Psst! Meet Me This Weekend!

Monday.

I probably should be doing some serious work on shaping up this Luminaria film stuff, but I keep finding excuses to procrastinate. My current excuse is that it’s too beastly cold to do anything. But today I finally crawled out of the warmth of my bed around 2pm, braved a cold shower, and headed over to C4 to get some work done. It was warm there. And coffee was waiting. And John’s wonderful sandwiches are only a thirty second walk away–out the door, turn right, and right again: there you are, at the Filling Station. Damn fine pizza, too.

I achieved a modicum of productivity, and around 8pm, I drove to the La Fiesta on S. Flores to stock up on provisions. And that brings me up to date.

In those earlier, bed-ridden hours, I was suckling on movies via the NetFlix “Watch Instantly” option.

“The Host,” a Korean monster film. This film has enjoyed a shit-load of praise. The effects are strong and well integrated into the story. It’s kooky, sweet, and, in turns, playful and grisly. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. The story’s rather unfocused, and it’s a good thirty minutes too long. But if you like monster movies (and don’t we all, to some degree?), I can’t put it down too much–it’s so much better than the basic American monster fare.

“Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa.” This is a documentary about a bunch of social drop-outs living in a region of the New Mexican desert. When I lived in the Big Bend region of Texas, I met some of these types. Too much in love with their firearms and the American flag to be called hippies; yet too enamored of their marijuana and ad hoc co-operative extended communities to be called reactionary militia types. Many of the residents of the Mesa are veterans. They freely (and at times, grimly) acknowledge their mental illness, their PTSD, their difficulties with substance abuse. The residents aren’t all ex-military guys. There are old hippies, women, and runaway kids. The strength of this documentary is that even though these people are all very flawed, we get to see them, on several occasions, coming together and functioning as a healthy, caring community. This is still the Old West. And the folks who live on the Mesa are operating much as I assume the early Anglo settlers of the west behaved. This lone individualism is, of course, a silly fiction. These people show how a community on the very fringe of law and society have to band together to survive. It’s also interesting to see how often they utilize Native American societal structures, such their Council of Elders, and the fact that women are turned to when the decisions of the greatest social conflict have to be considered. Don’t get me wrong. These folks are all massively flawed and fucked up. This is far from a Utopia. But I think it’s a wonderful reminder that if something awful were to happen and we were all reduced to a pre-industrial state, we’d be able to create communities, tribes, councils, and governments. If these obligate fuck-ups can build a functioning community on a blighted desert mesa with no water, electricity, or governmental structure–well, hell, maybe there’s hope for us all if things do go to shit.

“Skins.” This is a British drama about a group of teens living in Bristol. I don’t usually like teen dramas. But this one is so irreverent. These kids are out of control. They’re smoking, drinking, fucking, and drugging. It’s what Ferris Bueller would have been were that movie not directed by that useless snoozer, John Hughes. I have to admit that I never cared for John Hughes. I could never relate to his characters. This is similar to the problems I have with Salinger. I have NOTHING in common with those over-privileged motherfuckers that infest Salinger’s prose or Hugh;s films. But these kids in “Skins” come closer to my teen years. I had a hard time getting into this series with the first episode, But by the halfway mark of that first show I was sold. I’ve only seen the first three episodes of season one, but the writing, acting, production values–all wonderful. But just as important, this show is brave–it takes the audience to some uncomfortable places. Also, there’s loads of nudity. And I rather enjoy that.

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Tuesday.

One of the annual shows at that most crucial of San Antonio galleries, Centro Cultural Aztlan, is the Segundo de Febrero event. This commemorates the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. This marks the largest land-grab in our nation’s history. Essentially, we wrested 525,000 square miles from Mexico. However, the disputed region of Texas should be included in those spoils of war. The adds another, roughly, 400,000 square miles to the total. Toss in the Gadsden Purchase of 1854, and it’s all take take take. This is, to the Mexican-Americans, their equivalent of “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.”

Last year there was an incredible installation at the Aztlan. A chain link fence was built, running the length of the gallery. But that was okay. You could see the art on the walls of both sides because of big holes cut in the fence.

