Marcel DuChamp as Rrose Selavy
Rodgers Rocks Again
A couple days ago, I received an email from someone asking why it was that the online game
"Second Life" was so behind the times that it only had male or female avatars to choose from. Surely, gender polarity is an outdated concept here in the early 21st century - but the popular game might seem even more behind the times when looked at in context of Tim Rodger's outstanding transgender analysis of the work of Marcel DuChamp at the Museum of Fine Arts the other night...
I know, I keep writing about Rodger's lectures - you might think it's my only art activity all week - but when someone just keeps presenting old art with totally new twists on what they're about, even the most jaded art fag must stand up and take notice. If Rodger's interpretation are even mildly correct, Marcel DuChamp may have been more than just a drag queen - he may have been one of the earliest proponents of the kind of transgenderism that make pronouns like She and He totally irrelevant for today's cutting-edge
Queers.
A crucial key to seeing DuChamp's lens lies in the little known (to me anyway) fact that DuChamp had a female alter-ego named Rrose Selavy. Pronounced "Rose c'est La Vie" the name is believed to be a pun combining an anagram of "Eros" (Rose) with the French term meaning "Such is life." DuChamp appeared in public as Selavy on occasion, painted as "her" on occasion, signing her works as his alter-ego, and included her in at least two works - on a mock Eau de Toilette "product" that Rodgers
believes is a commentary on the separation of "scents" into male-female classifications and the commoditization of smell, aswell as in the sugar-cubes-in-a-box work
Why Not Sneeze Rrose Selavy?Commentary this interesting should *not* be missed, and while I pointed out last week that only those attending the lectures can get all the details, the truth of the matter is that Museum of New Mexico Creative Director David Rohr has been secretly audio-taping all of Tim's talks for podcasts that will soon be available on the MFA's website. As soon as they're posted, we (she and I) promise we'll let you know.
Indy Rock Showcase at Winning's
Coffee House on Harvard
Three killer indy bands will play an all-ages show this Saturday night at Winning's Coffee House on Harvard, starting at 7pm. Unit 7 Drain, Killgun and The Build have been promoting the crap out of their show on MySpace lately, and a large crowd is expected as each band has quite a following in the Duke City.
The Build offers atmospheric instrumental skate rock, and their track "Triumphal Arches" won Pick of the Week from
the New Mexico Bands profile on MySpace in June of this year.
Unit 7 Drain has a dream-pop feel to them, and they recently released a CD on their own label.
Killgun offers a rock'n'drum'n'bass fusion complete with the rarely heard sound of the glockenspiel!
Check all these cats out for just $5 at Winning's Coffee House on Harvard, across the street from UNM.
Indy Art on Baca Street
(Opening TONIGHT - Friday, October 20th)
Just as the crowd from Offsite begins to hit early middle age and starts going to bed early, (okay, I never showed at Offsite - but I *did* live there for awhile) along comes (finally!) a fresh new crop of young artists ready to take on the City Different with their new works. Comprised of thirteen locals, most of whom left Santa Fe for college and then returned, the
A.D. Collective all studied together under art teacher Gary Myers at Santa Fe High School.
Located in the space formerly occupied by the Box Gallery on Baca Street, the A.D. Collective's current show features piles of photographs taken by members. Creatively arranged throughout the spacious-yet-cozy gallery, the A.D. Collective's look'n'feel eschews Lucy Lippard's recent lament that there's no grungy youthful underground in Santa Fe. It's here! Or...it's back! And not a moment too soon. This show opens TONIGHT - it's happening as we speak, so if you're sitting at home RIGHT NOW, go check 'em out!
