A more complete history of the fresh Lika Braz octopus ink to follow.
Category Archives: DIY and Maker Culture
Inky gods’ stray musings from the Prophat of the Church of More Men…
Urban Ore Men’s Toilet Art – Do You Give a Flying Fuck?
Art at Urban Ore in Oakland. We were shopping for a grate for a koi pond cover and a urinal for the Willie Walker memorial Fountain. Found the latter not the former. “Fountain” is a Duchampian euphemism. Water boy historian Walker had a final request. More on that later. For more on this flying fucker, click here.
A Martyr in the Archive: The Life and Afterlife of Harvey Milk’s Suit
The Suit in which Harvey Milk was Assassinated. Collection: GLBT Historical Society. Photo: Dan Nicoletta
Happy Birthday, Harvey. You would have been 84 years old. And yesterday was the 35th anniversary of the White Night Riots. The Texan was there and had this to say about that: “I was there. Much has changed. If I were in San Francisco today I would throw Flowers at City Hall!”
Hey, Hippie Birdy, Harvey. Here’s something for you: words, words, words…now glowing pixels maybe making a mark in the brightly-lit on-line world of today. No: no apologies.
What is writing? Staining sheets. While écriture is understood as operating on a symbolic level, the physical act of mark-making is grounded in materiality. Ink on paper, cum on the bedspread and bloody clothing of all sorts share the pull of the gaze…
Just a preview. To download the pdf of the article A Martyr in the Archive: the Life and Afterlife of Harvey Milk’s Suit click here: JonesMartyrArchives
Posted in Activism, Art and Artists, Collecting, Crime, DIY and Maker Culture, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., History, Human Rights, Men, Photography, San Francisco, SCANDAL: Politics, Crime, Revolution and More., Scholarship, Signage, Strange Holidays, Street Art, Grafitti, etc.
Tagged 35th anniversary, Activism, Archive, Dan Nicoletta, Exhibition, Gay, Gay Museum, GLBT Historical Society, Harvey Milk, History, Martyr in the Archive, No Apologies, Photography, politics, San Francisco, Scholarship, Violence, White Night Riots
Shop Sears…really! Young painter Justin Sears cool quirky big art on wood.
Originally from California, 24-year old Justin Sears lives in NYC now. He does fairly large-scale realistic illustrative pieces on wood. No color splash, here, and no wall-to-wall paint. The narrow color range is all in the foreground, while the wood supports provide all the negative space. Subject matter is men, myth, masculinity with a distinctly surreal edge. His big portraits, like this one of a hot ash dude, are fairly strait-forward, while his historical and re-workings of classic themes bring most of the twists. He describes his work as a “masculine mix of industrialized pop art on organic surfaces.” See more at his website. Oh, he designs leather clothing, too. Cool!
Hey, Daddy…nice shirt!
Hey, Daddy! Ink to the People does crowdsourced fundraising with produced-to-order t-shirts. Design a shirt, select a sales target and date, and promote. The more you do, the higher the percentage that goes to the cause. Cool.
This one honors the life of “Daddy” Alan Selby, aka Mr. S. and “The Mayor of Folsom Street” An exhibit based on his life will be held in the Summer of 2014 at The Center for Sex and Culture in San Francisco. A book based on auto/biographical material will be published in December, 2014. In the spring of 2015, the archive of historical materials from his life and work will travel to the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago, where it will be permanently housed. This fundraising souvenir t-shirt is supporting The Mayor of Folsom Street project. These shirts cost $20 each, come in assorted sizes, are made in the U.S.A. Order here.
Posted in Activism, AIDS, Collecting, DIY and Maker Culture, England, History, Leather, Men, Obituary, Photography, San Francisco, Signage, Street Art, Grafitti, etc., Subcultures
Tagged Alan Selby, Autobiography, BDSM, Daddy Alan, Exhibit, Folsom Street, Fundraiser, Gay, History, LA&M, Leather, Mayor of Folsom Street, Mr.S Leather, T-Shirt
Or the Stick…
January 11, 2014 in ANIMALS: Human and otherwise..., Art and Artists, Collecting, Comics, DIY and Maker Culture, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., JoJo Mendoco, San Francisco, Signage, Street Art, Grafitti, etc.
Tagged Art, Bunny, Carrot, Gay, JoJo Mendoco, Rabbit, Stick, sticker
‘Burban Street Art. Really!
Suburban, that is! For Bourbon St. And boys showing their dicks for beads click here. These Novy boots are knocking sox outside The World Famous Turf Club, Hayward’s Gay bar, one of the oldest in the SF Bay Area. Post WWII – 1946. Welcome homo, boys!
Cool pink t-Rex. Artist unknown. Drawing on map. In a Chronicle box. I think this is the same artist who did the yellow Dr. Seuss fish in the next medley.
Do you give a flying fuck? JoJo Mendoco does. Yellow fish? Maybe.
Posted in ANIMALS: Human and otherwise..., Art and Artists, Comics, DIY and Maker Culture, East Bay, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., iPhone, JoJo Mendoco, Men, Photography, Signage, Street Art, Grafitti, etc., Subcultures
Tagged Boots, Culture, Flying Fuck, Gay, Hayward, Jeremy Novy, JoJo Mendoco, Street Art, Suburban, T. Rex
Art Peppers! That’s hot. Nice packages, too…
100% faggot-farmed heirloom peppers. Tis the harvest season. Feasting with friends and family. Hand-made labels. Lo-tech. Sharpie markers on postal stickers.