The major piece this year is San Alamo, or Upside Down St. Anthony, by Rolando Briseño. It’s a life-sized plaster sculpture of St. Anthony suspended upside-down, with the Alamo perched on top, balanced on the soles of his sandals. It was a great show, as always. Malena Gonzalez-Cid and her crew never disappoint. Many of my friends are showing their work at this show; there is also several works by artists who I may have never officially met, yet whose careers I’ve followed for years with respect and excitement.

I was surprised to see Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez. Sure, he had a piece at the show. And certainly he’s no stranger to Centro Cultural Aztlan, seeing as he founded this art and cultural center. But last I had heard, he had headed off to Tucson to serve as a keynote speaker for a February 2nd event in Arizona. But–so it seemed–he had managed to return home in time to be part of our San Antonio event.

He told me he had received a standing ovation in Arizona. No surprise there. He’s a very charismatic man. “You’ve still got a pretty big head, I guess?” I asked him with smile. He shrugged and said something about having suffered a bit of difficulty getting through the door.

The events at Centro Cultural Aztlan are always warm and inviting. It’s a big family event, where everyone’s happy you came. If you haven’t been to the opening of a show there, please go next time. You’ll be glad you did.

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Wednesday.

I woke up early this morning. It’s cold outside, this means it’s cold inside. Ah this drafty old house. I pulled my laptop into bed with me and caught up on my RSS feeds. I recently exported all my subscriptions from my old reader (an online free service, Alesti.org–it has a nice intuitive interface: but there are hours–even days–when it’s down, for reasons I can never understand). I’m now using Google Reader.

I’m sure I could just use iTunes, but iTunes has fucked me over too many times. iTunes is the most counter intuitive, intrusive, proprietary, parasitic piece of shit ever to come out of the Apple Empire. God, how I despise iTunes!

But I digress. Um, where was I?

Ah, yes, Google Reader. I was intrigued when Todd O’Neill mentioned recently on his Twitter feed how he was having a blast with something called Feedly. This is a magazine-type template that acts like an RSS reader–it also lets you post to your various outlets: blog, social media, email, etc. I’m still a bit confused on how to make it work. However, my cursory research into Feedly, brought me to Google Reader. Now I can say a fond farewell to Alesti.

I did managed to drag my ass out of bed by early afternoon. Well, I had managed to make a pot of coffee and send out a few emails in the morning hours. But by early afternoon I got out of the cold old house. I met up with Deborah. She’s finally moving out of the development phase of her video piece for Luminaria. I’m definitely on board to help her shoot and edit the piece. We’ve come up with our model, location, and we are closing in on a solid schedule of shooting.

(My own Luminaria film is still awaiting my attention. I’ve shot the piece. Beautiful footage. I just need to edit it. And I need to hammer it out before the end of next week. That’s when Seme gets back from teaching a workshop in Ecuador (I do envy her life-style!). We’ll be working on another collaboration for her Luminaria proposal.)

Actually, I’m involved in three Luminaria film / dance projects, each a collaborative endeavor. With one I’m functioning in a crew capacity. Another, I’m providing a video backdrop. And the final one, my own, I’m hoping to bring in a live dancer to accompany my short film.

It’s a good thing I don’t currently have a job. Those fucking things always get in the way. Damn, those jobs, those professions, they sure sound like major time-sucks. However, they do indeed make a quick cure of that malady forever hovering over my head. You know, poverty.

After some discussion over a late lunch concerning Deborah’s Luminaria film, we went to her studio. She was painting the outside of her studio at Blue Star for the upcoming First Friday–it’s just two days away.

Here’s the deal. Deborah Keller-Rihn has some new work. It’s in keeping with her current style of photographs printed in black and white large on canvas and colored with thinned oil paint. As a photographer, her work is powerful and amazing. The added embellishment with her skills as a painter make the final work simply extraordinary. Here’s one of canvases that will be on display Friday at her studio: Keller-Rihn Studio (it’s in the Blue Star Arts Complex, upstairs from Three Walls and Cactus Bra–that’s in the same building where Jump-Start Performance Company is):

Here Deborah is working with a model named Danielle. On one of theses photo shoots Danielle was outside of Deborah’s studio performing a fire dance. On that occasion I happened to be in town and I video-taped this dance. An edit of my shoot was screened at Jump-Start for their 25th Annual Performance Party. I’ll be screening that piece again on a video loop projected onto Deborah’s studio wall this First Friday.

