After starting his Rad Queers with a short documentary on LA's the Payasos,  artist/curator/videographer Graham Kolbeins has recently posted a second video in the series.

The video tells the story of what Kolbeins calls the "fabulous and fearless performance artist/playwright Ian MacKinnon. In his one-man show Gay Hist-Orgy, MacKinnon guides the audience on an erotic journey through the hidden history of same-sex love, examining homosexuality’s impact on 'the progress of art, philosophy, culture, and politics with equal parts insight and wit."

Sounds interesting. Check it out.

Graham Kolbeins, the blogger and filmmaker from Future Shipwreck and Thrash Lab fame, has waved his magic fairy wand once more and come up with a new video series and a new project.

Entitled Rad Queers, the project is a way for Kolbeins to combine his favourite things: queers and storytelling. "There are a lot of amazing queer people out there, and I wanted to use 'Rad Queers' as a sort of spotlight for them," he says via email. "I also just love meeting new people and getting to know their stories, and making documentaries is a great excuse to do that."

Kolbeins jokes that his spirit guides for Rad Queers are RuPaul and Ira Glass. "I'd been mulling over Rad Queers in the back of my mind for a while. I wanted to make something that explores the lives of queer people leading fiercely individual lives and doing good things."  

When Kolbeins was introduced to the Los Angeles group the Payasos, he knew he had found what and who he was looking for. Payasos are a group of gay Latino men who -- through sexy and imaginative events, as well as a little bit of clown makeup -- create a space that Kolbeins says "make the world a better place for future generations."

"I met with Leo (the founder of the Payasos) to see if he'd be interested in the documentary and he was absolutely gracious and inviting," he says. "I shot some preliminary footage with the group and presented it to a production company I'd been working with to see if they'd be interested in doing a single-day shoot with the group. The company was a little terrified of the subject matter, so I decided to film it myself without a crew or budget. It actually worked out great that way! Instead of rushing it into a single day, I hung out with the Payasos over several months and attended a wide variety of their events. I ended up getting a much more intimate and multi-faceted perspective on the group than if I'd come in with eight crew members and a van full of equipment."

When asked what he likes about the Payasos, Kolbeins is enthusiastic in describing the sheer amount of fun that he was able to view and experience during filming. "When you're in clown face, it's kind of hard to have a bad time! Random strangers on the street get excited to see you. I had my makeup done a couple of times and it was almost jarring how different people's reactions are towards you . . . it's a simple gesture that makes you feel almost like a superhero, and encourages communion with those around you."

 

Visual AIDS, a New York-based artist collective that works to educate people about HIV and AIDS, recently asked photographers to collaborate on a collection of trading cards called Play Smart. Each card is packaged along with a condom, lube, a sticker and information on HIV and AIDS based on harm-reduction models.

Amos Mac, the publisher of Original Plumbing, a magazine about and for FTM trans men, is one of the photographers for the series. "I believe that art is a vector for understanding, which is why I so admire and respect the work of Visual AIDS," says Mac on the website. "It is my hope that these images will help spark some crucial discussions about sex, gender, safety and fun." Amos was interviewed for Xtra in February of this year.

Another artist is Christopher Schulz, he of Pinups and SETH fame (links NSFW). One of his models is Graham Kolbeins, who has been featured in Xtra as well as on this blog. Schulz wrote on the site that "I've admired Visual AIDS for quite some time and was thrilled to be invited to contribute to the brilliant PLAY SMART project. It is an honor to be able to help spread such an important message of HIV prevention and AIDS awareness alongside such talented artists."

 

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Finally, it is the weekend -- time for your weekly office dance party. This week it's thanks to Azealia Banks and DJ Cosmo (who used to hail from Halifax) and a recent mixtape. It features Banks's "212" and Zebra Katz's "Ima Read," two of my fave tracks right now.

 

A couple months ago I had the chance to interview and write about blogger/curator/artist Graham Kolbeins, of Future Shipwreck fame.

Kolbeins had mentioned that he was working on a video series for a new project produced by Ashton Kutcher (yes, that Ashton Kutcher). That project is called Thrash Lab and Kolbeins' specific work is on various subcultures. The first video is about a colony of people living off the grid in California, in a place called Slab City.

The video is a mix of both gonzo and traditional journalism, with crazy characters counterpointed by Kolbeins' relaxed narration. It's not video journalism à la 60 Minutes, but the stories told in Subculture aren't stories you would find in traditional media. They are -- so far -- interesting slices of life of people you may not know about. Take, for example, the most recent episode, where Graham meets a bunch of aspiring young magicians vying for spots in a club for magicians.

Cute? Yes. Interesting? Definitely. Will I keep watching the series as they keep coming? Absolutely. And so should you.