want to exhibit your work and take home a share of the tip jar?

First up, this isn't a traditional gallery situation. The organisation that I work with, Punk Monk Propaganda, are teaming up with Sydney bands Hailer, The Prayer Circle, Driftwood Drones and Wade Jackson on 17th October for an event at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville called Born In The Doorway. The idea is to extend people beyond their normal, passive, gigpig selves and create a mutual space where creativity can roam free.

It occurred to me that while we're herding this captive, creative audience into The Factory, we should also expose them to some more polished local colour. Which is why we sweetly offer a space in the room to your wares.

You can exhibit your work however you like- mount, project, set up a stall, superglued onto beer coasters, whatever you please. I am meeting up with the AV dudes at The Factory on Thursday morning, though, so if you've got any special requirements please give me a heads up so that you're not disappointed when you rock up on the night.

Importantly, this will also be a way for you to put your cap out and busk a little. We know as creative types ourselves that often you slave away on your work to not get much back monetarily from the people who get to enjoy it- and to be fair, your avid fans might simply not know how they can give back to you. We encourage you to shake the tip jar around in front of your work on the night, and without promising that you'll be living like kings the day afterwards, we do promise a few shy smiles when kindred spirits throw their church change into your pencilcase.

All the details of the event are in the link above- get in contact with me to reserve your spot.

Feel free to repost/forward this on to any other artists you know.

Big love,

KT

punks do it mushroom style

Last Saturday night, Ron Mann's excellent nature porn documentary KNOW YOUR MUSHROOMS played to a sold-out Red Rattler theatre as part of the Possible Worlds Canadian Film Festival. Big love to the Festivalists for inviting Punk Monk to throw together the installations for the evening. A playground like the Rattler is a treat for us, from its industrial warehouse street to its velvety lounge chairs.

On a day like last Saturday, you can find yourself on the floor of the Corner Shop studio cutting out giant fly agarics out of cardboard and covering them in alfoil while listening to Andy throw together an emergency psychadelic playlist. In the room next door people frantically fold lovingly complex zines, and the other Punks are out on wild mushroom chases and black light adventures.

Then somehow, by the time darkness falls, you have fantastical humans- most of whom you'd only met on the internet until they rocked up- turning an industrial streetscape into a glowstick accented circus fireball while video and liquid projections pulse from the road, past Clare's mushroom village textile explosion through to Michelle's experimental visual soundscape inside.















The images without Susie's watermark are Tanya Hoang's. The rest are courtesy of Susie Stavert. You can see some of Andy Finn's fine photography from Saturday on Victoria's blog awolmonk.

lynching

Before July smacked me about the head and sucked my dazed form into into a seemily 24 hour a day work vacuum, Teddy and I threw a David Lynch inspired installation together lovingly for Kino Kabaret in our capacity as punk monk space magicians. Not that we had to use much punkdust to make the velvet-draped Red Rattler look Lynchy. Dermot and I also got up to some loopy video antics with tuneful performers MA on the night.

The evening also featured a trippy installation film from Dermot called in plastic, rapt. It's not available on the interwebs yet but here are some taster frames.





p.s if you haven't been following David Lynch's Interview Project, I suggest you get into. Think of it as reality television, but with interesting characters and less sadistic humiliation rituals.

the cradle, the jet plane and the wonderlab

On Sunday Punk Monk Propaganda had an epic digs-shift from our Warehouse cradle to the big-girl's bed that is The Corner Shop. Only a block down from the old space, The Corner Shop smells sweetly of new paint and possibility. We moved the earth with shopping trolleys and discovered a new toy in the paperbark climbing tree just outside the back door. Vegetarian sausages and a few dark bruises later and the well-exerted punks and kinoites warmed the new home quietly with a few beers, deciding to leave the first truly crazy sex party for Night Two. Victoria and Davey snapped away over the day- feast your eyes over at Vic's blog.