So, come on by.

Deborah was shafted this semester because one of the classes she was planning to teach didn’t make. She’s very very poor this semester. But she has these incredible photo paintings. They are priced to move. Come on by and buy some art, dammit. Deborah has bills to pay! Also, come and watch my video. Really, what are you waiting for? Come and hang out with us!

If you’re not hanging out with Erik and Deborah at Blue Star this Friday, you’d better have a serious excuse! I’m accepting only two reasons. A.) You’re over at C4 Workspace for the art opening of Jesus Morón’s excellent work; or, B.), you’re over at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center for CineFestival.

CineFestival is where I hope to be Thursday night. Also, all day Saturday and Sunday. (I’m a bit pissed off that their all-access pass cost 85 bucks! That seems high for a community arts center. I should point out that I’m whining because the previous three years I had the complimentary-all-access-pass because I was a judge. For some reason, my insightfulness as a judge was shrugged off this year. Oh, well….

Any way, these things happen. I’ll happily buy a day pass for both Saturday and Sunday. Friday I’ll be otherwise engaged. And Thursday I’m hoping that the email I received from the San Antonio Film Commission is actually what it seems to be: an invitation to the opening night party. But maybe the party is open to everyone. And that stings, ’cause, you know, I really wanna be special. I’m feeling particularly low tonight, and special would be good….

So, unless you, my reader, are out of town, I guess I’ll be seeing you this weekend. Either at the Guadalupe, or at Deborah’s studio.

See you soon!

Texas Vodka and Candles Lit for Santo Cthulhu

Cafe Cinema is back at the Radius Center, downtown San Antonio. The good folks of NALIP, San Antonio (the local chapter of the National Association of Latino Producers, an organization of which I am one of the executive officers) sponsors this screening event. We’d placed it on hiatus while the Radius was working to bring in a new tenant to run their cafe. The place can seat about a hundred people. Friday night it was nice to see some dear friends who I hadn’t been around much for a couple of months. What with the holidays and a stint working in Dallas, I’d fallen out of touch with my fellow NALIPsters. The evening began with a block of Mexican short films which I believe Drew Mayer-Oakes, the San Antonio Film Commissioner, brought back from the Monterrey Film Festival. I arrived a bit late, so I only got to see one and a half. What I saw looked good.

After a slight intermission–when some Texas brand of Vodka was passed around to the unfortunately small crowd–we turned to the feature. “Yveete” (that’s right, not Yvette). I’d seen this wonderful film at last year’s CineFestival. And, to be honest, I’m not sure if I saw it projected on a screen, or at home on TV–I was one of the judges, and I was given screener DVDs as well as opportunities to view the pieces at the venue, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center.

The film holds up well to multiple viewings. It’s sweet and bursting with chingos of heart. It starts out slow. The fact that it was shot on DV is a bit off-putting. But once the action shifts from Oklahoma to Mexico, it really kicks into high gear. I think this is because of two reasons. First, low budget films shot on digital video usually look like shit…but if they’re intelligently constructed and have a strong script you eventually move beyond the initial format prejudice, and it becomes just another time-based visual narrative. But there’s the added bump that once we get to Mexico, we’re given this richer visual pallet (because Mexico is a beautiful country); and, also, the protagonist has to deal with a culture alien to her See, we, the audience, now have sudden conflict: and we always respond well to conflict.

The production standers are pretty low; few if any of the actors are professionals; and, though I love the story, the writing isn’t really that strong. But, for a budget ot 10 grand, it’s an impressive piece. Yveete has an emotional honestly that gets under your skin and clutches at your heart no matter how cynical you might be. It was produced by a young couple from Oklahoma. Rogelio Almeida Marquez and Nora Contreras-Almeid. According to IMDB, he’s the director, she’s the writer and main actress (Yveete).

Track it down and give it a watch. If it seems slow at first, wait. You’ll be glad you did. There are two wonderful low budget films I saw in 2009 I want every one to see. “Yveete,” and “Happy Birthday Harry Malden.”

Take a stroll, at times, outside of the mainstream. There’s great stuff out there.

