Number 154 Summer 2013 $9.95 Qweer Arts IssueXOXO XOXO XOXO XOXO Issue 155 / Fall 2013 JAMES BROUGHTON Submission Deadline: July 21, 2013 www.rfdmag.org/upload Photograph courtesy James Broughton papers, 1895-1999. Kent State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives. I can be far out and I can be way in, and both are germane. I can be proper and I can be improper, there is no opposition. I can be shabby and I can be glamorous, they define each other. I can perform, and I can keep absolutely quiet. —James Broughton in his journal from the 1960’s This is an invitation to “follow your own weird” into a special edition of RFD honoring the 100th birthday of faerie filmic elder and poetic inspir- er James Broughton (1913-1999). RFD invites your own “weirdness,” whether you knew James or not. If you did, send your inspirations and memories. If you did not, please go into your own weird and send us what inspires you. The new docu- mentary BIG JOY: The Adventures of James Broughton is a gift from the faeries to the dominant culture. It invites aliveness and allness. Ripen! RFD 154 Summer 2013 1 Representing Fey Dexterity Vol 39 No 4 #154 Summer 2013 Art means in ways difficult to express in words—unless the art is words. And even when it is, the artist’s intended meaning will differ from the viewer’s perceived meaning. We each find our own significance, perceiving the art from our unique perspectives. Our responses to the visual arts vary very widely, especially our responses to qweer art, which can provoke as well as bewitch. Qweer art—art cooked up by persons who see themselves as different, as other—has been exciting controversy for centuries, yet qweer artists dish it out still to people who are hungry for it, or not!—or both. We asked qweer visual artists in our community what that cooking and serving is like. How do art and otherness inform one another in ways specific to each artist’s vision, impulses and practice? We received an enormous response, so we’ve had to be selective—our apologies to those left out. We know many other artists whose work we would have liked to include—surely a sign of the vibrancy of the arts in qweer communities, both urban and rural. Think how often we encounter new forms of culture tranifesting before our eyes at gatherings—makeup, hair sculpture, fey fashion, food styling, performance, altars in the woods, installations. Artists enrich our lives and alter them. We grow in response to their work. The art submitted reflects the moment as art ever does, saying something about our time before we can find words to express it. Neither angry nor rebellious, it astonishes, inviting us into a new world—a world conjured from its makers’ spirit, intellect, passion and imagination. There is mastery in these pages, not just of the hand, but of the heart that moves it—a spiritual mastery that inspires hope. This issue is meant to honor qweer visual artists creating new perspectives, new consciousness. Representing Fey Dexterity, we celebrate Summer 2013 with a feast for your eyes, mixed with words for your heart. We call in the passionate creativity of South to keep the fires burning in the minds, bodies, studios, installations and performance spaces of qweer artists everywhere. —The RFD Collective Between the Lines2 RFD 154 Summer 2013 RFD is a reader-written journal for gay people which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. We foster community building and network- ing, explore the diverse expressions of our sexuality, care for the environment, Radical Faerie consciousness, and nature-centered spirituality, and share experiences of our lives. RFD is produced by volunteers. We welcome your participation. The business and general production are coordinated by a collective. Features and entire issues are prepared by different groups in various places. RFD (ISSN# 0149-709X) is published quarterly for $25 a year by RFD Press, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302. Postmaster: Send address changes to RFD, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302 Non-profit tax exempt #62- 1723644, a function of RFD Press with office of registra- tion at 231 Ten Penny Rd., Woodbury, TN 37190. RFD Cover Price: $9.95. A regular subscription is the least expensive way to receive it four times a year. Copyright © 2012 RFD Press. The records required by Title 18 U.S.D. Section 2257 and associated with respect to this magazine (and all graphic material associated therewith on which this label appears) are kept by the custodian of records at the following location: RFD Press, 85 N Main St, Ste 200, White River Junction, VT 05001. Mail for our Brothers Behind Bars project should be sent to P.O. Box 68, Liberty TN 37095. On the Covers Front : “Digapony” by Max Carlos-Martinez Back : “Don’t Go Back To Sleep” by Virgo Paraiso, 2000, 20x16”, oil on wood Inside Front : Courtesy Kent State Archives Production Managing Editor: Bambi Gauthier Guest Editors: Rosie Delicious and Alwyn de Wally Art Director: Matt Bucy Editor: Paul Wirhun Editor: Eric Linton Editor: Jason Schneider Prison Pages Editor: Myrlin Because this issue’s theme is artists, we have listed the artists in this issue in the table of contents rather than here where they normally appear. Submission Deadlines Fall–July 21, 2013 Winter–October 21, 2013 See inside covers for themes and specifics. “Voz del Poeta” by Tino Rodriguez, 2002, 12x24”, oil on wood For advertising, subscriptions, back issues and other information visit www.rfdmag.org RFD 154 Summer 2013 3 CONTENTS Announcements / Letters ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Qweer Arts Issue Lawrence Brose ...............................Edmund Cardoni & Keisha ........6 Ezekial Plumber ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Ricardo Nelson ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Once Upon a Time There Was a Forest ...........Frank Susa .....................11 Queer Is An Attitude ..........................Cuz’n aka Keith Hennessy ........14 Robbie Sweeny ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Jombi Supastar ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 William Paul Plumlee ........................