Mon, 25 Mar 2002 12:32:49 -0500
From
"svedros@earthlink.net"
To
"kal@seemen.org"
Reply-To
svedros@earthlink.net
Subject
RE: Re: Burningman.com Artist
Your faithful editor,
Miss Sally
sally@burningman.com
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Profile Questions:
===How many years have you attended Burning Man?:
7
===Do you have an affiliation with a theme camp/village?:
no
===How were you introduced to Burning Man?:
John Law
===Please list your theme/playa art installations or performances (or significant project contributions). Please include a description of the project, and year that each project was on the playa:
1995:
SEEMEN: WAR EVERY DAY
WE BUILT A SMALL STRIP MALL AND RAN AROUND IN IT SETTING IT ON FIRE, SHOOTING OFF PROPANE CANNONS, FLAMETHROWERS, LET PEOPLE RUN MY MACHINES, CHASED OFF HIPPY DRUMMERS AND WERE PRETTY WARY OF THIS THING CALLED BURNING MAN BUT HAD A BLAST, IT RAINED A LOT THAT YEAR.
1996:
SEEMEN: HELCO
THIS IS THE YEAR WE CAME INTO OUR OWN.
We built the HELCO set. A mall with an actual church and preacher (Michael Peppe), a 10' Cactus for the CaCa Bell restaurant, strip clubs, STARFUCKS, a Hell gas station, Dana Albany's GIANT Smoking Joe Camel (Hernan Cortez sacrificed his smoke machine in just so Joe Camel could smoke himself right to his fiery end) and the usual fast food restaurants.
We built this 40' HELCO tower and thought of it as a bank tower. It WAS FULL OF WOOD, fireworks and PYRO JUST ITCHIN TO GO UP LIKE A 40' ROMAN CANDLE. My best buddy Flynn Mauthe masterminded the construction of it, what a gem. Mauthe ehhh.
John Law got chased up it (after shopping in our mall full of machines, cannons and flamethrowers) by Sirena Irwin and Tanya, our resident DOMINATRIXES. He lit it from the top, an absolutely death defying stunt, and flew down a zip line 500' only to crash through a wall of 40,000 volts of EXPLODING neon, landing right in the middle of the audience. That tower was engulfed when he jumped. It still takes my breath away when I think of it, there was 40 gallons of gas and fireworks hung from the top and it was full of wood, really. Everyone helped with this show, John Serrighotti, Kimmerick Smythe., Christian Ristow, Flynn Mauthe, Mykel Diaz, and one hunderd others.
1997:
SEEMEN: DADDY LOVE'S RESTAUANT
We made a restaurant with our buddy Flash. We built a structure, covered it with bones, a flamethrower at the entrance, filled it with couches and machines, blared Punk rock and country, we had a Virgin Mary statue spraying a cooling mist from her outstretched palms on the cooking masses, we had an air conditioner on a bale of hay under a wet blanket we turned on for select participants, a fire pit, The Backstabbing Couple, The Cornhuskers, a couple of flamethrower barbecues, we bought a case of Chivas Regal, countless kegs of beer, 1000's of burgers and dogs, assorted "sundries", Slabs of Ribs, Steaks, Turkeys, Tri Tip and on and on. New levels in total desire saturation.
Some people were terrified, wouldn't eat our stuff, some couldn't tell it was a restaurant, I think they just didn't trust us, that we could cook something healthy or good. Our restaurant design just looked to weird and scary to them. At night we had guest stars on stage. People like Donald from Three Day Stubble, lotsa drag queens, the Space Cowgirls, Scot Jenerik, drunk violent poets, ya know the gang. I did these phenomenal performances with Bob Madigan from the band FLUFF GURRL, he's hideously beautiful. He'd get naked in front of every one and I'd fill my air cannon with a gallon of beer or water or whatever and blast him with it, he'd practically get blown over, the liquid hitting his body like a full body slap. I always made sure to get both sides of him. We'd do it at least once a day. Now here we are starting to approach the Grand Guigol, to create a gruesome spectacle of horror.
1998:
SEEMEN, MACHINE PLAY MALL
Interactive strip of 15 machines w/jet engine, flaming waterfall, scratchy claw, burning shooting gallery church and Morgan Raymond's flaming Goddess.
1999:
SEEMEN, BUTHCERTOWN
Installation/strip mall of 40 machines and installations with Christian Ristow, Mark Perez, GEEKBOY, EB, Brian & Amy {BigFun Corp.} and 100 other people. http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/burningman/lode_tower.vhtml
2000:
kaltek, The BUCKETT ART CAR
Flynn's old station wagon tricked out with 2 jet engines a wet bar, train horns, P. A. and 2 flamethrowers.
2001:
SEEMEN, The triumph of SISYPHUS.
Interactive ride
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/burningman/11.vhtml
and THE SWINGER ART TRUCK http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/burningman/20_3ALARRY.vhtml
===Collaborators (significant collaborators that you want mentioned, if any):
JOHN LAW, JAY BROEMMEL, FLYNN MAUTHE, CHRISTIAN RISTOW, PLUS LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, I COUNTED OVER 100 PEOPLE HELPING FOR BOTH THE HELCO AND BUTCHERTOWN SHOWS.
===Do you have a photo that you'd like to accompany your profile on the website?
LOTS! SEE
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/burningman/index.vhtml
http://albums.monkeybrains.net/rudy@shrimpmeat.net/pals/dpq/kal.vhtml
http://www.seemen.org/gallery/gallery.kal.html
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/johnbunnywaxcom/DSCF7805.vhtml
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/lecture/wkal01.vhtml
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/
burningman/_REYNESSA_.vhtml
===Do you have projects in the works for BRC 2002 (and beyond):
NONE FOR BM this year.