Monday was the re-scheduled Kino #24. Old and new faces sheltered from the rain in the Sydney Trapeze School and snuggled in to get a cozy hit of the latest from the Sydney kinoites. I was on bar duty for some of the night so missed a few flicks when I couldn't quite absorb what was happening out of the corner of my eye. There were three Punk Monk films shown, all with a spicy Adelaidian flavour from our recent south west adventure: Dermot's Haiku 4, and Victoria's fleshy easter treat Chick Addict and experimental mobile flick Jet Plane, second in the Loves Me Not series and completely shot using mobile capture devices. I also loved Ang's film Sadness Breakfast Tea.



We've still got access to the newly emptied Warehouse, and so are transforming the former studio into a psychadelic intermedia wonderlab for Algae Rhythm 0.02: PSYCHOCHEMICAL. I've co-curated this one with Alex Papasavvas, and as head alchemists we're especially excited to start swapping chemicals with you all on May 4. If you're interested in coming along to Algae Rhythm, then drop me a line and some guestlist magic can happen. If you're one of the first 30 to RSVP on facebook then you get a personalised copy of our Algae Rhythm collectable zine.

Algae Rhythm 0.02: PSYCHOCHEMICAL

May 4, 2009
The Warehouse, Alexandria (opposite the Australian Technology Park)

Flamenco a go go

I'm curating the next Algae Rhythm event with Alex Papasavvas, and at the moment we're on the hunt for flamenco dancers for a light show installation. The brief is below- if you live in Sydney and this sounds like the kind of crazy stage you want to be stomping all over, let me know on the deets at the bottom of the brief.

Algae Rhythm 0.02 (May 4, 2009)- Dancer’s Brief

Punk Monk Propaganda’s second intermedia gallery night Algae Rhythm 0.02 will focus on lost organics and found vibrations, and aims to reconnect the humans in the room with the biology that drives their innate need for creation.

A central feature of this evening will be a liquid light installation. In the heady days of psychedelia, liquid light shows were an integral part of the experience of the music. In the early experiments at the shows of psychedelic musicians such as the Grateful Dead and Big Brother and the Holding Company, the liquid in the projector (coloured oils) was impacted on directly by the vibrations of the music. We’re hoping to achieve a similar effect with the vibrations created not primarily through the music, but rather through the dancers.

We will have a small, low stage set up for amplification so that the dancer’s steps will be creating the vibrations that impact the light show.

We are particularly interested in these dancers being familiar with the flamenco style, as it is given to the kind of loud stomping that we need to make our projector work. We are very open to co-curating with the dancers involved, and feel that the dancers should be as much a part of the creative process as the projectionists.

When considering this invitation to participate, feel free to start thinking about the following aspects of the installation:

MOVEMENT: you’re welcome to make the dance as free form, traditional, unrehearsed, or experimental as you wish. You are the expert in this form of expression. Draw on your craft’s heritage and use it to express your creativity.

MUSIC: while you’ll be dancing in a flamenco style, feel free to experiment with the music that you’re dancing to. It doesn’t have to be traditional.

COSTUME: performance through costume design has always been an integral part of the Punk Monk story. Feel free to be as traditional, creative, non traditional or bizarre as you see fit. We create new meanings by fusing the confused- you’re encouraged to play.

Algae Rhythm nights are by their nature small, organic gatherings of creatively supportive participants (max 30 people). So whilst you will be performing, so will everyone else in the room. Our approach is that all participants walk in as artists.

If you do choose to play with us, you’ll be required on the evening of Monday May 4, as well as for a couple of hours for some testing before the actual event.

For any questions, clarifications, explanations or distillations, please feel free to contact Punk Monk curators Alex Papasavvas and Kate Taylor directly through the details below:



e: kate@punk-monk.com
m: 0466 452 919
a: The Warehouse, 84b Henderson Road, Alexandria

Algae Rhythm

Punk Monk is launching a brand new night of inspiration and intrigue called Algae Rhythm. Do let us know if you want to come and play with us under the blue green moon.






The official speil, penned heartrendinlyohso beautifully by Victoria and Clare:


Punk Monk Propaganda's new interactive monthly one night only gallery is on the launch pad, ready for take-off.

An organic evolution partially influenced by progressive experimental thinkers including Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace and Andy Warhol. ALGAE RHYTHM is a juxtaposition of the ever-changing & dynamic world of colliding interfaces and the pulsing fabric of visually undefinable zeros and ones which mesh it all together.