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 John Butler .................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Max-Carlos Martinez ........................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Quasimoda de Folleterre ........................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Jai Sheronda ................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Virgo Paraiso .................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Krys Fox ....................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Tino Rodriguez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Fussy Lo Mein (Keith Gemerek) .................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Tate ........................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Imaginary ..................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Dragon ........................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Donald Engstrom-Reese ......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Tommy ........................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Mitcho ........................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 artboydancing .................................Franklin Abbott .................48 Being in the Woods ............................Jenks Farmer ...................49 Lorna Dune (Michael Hemes) .................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Seeds of Truth ................................Finger .........................52 Vincent / lucius ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Alwyn de Wally ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Rosie Delicious (Paul Wirhun) ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Praxis: Drawing Game .........................Rosie Delicious (Paul Wirhun) ....58 Prison Pages ..................................Myrlin .........................594 RFD 154 Summer 2013 LETTERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Sex Magick Workshops We are very pleased to announce that the next Sex Magick 169 workshop is scheduled to occur at Wolf Creek Sanctu- ary , June 1-8, 2013. This workshop, now into its third decade, was originally conceived and led by Harry Hay. For the past decade the workshop has been facilitated by some of the original participants as well as more recent alumni. Following the workshop in June, we are having our first Sex Magick workshop on the Continent, at Folleterre Faerie Sanctuary in eastern France July 20-27. This is a big step for us and we are very excited to be working with some of the amazing Euro-Faeries to make this happen. It’s a new experience for Folleterre as well! A note about languages: the workshop will be conducted in English, but there will be a number of multi-lingual people at the workshop, including the facilitators, who will provide some translation as neces- sary. After all, some things are really best expressed using our native tongue, don’t you think? In November, we have plans for two workshops! One, a 269 for people who have done the workshop before, at Saratoga Springs in Northern Calfiornia . The other, a 169 for first timers and people wanting to do the workshop again, back at Loon Lake, British Columbia . This workshop is still in the early stages of planning. About Sex Magick The Sex Magick workshop is intended to explore deeper levels of emotional and physical intimacy. Where gathering Heart Circles and Sex rituals end, there are often levels of unexplored connections. The Sex Magick workshop, through its participants, manifests a container of intimacy with deep bonds between the members. Faeries who are comfortable and committed to Heart Circle process and exploring heart- centered erotic connections are encouraged to consider, learn and participate in the Sex Magic workshops. Sex Magick 169 is the initial workshop for those who haven’t attended a workshop before and Sex Magick 269 workshop is for those who have done a Sex Magick workshop previously. For more information or to register, please go to http:// www.faeriesexmagick.org Feel free to contact me if you have questions or are at all curious. Thanks for reading this! —Chas Nol LETTERS Dear RFD, This is a rough reply to the article by Jason Baumann in RFD #153, page 10-14. Specifically, his words responding to Scott Lauria Morgensen, anthropologist. Jason agrees with Morgensen up to a point. He agrees that ‘appropriation’ of Native American Cultures by “the” radical faeries (whatever that really means) is happening. I say, yes and no. The bottom line? Shall we pressure each other to conform to guilt, or shall we inspire each other via examples of our own daring desire? The immediate reaction is, are we to do so respectfully? Well, who gets to tell us *when* that is?? Morgensen the anthropologist?? Do we bow down to Morgensen just because he is “superior” to us as somehow higher on the proverbial chain-of-command (re: schooled expert)? Or do we *wear* his input, thinking it through and to how such critique may apply to us, and thank him for his time? The latter is my approach, basically. I say, it’s time to be “radical’s radically respectful” (and I have articulated this to Indigenous champions directly). That means we give ourselves permission to launch into the dynamics we feel, intuitively, most drawn to, in ongoing pro- cesses of becoming. More below! As someone who has lost a friend and spiritual guide over this