===Do you have projects in the works outside of Burning Man? Please describe!:
OH YES, I EXHIBIT ALL OVER SF AT UNDERGROUND EVENTS, DO SHOWS IN MY WAREHOUSE, AND TRAVEL THE US AND TO EUROPE DOING SHOWS. I WANT TO BUILD "SMART" ENVIRONMENTS OR ROOMS/SPACES THAT READ AND INTERPRET AUDIENCES VITAL STATISTICS WITH THE ROOM FEEDINGBACK WITH APPRORIATE OUTPUTS THAT ARE, WELL, POSSIBLY DEATH DEFYING, LIFE AFFIRMING, EMPOWERING AND TRANSCENDANT, as well as more interactive machines that are my version of "carny" rides.
===Is your work being shown anywhere?
(shows, galleries, websites, etc.): I show regularly in San Francisco and around the states and in Europe occasionally.
http://www.SEEMEN.ORG
http://www.monkeyview.net/kal@seemen.org/burningman/index.vhtml
http://www.burningman.com/art_of_burningman/helco_gallery.html
http://www.seemen.org/gallery/gallery.helco.html
===Would you like your contact info published in your profile?:
SURE, KAL@SEEMEN.ORG
===Is there any other info you'd like published?
I have always wondered what is important art right now at this moment of time and then tried to make that kind of work.
I think about 5-10% of the people are interested in non-mainstream entertainment want their reality and existence threatened. My work is always interactive, requiring a participant to enter or operate the piece, often against their instincts of self-preservation. How can the mind transcend the limits of the body besides hard labor or drinking and drugging all day? How else can you explore the thin line between pleasure and pain?
Using fear as a medium I attempt to sometimes trigger the classic "fight or flight" response producing an adrenaline induced euphoria as you face and escape death. The same part of the brain lights up for both pleasure and pain (super hot foods, the "burn" from a hellacious workout, Giving birth, eating, gambling, recreational drugs, bungee jumping, skydiving, thrill sports). So some people choose pain, I am interested in what the value of this pain is. Is a persons worth determined by his ability to withstand physical punishment?? like the Stations of the Cross/CATHOLICISM.
I aspire to make machines that are therapeutic, that are interfaces between robots and humans, that empower not humble. The humbling part I found was easy, too easy to just make the people go WOW! COOL! Or OOOOHH SCARY!! Stuff getting smashed and burned, that is ok but it is pretty basic and a fairly simple one-liner. To be in awe of technology is all right, but to be in awe of technology AND good concepts, now we are getting somewhere. To have your animal self die off and then to be born again into a more sophisticated being.
As you fear death less your survival instinct grows stronger and you can love life more. Just as some people become enlightened after near death experiences, only I hopefully make these near death experiences conceptual and fun. When I shake with fear before or when I run a machine I know I am on to something! A sort of sacred pain.
The following questions are about your artistic process:
===Who or what inspires you most?
-MY CAT, LOVERS, NATURE. Sheer curiosity, the joy of inventing something new, to help people have compassion, to send people on THEIR OWN JOURNEY, not mine.
I love the prospect of attempting to invent something new.
Hazing, torture, yogi's, vows of silence, walking on coals, pole sitting, rites of passage all inspire me to no end.
The fear of death has been a major cause of social change and inspiration in my work.
-To play a role in the greater scheme of things. Machines to transform you, to rebirth you. To give people a chance to be spontaneous and playful.
-CHAOS THEORY: mixing audience volunteers and machines
-My hope is that art will help me and the audience to see things differently. To give people have these blissful/orgasmic moments when in my machines.
-As long as the bar keeps raising I am thoroughly engaged, and the journey never ends.
-To experience something live, not Memorex. Not virtual reality. REALITY REALITY. Where something may not work as expected, where the outcome is different each time. People want real life adventures. The more deprived you get the sicker you become. Thrill sports are booming because of this.
===When do you do your best work?
HMM, UNDER PRESSURE, STONED, RELAXING, ALL OF IT.
===How has your work evolved?
MORE INTERACTIVE, HIGHER LEVEL USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE.
===How would you describe your artistic process?
CONVOLUTED.
===Have you ever burned your art on the playa (and if so, what was that experience like?)?
YES, GREAT, LKE A CLEANSING. INTENSE, TRANSFORMMATIVE. SEE:
http://www.monkeyview.net/
kal@seemen.org/burningman/helco3.vhtml
===What kind of reaction(s) do you hope to invoke in those who experience your art?
There really is no expected response. My hope is that they will help me see things differently. AND THEY WILL BE INSPIRED TO GO ON THEIR OWN JOURNEY, NOT ON MY JOURNEY.
To find the inward thing that you are.
===How does your work communicate with it's audience?
BY ALLOWING THEM TO INTERACT WITH IT DIRECTLY IT GIVES THEM A ONE-ON-ONE EXPERIENCE.
NOTHING VIRTUAL HERE.
I GIVE THE AUDIENCE REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES AND ATTEMPT TO BREAK THE BARRIER BETWEEN THE ROLE OF A TRADITRIONAL PASSIVE AUDIENCE MEMBER AND THE ART AND ARTIST. TO build machines that test your faith, your strength and fears. Much like a snake handler/poison drinker. This pain and suffering gives you an awareness much like a Yogi. Then, the audience is the star, not me, not the art, they become rock stars/superheroes. They abecome immortal.
===Any other comments?
GOOD QUESTIONS!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND KEEP THAT FESTIVAL ALIVE!!!
photo by John Alloway