Posted in Art and Artists, DIY and Maker Culture, Food, Gardening, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., iPhone, Mendocino County, Photography, Signage, Street Art, Grafitti, etc.
Tagged Art, Farming, gardening, Gay, Home Grown, Labels, Peppers, Rural, Signage, Stickers, sustainable, Twisted Timbers
CSC to publish Buzz Bense Safe Sex Poster Collection
SF AIDS Foundation
Center for Sex and Culture’s Exhibition Catalog of Safer Sex Posters
The Center for Sex and Culture, located in San Francisco, is publishing an art exhibition catalog on our safer sex poster collection in conjunction with an exhibition displaying these posters at our gallery. The 2-month exhibition opens on November 8, 2013.
Buzz Bense, sex activist and graphic designer, donated over 150 unique posters to CSC last year. Bense has collected and produced safer-sex posters aimed at members of the LGBTQ community since the mid-1980s. Circulated at a time when the community was particularly hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, these posters comprise a striking aesthetic collection of graphically innovative design that explicitly visualizes homosexuality, diverse LGBTQ communities and safer-sex activism.
SF AIDS Foundation
Because of the cultural and historical significance of the posters, we are inspired to share these images and their story with people in the Bay Area and beyond. It is easy to forget details of recent history, especially when related to sexual history because it is less likely to be preserved. This project aims to preserve and share some of what might easily be lost. The book will contain over 20 color reproductions of posters, an introduction by CSC’s executive director, Dr. Carol Queen, and an essay by the New York based art historian and curator, Alex Fialho, and an interview between Buzz and Alex about the history of the collection. Alex has spent time in San Francisco and New York researching and interviewing the people who created these posters as activists, artists, community organizers, members of health organizations and independent graphics designers.
The collection consists of posters, primarily from San Francisco, but also encompasses other cities throughout the United States. It also includes international representations from Australia, Germany, Denmark, and Canada. This historical archive presents the visual means through which LGBTQ people passed on life saving information about safer-sex practices during the height of a health epidemic that continues to affect us today.
We are confident the exhibition and book will function as both an art historical survey of the importance of this collection of aesthetically beautiful and functionally informative posters as well as an educational endeavor engaging the LGBTQ community and beyond.
Brothers Network, SF
These posters do more than chart the tragedy of an epidemic, of an outsider community reeling from grief, loss, and the decimation of a blooming culture of sexual liberation. The history of these posters is a story of a fight against stigma, hatred and ignorance; of a community stepping up to take care of its own; of finding a way to extinguish fear and build pride and self-esteem; and of devoted efforts of committed activists to communicate a path to health and survival. -Buzz Bense
Please help FUND this worthy project – the inaugural book of CSC, and one we hope will be the first of many. Kickstarter campaign HERE.
Posted in Activism, AIDS, Collecting, DIY and Maker Culture, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., History, Men, Photography, San Francisco, Scholarship
Tagged Activism, AIDS, Alex Fialho, Archive, Art, Buzz Bense, Carol Queen, Center for Sex and Culture, Condom, HIV, Photography, Poster, Safe Sex, San Francisco, Sex
Roots of Motive Power – Steam-punky sights seen at Kinetic Carnivale
Decorative and informative, this fine ursine railman invited us up into his hot greasy steam engine for a tour. Old #45 on the Skunk Train route. Please note that showing face on Gay Highwaymen doesn’t mean these guys are gay. It means we are. Ok? Thanks, Man!
Old number 15 looking at old number 45. And vice-versa. Mystics and quantum mechanics Noh: the eye with which I view God (or the multiverses) is the same eye with which the Universe (or the gods) view me. Whistle starts the races. All part of the Kinetic Carnivale. Willis, in Mendocino County, California.
U.S.S. Yellow Submarine. Handcar races. All human-powered rail transport. Some are funky. Others are fast.
Do they call this a glory-hole? They do with glass kilns. This is the vent in the coal-bin on Engine 45. Water and oil to the rear.
Apple Jack handcar and 4-man crew. Handcar races. Best hauler. Not the fastest – but rugged and strong and quick enough to travel and pull what you need!
Sun Leather. Custom boots, hats, belts, etc. Artisan at work.
Finished product. Hand-made boot.
Poplock Holmes. Chap-hopper and Steampunk entertainer extrordinaire.
19th century metal stamp press. 21st century operator.
Cute boys playing with their balls.
Better a century-plus ago than never…
The Train Singer…
Posted in DIY and Maker Culture, GAY GAZE: Visual Culture, Photos, Art, Comics, Film, Objects, etc..., iPhone, Leather, Men, Mendocino County, Music, Photography, Strange Holidays, Subcultures
Tagged Culture, DIY, Gay, Handcar, Kinetic Carnivale, Leather, Maker, Mendocino County, Poplock Holmes, Railroad, Roots of Motive Power, Skunk Train, Steampunk, Sun Leather, Willits
The Gay Highwaymen 