topic (he refused to engage in dialogue!), I feel moved to write as best as I can while trying to expose what I see as *cru- cial* grey areas. Yes, more discussion (and input) is needed and wanted! Two things I want to cover here. One, my own intuitive approach, two, the excerpts below. “Radiant Cock” by Rosie Delicious RFD 154 Summer 2013 5 My own approach comes as a self-taught champion who has dared to put his life on the line for topics not allowed to be discussed open-endedly today, evolving into broad-based consciousness over many years. To make this short (and better fit into the limits of RFD mail), I’ll just say that I have dared to pursue, on an ongoing basis, my intuitive desires (as far as creative intelligence goes). This means I have engaged, informally, diverse communities, in diverse situations (from pow wows to ghetto intensities, to settler sanctuaries). This includes “arting myself” in increasingly inspired ways in more than 20 cities and other localities since 2003. See my website for more examples: www.angelfire.com/folk/magixnartz/ flouggindex.html. Amongst us, we have many who seem to uncritically buy into mainline cult-ure, so Morgensen is right to challenge us there. But what it becomes, I think, is pressure to conform to chain-of-command strictures, a.k.a. political correctness. Yes, many of we settlers have been dumbed down, and many who basically amount to “weekend warrior faes” do seem to engage in cultural appropriation-type actions. And it is easy to view ourselves when walking in the other’s proverbial moccasins. And yet, on the other hand, if we look at ourselves “radi- cal’s radically” deeply (rather than as we’ve been programmed, ready to return, “in formation” to social givens, subordinated fully and sheepishly to neo-colonial imperatives), we can begin to see who we really are!—i.e. people daring beyond The Box, people in various stages of champion standings, people who are equals or soon-becoming equals to Indigenous depth being and seeing. In this light, I wish to promote the value of strategies of inclusiveness as far as our unsettling champion capabil- ity. Strategies which could well include ceremonies we give ourselves permission to create (not merely copying others). Of course, many of us are already doing this sort of thing (if only touching on our potential) and that’s why, I think, the Radical Faeries have such a large draw. Secondly, some excellent excerpts and food for thought from a blog called www.unsettlingamerica.wordpress.com: “These metaphors of angels, demons and zombies are a way of naming three, interconnected ways of relating to colo- nialism among settlers. They seem opposed or antagonistic, but they actually reinforce each other. They’ve become deeply ingrained habits, and they make it difficult to have meaningful and transformative conversations about colonialism, let alone take meaningful action. “The call-out is: “a method for either revealing privileged, bigoted or problematic behaviors to others publicly or to attempt to reveal to an individual their own mistakes and hopefully trigger some accountability.” It has roots in mass- movement-based, anti-racist, anti-oppressive contexts as a tactic to challenge Upsettlers and Monarchists who are being oppressive. I am not saying that calling someone out makes you a Manarchist. I’ve been called out, and it has been scary, unsettling, transformative, and effective. “Manarchists don’t have a toolkit for engaging with Upset- tlers and Monarchists: they only have the call-out, and the call-out is a sledgehammer. Sometimes it can be effective, but if it’s the only tool in the arsenal, pretty soon people will get tired of being bashed, and they’ll probably get Upsettled. It’s like throwing rocks at zombies: it may feel good, but it just riles them up, and remember: the Upsettler zombie disease is extremely contagious. “Vulnerability and accountability: these folks have culti- vated a way of having conversations about colonialism where they don’t set themselves up as the ones with the Truth. It doesn’t mean that they don’t challenge colonial attitudes; it means they try to do it in a way that opens conversation and questions, rather than shutting them down. They make it clear that they’re questioning, they’re doing their own learning, and they haven’t figured it out. They’re also open to being challenged, by Indigenous people and settlers, and they learn more because folks feel like it’s safe to challenge them. This also makes them more effective allies of Indigenous peoples. “But how do you get there, if talking about it (or writing about it in an essay) isn’t enough? “I don’t know.” My note: I feel that I do (this based in my numerous intense personal spirituality), at least for creatively inclined folks with gutsy desires to speak our truths somehow and no matter what. Excerpt continues: “And they approach new conversations with compassion, even if they’ve heard the same colonial responses (“we can’t go back”—“it’s not my fault”—“it’s human nature”) a hundred times before. The burden of engaging with Upsettlers and Monarchists shouldn’t fall to Indigenous peoples. This means it’s up to us as settlers to educate our- selves and engage with others wherever we are. If people are unreceptive or dismissive, the most effective settlers tend not to reject them as colonizers, at least not at the outset; they see the intervention as part of a longer process, and try to leave space for future conversations. “Manarchism is simpler than vulnerability. Manarchists can often become their own little cliques, in their own pious corner. It’s easier to have a radical anti-colonial circle-jerk than to engage with Monarchists and Upsettlers who might be angry or dismissive. Demons and zombies can be scary, and angels often like hanging out with each other (and hitting each other with