Building from the traditional idea of the "film screening" night where like minded film & art lovers congregate feeding their passion for the screen, ALGAE RHYTHM, seeks new meaning and method. An informal exhibition of any form of art/expression/discussion, we aim to experiment with new or forgotten ways of discovering, sharing and creating.

Each event will feature a curated film screening in symbiosis with other activities. Each curator should consider an idea behind their event, which could be a platform for a pseudo exhibition using many art forms (photography, music, video art, short film, podcast, science experiment, group project...) or could focus on a particular theme or director or a topic of interest. It should not be limited to any traditional ideas of a generic film screening and in the same way not limiting to what individuals can bring to/take from the night. However, the main idea is to create an involved and stimulating night and to explore new terrain.

Unfortunately there is limited space in The Warehouse, and the only fair way to select people is the 'ole 'First in Best Dressed' method. So RSVP ASAP and be one of the two dozen!

Please bring a delicious edible dish and grog (if you are so inclined) to share.

If anyone wants to contribute/curate a future event the world is your oyster. No idea is too big or too small. The connections don't necessarily have to make sense. Somewhere there's a possible world that they do.

"I never am really satisfied that I understand anything; because, understand it well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand about the many connections and relations which occur to me, how the matter in question was first thought of or arrived at, etc., etc."Ada Lovelace

after the summer

Things have been percolating softly all through the blistering heat of January and the disappointing rain of February. The very-nearly band found a drummer, there were sweet summer romances popping up like mushrooms, and punk monk continued to coalesce under the warehouse swelter.

We made this in the rain on Valentine's Day:


You Are Not Bleeding from punk monk propaganda on Vimeo.


It showed at Kino #23, alongside another punk monk film, Fakir Love, which Victoria filmed in the Knitting Factory in New York and did mostly on her lonesome (sound extra editing credits go rightly to Andy, a new punk). I love this little film. World Zombie Day documentaries with flying suspension dwarves get me every single time.


Fakir Love from punk monk propaganda on Vimeo.

The Crunch

I've decided that due to The Crunch, and exchange rates and other factors, that I can't make it over to DC in January. Which sucks.

But on the upside I scored a free trip up to Byron in January instead.

Life lesson learnt today: Recession = free hippy holidays.

Punk Monk Propaganda is taking off too- crazy US distribution deals, an awesome new partnership with the very funky Scream Kings, a radio show, and a galaxy of really exciting projects for the new year. I'm so much more comfortable when I have all of these moving and shifting horizons, they make it easier to live in the future.

Matt Ravier blogged a really great interview with Vic recently that explains everything we've been up to and where we're heading. It's a long read but a good read.

Dermot and I are screening the emergency film that we had to write yesterday morning in the cab and shoot five minutes after writing when the brothel fell through AGAIN. I'm still really passionate about our original 1 minute silent sex film idea and hopefully we can use the idea in the coming months. Pending a few compression hiccups it should be screening at the sold-out Young People F**king tomorrow night with other kino 1MSSFs. Our film is called Afterglow.

Here are some screencaps of the film. The actress is Donna Hogan.

happy bar wench on vanity

working the end of fashion gig tonight. I've been strapped to the pod for the last couple of days, so dancing behind the bar is going to be a well-deserved groove.

Shoot days for Miara, the narrative peice written by my favourite brasilian expat have been settled on, as well- first week in October. I think I've had sufficient rest from filming. After the insane first six months of this year, I needed a break. But I'm keen to get my AD boots back on and manage the bejezus out of you punk monk folk- and the ring in crew too. No one here is safe.

And while I do see the irony in saying this in a blog- I thought I was self-absorbed until I saw this this morning:

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Kind of reminds me of the time that I left my new digital camera alone at home with my old flatmate. When I came home, there were 265 photos of her (the total capacity of the memory card), all taken from arms length. Apparently she didn't know how to delete them. I reckon she just ran out of space to take more.

media in the pub

I've been to a couple of conferences this year through the podjob that have discussed the bloggers v citizen journalists v traditional journalists. Usually they descend into petty name calling. Apparently these events don't happen often enough for everyone to have their say, because there was a whole new public rant night yesterday evening. I went along before the production meeting with my punksters. I was expecting more of the same old rivalry between content producers, but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. There was only one dude who thought calling non-journalists 'morons' was the most productive way forward, and it was met by a satisfyingly comic "oooooooohhh". I also dug the fact that there were a lot of online entrepreneurs there with an equal voice to the journos. It was refreshing to hear all of these voices within the one conversation.