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Before heading off to Cafe Cinema, I met Russ at C4 Workspace (where I had been holding down the fort–Todd and Debbie had headed to Austin to attend some sort of co-working summit). Russ and I walked over to Tito’s for some of their renowned enchiladas. Russ brought me up to speed about what’s been going on at the Film School of San Antonio (AKA, the media department at Harlandale high school) since the legendary George Ozuna left. Just another simple San Antonio session of chisme. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. San Antonio doesn’t run on money, political influence, insider pandering, nepotism, or the good ol’ boy network–nope. (Well, there is some of that.) This city’s white-hot inner engine is fueled by good ol’ fashioned grade “A” chisme–and to translate, I’m talking about balloon juice, chin music, you know, the gossip grapevine. Within the San Antonio arts and cultural community I feel confident in boasting that I have a solid 7 rating (out of 10) of knowing what’s going on behind the scenes. And though I don’t always share the particulars of this info, I can say quite freely, most everyone with pull and power in the San Antonio arts world is fucking nuts.

I was at an art opening the other week. My good friend Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez was showing several of his paintings at a group show at the SAVA gallery downtown. I was sipping a fine vintage of boxed wine and standing there with Ramon and Deborah (we three being the core of Proyecto Locos, a sort of ad hoc art collective) when a certain local art curator walked in with his entourage. One of his sycophants, a man of about 50 with wire-frame glasses, a goatee, and turtleneck (he’s what Mel Brooks would get if he requested from Central Casting a “Middle-Aged Sensitive Bohemian circa Beatnik, USA”). This fellow walked up to Ramon and made some comment about how he loved the art scene in San Antonio, because, “all the artists are supportive of one another.” Even though he had not acknowledged me, I thought I’d weigh in. “You gotta be kidding,” I said. “Us artists in San Antonio all hate each other.” The guy shot me a nasty glance, and decided to continue ignoring me. He kept talking with Ramon about this and that. I have to assume Ramon heard my comment, because I saw that sneaky little smile he lets out when a grumpy troublemaker mutters something true.

Many of us do indeed hate one another, but we all still work together. Within the San Antonio creative community there are no real enemies. We’re a family. And in families, one usually tolerates the occasionally hateful relationship. Because you’re all tied together, you do your best to work together for a greater good. Truth be told, I’d say that in the San Antonio art scene it’s not that bad to be hated. Yes, it’s better to be loved. But if folks are hating on you, they’re at least still talking about you. It’s the fucking kiss of death to be ignored…to be seen as inconsequential. Brrr….

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When I was very young I used to suffer fairly dramatically from asthma. For the most part, I grew out of it by middle school. There were inhalers, pills, and even, for a while, injections, which my mother would give me. I say it’s over, but actually the asthma still creeps back at times, very mildly. Almost always in the colder winter weather. Add strenuous activity to a cold day, and that’s when it’s most likely to pop up. This is one of the reasons I don’t usually go for long bike rides unless it’s over at least 70 degrees. Early last week I was out biking on the Mission Trail, enjoying a sunny day of maybe 65. There was a strong wind at my back, and even though I was pretty far out of shape, I was moving at a giddy clip; and that’s when this hard-ass on a touring bike zoomed past me. I took the bait (unintended, I’m sure) and shifted up to top gear and matched his speed for maybe two miles. That’s when I felt my bronchial tubes clenching up, and so I fell back.

That feeling’s returned tonight. Nothing strenuous. But it’s getting cold again, and I remembered that the fumes off a burning gas heater can also trigger this damn shortness of breath. I’m burning candles to Ganesha, Santo Niño de Atocha, several Orishas, Quetzalcoatl, and Cthulhu–whatever it takes to speed up the appearance of those sweet 100 degree days of summer.