hammers). “The Manarchist possesses us, and we attack others to show that we’re good, that we know. We bash people with sledgehammers without considering pliers, or a flashlight, or a nail file. Upsettlers and Monarchists shriek in horror, and we mistake this noise for transformation. But upsettlement is not unsettlement.” See the entire article: http://unsettlingamerica.wordpress. com/2013/02/28/monstrous-settlers-zombies-demons-and- angels. —Chuck d. ziNg6 RFD 154 Summer 2013 L awrence Brose, the respected Buffalo-based experimental filmmaker and arts administrator (former director of CEPA Gallery), and a longtime close colleague and friend of mine, is being pros- ecuted—mistakenly and unjustly, I believe—on very serious federal charges, allegedly related to what the U.S. Attorney is attempting to characterize as “pos- session of child pornography.” As serious as actual crimes of that nature can be (which Lawrence’s case emphatically is not), there is nonetheless a lot of hyperbole and even hysteria around the whole subject in American society, much as surrounded witchcraft in Puritan New England in the 1600s and red-baiting and blacklisting in the 1940s and ‘50s, as well as considerable prosecutorial overzealousness and overreaching, leading in many cases to misdi- rected prosecutions such as this one. As misplaced and groundless as this prosecution is, however, the reality is that in recent years, the social hysteria and stigma surrounding this subject, compounded by prosecutorial heavy-handedness, have created an atmosphere of such intimidation that the vast majority (indeed, nearly all) of those who fall under its too-broad net—including the in- nocent such as Lawrence Brose—often feel them- selves as having no alternative but to plead guilty, either because of the probability of being found guilty in the end anyway, even when one is not (the hysteria factor again), or because of the prohibitive costs to even an innocent defendant (especially an artist or person working in the nonprofit art world) of mounting an effective defense against the deep (practically bottomless) pockets of federal prosecu- tors, pockets filled by taxpayers’ money. The very fact that Lawrence has defied the odds stacked so high against him by maintaining his innocence so publicly and without the shame that silences so many faced with such charges, by refusing to take the easier route of pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit, at great risk and expense to himself, at a time when he has already been deprived of his livelihood, is in itself, at least to me, the strongest testimony to his innocence. As a member of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) Defense Fund, I spent much of my personal time over a period of nearly four years, from 2004 to 2008, helping to raise funds and other kinds of support (moral support, press coverage, personal testimonials, etc.) to defend Buffalo artist and art professor Steve Kurtz against very different but equally unfounded charges, in Steve’s case of being a “bioterrorist.” Actually, Steve’s federal indict- ment came down to charges of mail and wire fraud pertaining to a contractual technicality rather than any actual “bioterrorism,” but there is no doubt in my mind that it was because of his and his collabo- rators’ political radicalism and art activism against GMOs and biological weapons development that he was targeted. In other words, the U.S. Attorney’s office pursued its very tenuous case against Steve from at first purely political (suppression of dis- sent)—then face-saving—motives, until the case was ultimately resolved when newly assigned federal Judge Joseph Arcara (newly assigned to Kurtz’s case, that is, replacing the original judge) very wisely saw how baseless the case was (and had been all along) and dismissed it as “insufficient on its face.” But although the case never even made it to trial, it still cost Steve, his codefendant, and their support- ers nearly a quarter of a million dollars up until the point of dismissal—not to mention years of career disruption for Steve in his work as a practicing artist in his professional prime. What’s more, the case ruined the health of Steve’s more elderly and already ailing collaborator, the distinguished scientist Bob Ferrell, who, unlike Steve, was tragically browbeaten into accepting a plea bargain, i.e., admitting to guilt on lesser charges, too weak physically to hold out, as Steve did, until total vindication could be won by the eventual dismissal of the case. I urge all my colleagues in the arts, and all who care about personal privacy rights, artistic freedom, and civil liberties, to support Lawrence Brose, finan- cially and otherwise, in his own brave battle to hold out against this unmerited and relentless prosecu- tion, which has already taken an enormous toll on him and those near and dear to him professionally, personally, and financially. —In Solidarity, Edmund Cardoni, Executive Director, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center Tax deductible donations to Lawrence’s defense can be made through the National Center for Reason and Justice. http://ncrj.org/lawrence-brose/ NCRJ works for child-protective laws based on science, fairness, and good sense, and supports people who are falsely accused or convicted of crimes against children. Also, please visit the defense fund website http:// lawrencebroselegaldefensefund.com. The website continues to update with supportive testimonials and contributions to the art sale to benefit Law- rence’s defense. w Lawrence Brose RFD 154 Summer 2013 7 It is always twilight in one’s cell as it is always twilight in one’s heart. And in the sphere of thought, no less than in the sphere of time, motion is no more. Oscar Wilde, 1895 De Profundis Film still from Lawrence’s film De Profundis, with Agnes de GarronNext >