.)
i know it's a long shot, but i would love to invite you to the performance, (it revolves around people who have had an effect on my life during my University experience - i would say you are definitely one!)
So if your in the UK around April time , maybe you would consider it?
Thank you once again for the opportunity and for opening my eyes!!!
Joe xx
p.s :- is it obvious i heave during the egg bit? LOL"

Yay for Joe!!!!!!!!

and yay for me for being right. as always.

and now that Joe has read this, he says: "ohh i would also like to add, i left early due to the fact i was booked to DJ round at a nightlcub 2 mintues away called Subway City!...

CLICK ON THIS FOR A LINK TO THE VIDEO OF JOE'S REACTIONS!

Amazing photos by my amazing lover Tim Fluck

need some photos!

if anyone was at my Duckie performance last March-- the show with the cherries and the cross and the riot-- I'm trying to find photos from that night, and I need your help! If anyone took any, please let me know!

oh yes, and I'm back at Duckie on the 3rd of this March. what should I do????

xoxoxo

I could be a rapist or a pedophile. That sounds awesome.

Emails sent to the producers of Duckie and their response, after The Famous' October 3rd appearance:


Hello,
I was very disappointed to have paid £6 last Saturday to witness the second performance of the evening. I found it offensive, tedious and failed to see any artistic merit. I have been to the Vauxhall Tavern three times in the past three months or so and have very much enjoyed the Frantastics, Richard O'Brien, the trio of flautists and the male band who appeared on the same evening as the latter. I am also interested in the work of artists such as Sarah Lucas, Gilbert and George, the Chapman Brothers and Grayson Perry. I watched the act this Saturday with an open mind and when the act concluded I accepted that I may have missed the point. I approached Amy Lame afterwards and politely asked why this act had been chosen. She explained that they had been booed off stage previously and that she felt it would be interesting to gauge reaction a second time. She accepted the act would not have been to everybody's taste and that it was her policy to have no limits when it came to entertainment. I asked whether, in that case, I could expect to see simulated paedophilia or rape on stage at the Vauxhall Tavern in future. Amy conceded that there were, in fact, some limits. She also said she 'really respected their message'. I asked what their message was, and Amy seemed unwilling to clarify. I asked if the main performer would be willing to have a conversation about the act and Amy agreed to request this. The performer was in fact not willing to discuss it with me, as she preferred a 'calm, intellectual debate'. I was happy to have such a debate, but she seemed
unconvinced and was subsequently led away by Amy. A co-performer, the woman who did the urinating, was willing to speak briefly. She explained that another woman's rather more heated challenge ten minutes' earlier made her feel uncomfortable. I said that was understandable and I found the co-performer pleasant, polite and clearly respectful of the main performer. Again, she hinted at a 'message' yet did not feel comfortable speaking on behalf of the main performer. So I was left to guess at what the point of the performance could be. If the intention was simply to shock or get a reaction, then surely the performers should be able to justify their motivation to those members of the audience who are offended or who are reacting? I'd be interested to hear your comments on this,
Thanks,
[Graciously keeping her anonymous]


Hello, I would be grateful if you would pass on this request to whoever organises the entertainment at Duckie. Thank you.
Please do not book the performers who appeared at Duckie last Saturday again! I have just returned from overseas and spent my first Saturday night in London at Duckie. What an awful act. I bought along some friends who had not visited RVT before and they were appalled. Would it be possible to alert clients if this act is booked again. I looked at your website before attending on Saturday and there was no mention or warning of extreme and gratuitous 'entertainment'.
Best wishes,
[Anonymous #2]



Dear [Anonymous #1 and #2],
I am Simon, the booker of the performances for Duckie. The RVT passed on your mails to me.
Duckie is proud to platform some of the most innovative experimental performance in London. The act that you both refer to - Lauren Barri Holstein - is one of my personal favourites, i think her work is great.
All art and entertainment is subjective. We favour provocative, exploratory, unsafe show business. If you attend Duckie again you are likely to see other shows of this nature. This is how we are and what we like.
It is not a requirement for the performer to have to justify and explain their performance off stage to you personally on the night, simply because you have paid the entrance fee. That's not the deal.
I think if you and your pals are likely to be 'appalled' by this kind of performance, it's not the club for you. Other safer environments exists - the gay scene is full of them.
If you would like to discuss this further feel free to give me a call on [i'm not giving you his number].
Bests,

Simon Casson
Promoter
Duckie
duckie.co.uk

COME TO CRUISING!

