I didn’t like museums during the early post-COVID reopenings because instead of relaxing me they reminded me of the sisyphean battle of trying to run one in the era. But even once reservations/mask/vaccine signage was finally over the art was largely boring. Grant-offwritten 2020 protest schmuck and Blendermade blockchain bait. Instagram post as gallery mount.
Then last week I stopped by New Museum and I think Good Weird might be back.
In the lobby gallery behind the nonextant coffeeshop is Wynnie Mynerva with what New Museum claims is the largest painting they’ve ever displayed. Odd claim. It’s in two parts and I don’t really get it. But behind the painting (through the split between the two parts) is a slender polished pedestal displaying about 1cm of their surgically-removed lower rib.
Those who have visited my apartment late to hang out after certain St. Marks Comedy shows or catsat for me may have discovered in the bookshelves I Am The Strength of Art, a rare photo and interview book by Shannon Larratt documenting ModCon 1999: the extreme body modification convention. Tucked in the endpaper is a VCD (not DVD, VideoCD: the format karaoke machines run on, with 240p video) of live surgeries performed during the event. I have not yet watched the full thing.
The community lives on quietly at bme.com and a few other secret places, though they recently suffered a major server crash and are slowly working their way back. The founder, Shannon Larratt, killed himself after writing a beautiful letter. bme.com was (and for some, I believe, still is) one of very few seriously trusted place to get real information on sex reassignment surgeries. There are great discussions on it. It also documents voluntary limb amputations. Nipple removals. Experimental implants. Some just visit to lurk. Some go just for tattoo inspiration. Some thrive off of performing the surgeries: I’ve heard some of the surgeons who perform eunich surgery will do it free if they can eat the testicles after: a delicacy. It is a real community economy.
I sent the BME folks the rib, some liked it, many didn’t. Is it real? New Museum (and Deborah the security guard I chatted with a while ) both—unprompted—told me yes. I don’t have much of way to verify but she did also sew her vagina nearly shut.
¶. Through September 17: Wynnie Mynerva’s rib
New Museum, Manhattan, NYC
Also head up to the 4th floor for some disturbing machines writhing in and wringing out mud in a sweaty greenroom by Mire Lee, and perfect recreations of vernacular nothingspaces by Pepón Osorio on the 2rd, including an abandoned Philadelphia elementary school. Plus a bomb casing as temple bell on the 3rd.
More on Philly below.
¶. Tonight 7–10pm: Open VCR Night
Wonderville, Brooklyn, NYC
Every last Monday. Come and insert tapes. Stream and yell into the void. I am bringing some odd stuff. Recently sanctioned Twitch streamer FORT90 will be there.
¶. Imminently: A beautiful dark heritage (a historical overview of blackletter in Mexican)
Internet
Consider a OVCRN beforeparty with type & letters. Part of the Type@Cooper Lecture Series. Hoping this picks up where Cholo Writing left off, or leaves off where it picks up? Honestly I have no idea but I love the connection between scribal blackletter and spraypainterly graffiti. If any of you have a print copy of Cholo Writing to trade, hit me up. Even François told me he’s fresh out.
¶. August & September: Geistlist Takes Philly
Media & Fishtown, PA
- My good artist/actor/acrobat friend Myr stars in an immersive horror set in 1927 at the grand opening of the Media Theatre. Read the news, attend, or fund.
- Cannonball is a tangential minifestival-within-Fringe in a converted Philadelphia brewery, where every night you can hang out in the frontyard with a campfire and decide which show on which floor of the building you want to see. The website might feature some HTML by me (it did last year), and September 29 & 30 will feature Family Acid Trip by Nathan Repasz (Jacob Ford’s birthday, 2021) and Hannah Mitchell (that one night after Saint Marks Comedy at my place).
¶. New film: Body Work (A Love Letter to the Most Beautiful People I Know)
Internet, filmed upstate I think
Eliana surprised Fripp with a lovely music video to his chipper pain/longing self/other love/hate song Body Work. Fripp reads Geistlist and so do you: art is in the room with us now.
¶. November 9: save the date
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Can’t say anything yet but if you're curious what comes after the City Beautiful and City Efficient, or if you like podcasts about your enemies made by your friends: keep this evening free and be near.
∞. Reading List
The perfect trilogy of narrative embedded correspondence journalism is finally all here.:
I'm linking to each’s original print edition layout in PDF for design and typesetting reasons, but hit me up if you want help finding HTML, audio, plaintext, or expanded versions; or if you want relevant interviews/debates with the authors)