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I basically frittered away an unproductive weekend. Well, I did do laundry. Mostly I was watching bad movies from the NetFlix view now selection. It’d been decades since I’d seen the 1964 film First Men in the Moon. Of course I’d seen it before–it featured stop-motion creatures by Ray Harryhausen. Like most of the sci-fi films from this period it’s a real travesty. I mean, the science in the films of the fifties and sixties is just appalling. At least H. G. Wells was long dead by the time this come out. The Harryhausen effects and the art design in general are fairly groovy. Lionel Jeffries, the eccentric scientist, is a joy to watch. There’s this wonderful scene where’s he’s explaining his plans to the man-of-action character (played fairly flatly by Edward Judd), and the scientist falls back against his space ship, like he’s receiving a lover’s embrace, and he snuggles there, rubbing against his grand machine as he explains the “science” of his anti-gravity paint. There’s also this tiny scene with Peter Finch, who was not credited. According to Wikipedia, he was in the vicinity–perhaps an adjacent sound stage–and when the actor hired for this tiny role failed to show up, he offered his assistance. He’s in the film for maybe thirty seconds, but has quite a few lines. It’s like he’s stepped in from another movie (which isn’t far from the fact)–but he manages to be rather cartoonish, in keeping with the film’s tone, and chewing the scenery like a terrier gnawing on a rubber band. I wouldn’t recommend this film to many people, but it’s a fun way to piddle away a chunk of a chilly Saturday.

My Second Screening of 2010

There have been little clusters of creative activity in my life. Often during these periods colleagues in the local film community will invariably ask me, “hey, where have you been–I never seem to see you any more?” On these occasions I really need to turn the tables. “I got stuff screening all over town–where have YOU been?”

The month’s not over yet, and I have shot, edited, and screened (for paying audiences, mind you) two short film projects. All I can say is, I wish more members of the local film community would have been in the audiences, showing their support. I saw painters, dancers, musicians, actors, writers, arts administrators, but, filmmakers? Not so much.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not crowing about my prodigious productivity– I’m just needling all those San Antonio filmmakers who I so rarely see at art events. The fact is, both of these recently produced projects of mine found their way to me with no heavy lifting on my part. The first, an abstract piece of a beautiful young fire dancer, came into being because ST Shimi, the artistic director at Jump-Start Performance Company, asked if I had a short video piece I would like to have screened for the 25th annual Jump-Start Performance Party. What a high honor! I decided to cut together the footage I took of a photo shoot Deborah Keller-Rihn recently held outside her studio with a model she had recently met who is also a fire dancer.

The second project also came calling on me. When recent transplant Seme Jatib (an extraordinary dancer from Monterrey) asked around the San Antonio dance community if anyone knew of a filmmaker she could collaborate with, Amber Ortega-Perez mentioned my name. I met with Seme in a Starbucks in the Quarry, and two weeks later we had a show at the first W-I-P of 2010. W-I-P (Works in Progress) is the monthly event sponsored by the Jump-Start Performance Company and the San Antonio Dance Umbrella and held at Jump-Start. ST Shimi and Amber Ortega-Perez co-curate the series. Last night was a particularly strong show. There were three performances.

The opening was a dance piece with three performers choreographed by Maggie Lasher. I really like the high metaphoric tone of the piece. It was a conceptual modern dance piece featuring, as a prop, a bizarre giant fiberglass industrial ball (Maggie’s husband, who scavenged the piece, believes it’s a jacuzzi filter).

The second performance was by Laurie Dietrich. She’s a company member with Jump-Start–writer, actor, director, etc. She presented a solo performance art piece. Melissa Marlowe, one of San Antonio’s more gifted actors, was sitting across the aisle from me, and she was praising Laurie’s thespian chops. Well, no shit. Not only was Laurie completely on top of the piece as a performer, but the work itself, her script, is tight, clever, and structurally solid. I loved this piece! Hopefully, she’ll expand it and we’ll all get to see a polished staging of the work soon.