Now I'm not a journalist, a professional blogger or a citizen journalist. The podjob is in more of a service industry where I'm expected to give a professional assessment of the media to government and business. My job wouldn't exist if journalists were always fair and unbiased. So I find it pretty entertaining when journos sound off about how anyone other than a journalist writing content is diving in untrained, uneducated and highly biased. While the bias is definitely there, and is often more pronounced than in print media, I don't agree with the suggestion that the writers are uneducated. Oftentimes they are highly experienced in their field.

As for training, I think that there are multiple signs pointing towards the need to teach kids journalistic ethics from the word go as part of their civics lessons.

Later, went on to pow-pow about the music video. When I got there, I found out that the project had been canned momentarily, so we started rapping about a new narrative magical realism short that we'll pick up next month. No camping for that one, which is way too awesome.

My four days "off" weren't as hermit as I'd been hoping. I didn't sleep in my bed once. Too many parties. I'm up a couple of new friends but down my white jacket- I loved that thing, and some klepto took advantage and lifted it from the Eaton St party on saturday night. I'm hoping that seeing as we all have mutual friends involved, that they would have the COMMON HUMAN DECENCY to NOT BE LAME and return my jacket.

no time for polaroids

So I haven't been writing lately because I haven't had time to do anything that I do for myself. The podjob has been very stimulating. Like prolonged electroshock therapy. Or having day-old bruises punched.

Actual-eye, I haven't written since kino kabaret. Fun, but not as cool as last time, when I met all the punk monk crew. This time was far more intense, making more, but (for me, anyway) making less, because what you create isn't really of quality when you have less that 40 hours to produce something and you decide that working that week would be an awesome idea. I was more burn out than fire of inspire. But the up-side was that I got to work with a bunch of different people every day, so at least I met up with some great people. The parties were rad.

We had a housewarming. Lara nearly called the law on Kaitlyn. Sometimes I feel like the babysitter and I need to stop taking on guilt when other people are creating very bad vibes. I've just been so on edge because of podjob pressure that I can't take shit from friends, and my skin is thinning with every hour I don't spend in bed. Not fair to everyone around me, because I don't even have the energy to get mad, I just feel real hurt and walk away real sad about how selfish people can be. Which doesn't make the world better in any way, and I'm just as bad as them for being silent. That's not all about my flatmates, by the way. It's about everyone, everywhere. I just can't cope with humans the last few weeks.

My mind feels really disconnected from my surroundings at the moment, and I'm ignoring all my body's pleas to slow the motherfucking train down. I need a break. Need to go to the desert and scream into the sand.

In some good news, we got shortlisted for the experimental witch. Would love to show you the trailer, but AJ won't give me the link because he thinks it looks so shit in 4:3. So in twelve days of finger crossing, we should know our fate on that one.

Did have time for just one polaroid. I envy Raen's bejewelled camera that develops so magically in front of your eyes. Images without screens are so human. In the good way.

Corrupt Hieroglyphics

So I stayed up until 3am making the call sheet a work of organisational art.

Then I find out this morning that the fucking 90 day trial on my flatmate's laptop only sent corrupt hieroglyphics to everyone and I have to try to do the whole thing today in my lunch hour. I know I've been a fragile sooky la la this week, but that was just a cruel twist, Computer Jesus.

On the upside, this is all in aid of the rather enormous amount of fun we'll be having making a delectably demented short film piece with whacked performance artists Surgical Sideshow tonight. At midnight no less, coz that's apparently how the sideshow freaks roll.

Surgical Sideshow are like a nightmarish silent children's pantomime show, where the oversized demons like to perform random acts of surgery and sometimes eat foam entrails. Pretty jazzed to be working with them. And of course my Punk-Monk Propaganda production tribe.