CRUISING FOR ART IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!!



Where the gallery and gloryhole collide - this is performance for the sexually and artistically deviant.



"a mischievous living installation" - The Guardian, 2011



Your bandana is your ticket to Cruising for Art, a series of one-on-one performances by some of the country's most provocative performers set against an atmospheric back drop of disco and amyl nitrate. If you see someone with a matching bandana, eye contact, a smile, or a wink may start a wild journey, a tender moment or an intimate conversation. Wink at someone who is not one of our performers and, who knows, you may still make meaningful contact with a stranger...



December 9th at Vogue Fabrics, London 8pm:  £5 cash at the door

December 10th at The Basement, Brighton 8pm:  £8/£6 tickets in advance. go here: http://www.thebasement.uk.com/whatson.html



WHAT A LINEUP!!

Curated by Brian Lobel and Aaron Wright

Performances include:
Touching Feeling, by Owen Parry: "In her last book before she died Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick made a case for Touching Feeling. This is another one."

Mummy Time by Bryony Kimmings: "Mummy Time: Wrapping is a Family Business"

Baby Warhol! by Chris Cresswell

Handover, by Rachel Gomme: "If I give you my hand, will you give me yours? An invitation to a brief exchange of touch that leaves a lasting trace."

Puppet Paramour by Boogaloo Stu: "Imagine your ideal lover, then create them as a sock puppet. Slip your hand inside, and enjoy the rest of the evening in the company of your (g)love puppet"

BURN, by GraceLES: "A one-on-one installation for forgetting."

TUI's Nail Bar: "Dalston's manicurist-to-the-tranny-stars gives you a mani you'll never forget"

Anatomy of Desire by Mamoru Iriguchi: "Multimedia striptease with difference. Come and help Mamoru undergo his metamorphosis into revolutionary new body and soul. Enjoy some fun and intimate close encounters along the way. (Testing Grounds commission)"

Catherine Long's "Solo for a right arm"

Hi, I'm Brad Pitt by Timberlina, performing as Tim Redfern: "You're HOT, but I need a sense of the real you before we think about exchanging body fluids"

Everything About You by Season Butler: "Season Butler has never met anyone like you before..."

Pussy Pocket by Eirini Kartsaki, "I open my pussy pocket and I find inside an autumn leave. My hair is long and it waves at me; this is your day, this is your day, it says. It looks lonely and kind of sad"

LADYLOVE by The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein: The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein will put on, for the very second time, an all-acoustic, UNPLUGGED performance, exclusively for the privileged audience of Cruising for Art. As an acclaimed woman/artist, The Famous will proffer her Female Strength to the audience in an intimate evening celebrating Self-Love, Sharing and Song. Leave your negativity at the door, so that your Inner Spirit can shine like a clean mirror, so that you can see your pretty face.

DJ sets by Bright Light Bright Light and Size Zero Albino

The Famous is special.

The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein is a really special lady. Everybody loves her because she’s nice and pretty and smells like my grandma’s kitchen. She really inspires me to make art because art is important for the world. When she sings, it touches my heart and I feel horny.

Go see her shows. (See previous post for details)

LADYLOVE: upcoming shows

The Famous Lauren Barri Holstein will put on, for the very first time, an all-acoustic, UNPLUGGED performance, exclusively for the privileged audience of SmashLab. As an acclaimed woman/artist, The Famous will proffer her Female Strength to the audience in an intimate evening celebrating Self-Love, Sharing and Song. Leave your negativity at the door, so that your Inner Spirit can shine like a clean mirror, so that you can see your pretty face.

November 27th: SmashLab at the Shoreditch Book Club

December 9th: Cruising for Art at Vogue Fabrics

December 10th: Cruising for Art at The Basement (Brighton)