The final piece was Seme. I’d been in the theater earlier for a short rehearsal. Billy Muñoz was controlling the tech. I knew that when I handed off the DVD to him, it’d be in good hands. If there were any glitches in what I provided, he’d be on top of things. I might add that he did a fantastic job (as always) with the lighting. Anyway, after a couple of run-throughs, I left Seme and her mom and went upstairs to kill some time with Deborah in her studio. By the time of the show, Deborah and I walked down to get our tickets. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my name was in the program, alongside Seme’s. The projection played smooth. We had planned to use the Jump-Start’s eight foot screen, but in the rehearsal, the projection on the rear black wall looked so cool, that we decided to go with it. I’m glad we did. It brought the projection down lower so that Seme could interact with the projected words and images. I was amazed by her performance. Sure, I’d seen her do the basic choreography on three (or was it four?) occasions, but I’d never really seen her pull out all the stops. I’ve worked on film projects with over a dozen dancers, and the process is fascinating–well, for someone like me with no real dance background. They often run through the choreographic phrases in basic, not so strenuous, abbreviated gestures. And this is what I had seen from Seme in the two weeks we’ve known each other. But tonight, I got to see the energy and emotional impact of the piece. Also, it was great to watch her make certain changes which occurred to her while she was in the moment. A good dancer is like a good actor. It’s all about making a choice–you can’t waffle. No. You decide, and you do it. I knew going in that Seme is an extraordinary dancer, but it wasn’t until I watched the emotion crossing her face during the pivotal point near the end that I truly realized how lucky San Antonio is to have a dancer of her caliber…and how privileged I was to be able to work with her on a project. I can only hope we will continue to work together. The applause following the piece was long, robust, and honest. And, afterward, for the critical response portion, Shimi came out and asked if I, as the video-provider, might want to come up on stage. Seme said, without a beat, “Erik, yes.” I believe she was a bit nervous, and wanted some moral support. She shouldn’t be. She’s very articulate.

Even though I had told Deborah I wasn’t going to bother getting up on stage even if asked, I went ahead. I used to be terrified of public speaking. Honestly. But in my twenties I was forced, in several creative writing classes, to not only read my work aloud, but to defend it from the jibes of fellow students. This was, however, the first time I was seated on a theater stage with bright lights on me. Damned if I could see who was asking me or Seme questions. They were just shadowy forms back behind the bright lights.

It was a great night. Even though there were probably not more than 40 people in the audience, it was the strongest and most positive response to any work of which I’ve been involved. I should point out that most of the applause was directed at Seme. As Dino Foxx said of another beautiful, extraordinarily fit, and awesomely talented dancer, ST Shimi: “I see you so often that sometimes I forget just how sexy you are.” At the risk of over-simplifying my artistic impulse, the reason that I, as well as my friends Russ and Deborah, like to photograph and video-tape dancers is that we love to see beautiful bodies in motion. But there’s also the fact that I’m about as graceful as an arthritic walrus, and, with clever and judicious use of camera placement and movement, and with canny editing, I can, in a limited manner, join the performance, allowing the camera to enter into the choreography. I still have a lot to learn here, but it’s a very rewarding collaborative interdisciplinary realm in which to work.

Keep an eye out for further performances by Seme Jatib. It’ll be worth your while. We’re planning a collaborative event for Luminaria. Make sure to come to the dance stage at Luminaria. It’ll be in HemisFair Park, next to the Instituto Cultural De Mexico. Not only will there be plenty of dance presentations, but there will be several videos projected. I’ll have a short dance video featuring ST Shimi (hopefully she’ll be dancing on the stage in front of the projection). My good friend Deborah Keller-Rihn will have a projected dance-related piece. And, finally, Seme Jatib will dance a piece titled “Echo.” The plan is for me to provide video augmentation.

Let’s hope video and dance come together in a serious and lasting relationship in San Antonio. When done right, it works very well. And, tonight, I think my crude and novice work in this field rather new to me showed some promise. Working with Seme is wonderful. I find her very inspiring. Deborah’s still my favorite artistic collaborator, probably because we’re so similar in character. But with Seme, the fact that we have different sensibilities creates its own rewards.

Last night I got to meet some of Seme’s family. Her mother drove in from Monterrey for the performance. And also I finally got to meet Seme’s husband (who she’s always referred to as “my husband.”) Nice guy, and it takes me forever to learn a name, but I think he’s Kevin. Also I got to meet one of Seme’s friends, also named Erik–and by that, I mean Eric. He’s a yoga instructor she works with. Anyway, this guy, Eric Miller, video-taped the performance on what I think might have been a flip camera. Recently he uploaded it to YouTube. Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h892BiSQ9eY

I’ve just set up a Vimeo account. Here’s a link to the edited video projection I provided. (If you watch this, make sure to see Eric Miller’s link above–his video will give you a sense of the heavy emotional palette with which Seme works.):

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Yesterday morning I was up at the ungodly hour of 7:30. After a shower (and I still haven’t fixed my water heater) I headed over to C4. Debbie was shocked to see me. Yeah, I’m not a morning person. I was there to meet Jim Dawes. I know JIm because he runs the Final Monday Free Writers Workshop at Gemini Ink. But until recently I never knew Jim taught architecture over at the downtown campus of UTSA.

Anyway, one of his classes had chosen, as a project, to design a “film institute.” This isn’t the real deal–simply an academic exercise. Too bad, there. What they’re working on would be wonderful…you know, if only….. Because of my status as a filmmaker, occasional teacher, and festival producer, Jim thought I’d be the perfect person to come and talk to his class. (Though the fact is, I was probably the only guy who came close to fitting the parameters yet who was also available. And unless I’m out of town, I’m pretty much always available.)

It was a lot of fun. There were only four students. They were young, smart, articulate, and full of extraordinary potential. In short–they’re adorable. And, well, I hope they find their way into major architectural, design, or engineering firms: the bottom line is I like them and I hope they are instrumental in building our future.

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We can’t always be in the loop. Today I had to learn from fucking FaceBook this key piece of San Antonio film news: the great Sam Lerma is taking over George Ozuna’s old gig at the Film School of San Antonio, aka, the media department at Harlandale High School. Now Sam can dine at a finer level of taqueria, because I’m sure that there must be a serious pay hike. I was shocked when I discovered how poorly paid are news photographers (meaning video shooters). Congratulations, Sam! I’m sure the kids on the south-side will benefit immensely from your professionalism and creativity!

Don’t Try and Read These Abbreviated Hieroglyphs

My creative process, such as it is, is a fucking mess. Maybe one of the reasons I always sabotaged myself in math classes in school is that when I’m asked to show my work, it’s a mess. There are scribbled notes with weird abbreviations and hieroglyphs, mostly known just to me, and many known just to me at that very moment. Showing my work means nothing to other people. It’s completely indecipherable. My right brain and left brain are barely on speaking terms–never have been. And the manner in which they communicate is choppy, guttural, and generally near incomprehensible.

Everyone seems to have their own method to turn raw and abstract sensory input and cognitive impulse into a play or a etching, a sonnet or a dirge. Because most artists work alone, all we tend to see is the finished work. I know a few artists whose processes I’ve observed, and of those, most are filmmakers. This is one of the reasons I like to collaborate. Especially with artists from other disciplines. I’m essentially a voyeur. Really, I just want to pop the hood and take a peek at it all. One of my best friends, Deborah, is principally a photographer, though she’s worked in painting, sculpture, film, etc. At first working with her was rather frustrating. She kept changing her mind about this project or that. And then I realized that her process really wasn’t so different than mine. A lot of false starts and floundering around. Hours spent drinking coffee, doing anything but the work itself, and suddenly, it all falls together. Yeah, that makes perfect sense to me.

I’ve also had the good luck to work with several dancers. Russ pulled me into this world, and it’s quite rewarding. Who wouldn’t want to photograph beautiful bodies in motion? The current project is with Seme Jatib. We hope to pursue a fruitful collaboration with her choreography and dancing, and my live, real time video projection. This is all new to me. I’m leaning into the learning curve. But until we get to that point, we’re working on a project for the upcoming W-I-P (works in progress) that Shimi and Amber put on every month at the Jump-Start Performance Company over at Blue Star. I’m currently (well, I’m blogging right now) cutting a 6ish minute piece of video which will serve as a single channel pre-recorded presentation, and Seme will dance. One of the things I learned from working with Amber is that modern dance isn’t so locked down and predictable as some other forms of dance. If a nuanced move of another dancer opens up the possibility for an embellishment, it might just happen. A sort of impromptu choreographic riff. In fact, when you listen to those masters of mid-period hard bebop, like Horace Silver and Clifford Brown, it’s clear that the basic structure and phrases were all worked out. But there was room for narrow improvisation. And so, with Seme, I’m reworking my approach every few days. I’m sniffing around, trying this, trying that. And now, basically because I need to get a DVD to her by Wednesday, it’s all coming together. The trick is to find ways to convey the essence of the piece with the footage I’ve shot, as well as the text and effects I’m currently generating. I’m beginning to realize why she’s so keen on working with a video artist using VJ software–real-time projected video manipulation is made to order for modern dance.

The show is Wednesday, January 27th. Just head on out to the best theater in town, Jump-Start Performance Company–it’s in the Blue Start Art Complex, off S. Alamo in King William. 7pm. It’s only 5 bucks! Other than Seme Jatib (with humble assist by yours truly) you will also see works in progress by Maggie Lasher and Laurie Dietrich. See you there.

This is Seme:

And this is where I am right now at my edit.

Yeow! I’m thinking another seven hours of work…for this six minute piece. So, you see. Even when the process has been clarified, the long tedium of the work really ain’t for the weak of heart.

So, back to work!

The Friendly Neighborhood

I really should be working on the video backdrop for Seme’s dance piece this coming Wednesday at Jump-Start, but, really, I am the king of procrastination. Well, actually, I’m not completely useless. I’ve put in a good three hours tonight. Get back to it tomorrow.

Ah, but today–a fine San Antonio Saturday in January. Finally, a reasonable day. Pleasant, warm even. This is what I expect from winter in South Texas. The iPhone promised 78 today, but I doubt it ever got over 73. There was a big wind in from the north, bringing all that cold down from the arctic realms of Wichita Falls and Anadarko. The wind served me well on my bike ride this afternoon. I was flying. Could have gone all the way to Laredo. But, I had to turn around and pedal back–slowly and gruelingly….

But, really, the bottom line is that out at Mission Espada I was flopped out on the grass, just above the river, basking in the sun. How wonderful!

Last night I was meeting with Seme at C4. As we were winding down, Anglea from Slab Cinema stopped by. She wanted some help with a quick video edit. After saying goodbye to Seme, I checked out the video job. It seemed absolutely simple and doable … but there were a few weird things in the codec of the video file. My antiquated version of Final Cut was faltering. I hate to confess this, but I turned to iMovie to get the job done. And it got the job done. iMovie is a quirky little program that, at times, can do amazing things.

Angela invited me to meet some of her friends over at the Friendly Spot, that outdoor bar and eatery adjacent to Tito’s on South Alamo. René Guerrero of Madhatters fame is running the place. Everyone seems to love René–and why not? He’s the best! The Friendly Spot has a playground, so it’s popular with families with kids–such as Angela and Rick, who were so kind to buy me a couple of beers. This couple seem to know everyone in our neighbor. I thought I was connected. Nope. I’m a novice in the King William / South Town networking realm.

I was bemused and charmed to see that René had a large selection of ponchos and blankets so patrons could bundle up and keep warm while sitting outside and dining and drinking and keeping an eye on their kids. But, really, it was a fairly mild night. I had a nice time meeting some new people.

Tonight I met Rick and Angela again. Deborah and I attended a site-specific performance produced by Jump-Start Performance Company. Basically it was a one-woman show starring ST Shimi, staged at her home. She’s married to the artist Oscar Alvarado, and their next-door neighbors are Rick and Angela Martinez, of Slab Cinema–and Rick and Angela were also in attendance tonight. San Antonio is essentially a small town.

The piece was mildly avant garde. Very watchable. All in all, a top notch production. Small and intimate. The audience was about 15. A cozy group of people and a bittersweet (actually more sweet than bitter) voyeuristic experience.

One of the great strengths of Jump-Start is that they’re a family. To see the company members together and interacting is a wonderful thing. They are all good people doing extraordinary work. Twenty-five years, and still going strong. Wow!

When Shimi asked me back in December if I had some video to provide for the annual Jump Start anniversary party (which I always attend), I had to say, Yes! I’m huge fan of so many company members (as well as the fringe folks): such as Steve Bailey, Monessa Esquivel, Annela Spector, ST Shimi, Billy Muñoz, Dino Foxx, Max Parrilla, Micheal Verdi, and add the amazing Amber Ortega-Perez, the sublime Daniel Jackson, and the entirety of the Renaissance Guild (who have moved on to the Little Carver–we all wish them well). Damn, that’s a shit-load of goodness, eh? And for me to be asked to add my creative voice to this chorus…well, fuck yeah!

Oh, shit. How did it get to be three in the morning? I gotta hit the sheets. There’s still a lot of video editing on the morning…..