The Wind Beneath My Periwinkle Chiffon Fairy Wings

Fun with gender bending performance artists Thursday - has anyone caught Ru Paul's Drag Race reality show, by the way? It's America's Next Top Model with queens - and their damn talented! Double the glamour, double the duck tape, double the drama, double the fun! It's enough to make me rethink canceling my cable! These are pics of two of the gender bending legends, Amanda Lapore (below) and Leigh Bowery (below-est).

Photo: Monika Tichacek - Lineage of the Divine 2

Leigh Bowery in all his bespeckled glory.

light

light

light

light

light

heart of fluffness.

i just finished making my first plushie!
. . .
what's that you say, snide little reader?
plushies are a girlish endeavor, better suited to 14 year old girls than strapping bucks such as i have tried to occasionally classify myself?

nuts to you!
plushies are awesome!
that's just one of the umpteen reasons i'm glad i have a girlfriend, i can buy plushies and no one thinks a thing about it!
sure, the sponge bob and patrick and in her room, but make no mistake about it, those were gifts for me too.

and so it was only a matter of time until i tried my hand at creating some cuteness all my own.

and here it is.

constructed entirely out of an old pair of sarah's jeans and acrylic paint. i stuffed him with $2.00 worth of cotton balls.
no blood, sweat or tears required.

Kontemporary Krampus

Here's another great contemporary toy version of Krampus by Christopher Bonnette, Macula Art. It's an adorable little DIY cut and fold paper craft guy. Bonnette's got a lot of these figures on the site. Sadly, I haven't been successful downloading the pattern. I needs me some paper krampus toy!

Kontemporary Krampus

Artist Tricia Anders made this mini Munny into a contemporary version of a Krampus ornament. Not only is the Munny extraordinary, but the photos of it (especially the first one) are pretty fantastic, too. Here's a link to Anders's Flickr portfolio, where you can see more of her art dolls and paintings.

Speaking of Racial Undertones - Krampus

No pictures for today's post...gasp!

As with the Bearenstein Bears below (awesome post), the story of Krampus begs its own discussion about race.

As the pictures of plump white kids would indicate, the Victorian Krampus story was told to keep white kids in line. Krampus can be interpreted as a slave figure (often with a dark face, carrying chains), akin to "Black Peter" or the devil. The racial fears of the day most likely helped shape Krampus. We can look to any culture's villans to reveal the fears and anxieties of the time.

Contemporary American versions of the Krampus figure pop up today. I've got posts lined up for tomorrow and the next day to show you. Certainly, American racial fear narratives still exist, as do racial triumph stories. So, I guess one question would be - can a present day American artist's reinterpretation of Krampus avoid negative racial connotations and help redefine the character's meaning?

I'll let you be the judge...check back 2/10 & 11. They're pretty adorable Krampuses!

Krampus

Since seeing a Victorian Krampus ornament a couple of years ago at the Taft Musuem of Art's annual antique holiday display, Krampus has captured my imagination. The antique paper ornament was only Krampus's head with his evil toungue threatening to, I don't know, lick little children all the way to hell?

Krampus preceded Santa. He was an imaginary figure, who, as parents would have their children believe, kidnapped naughty kids and delivered them to hell. What a great story! If ever I have children...most Krampus's had one hoof and one foot. He also normally carried a basket on his back (to put the children in) and switches or a broom to beat them with. Harsh!

OH! HOHO! oh...

I must share this cake wreck blog with you. Behold the wedding cake below...I have the feeling this has been at some of the finer weddings in my own hometown! Beautiful.

Cake Wrecks

Papa Bear and the Unfair Social Stigma.

we all read the Berenstain Bears as kids didn't we?
i know my family did, there's a bin of them in my mom's attic right now. good wholesome values, and a certain religious air that i can't quite put my finger on, but from all the adventures i can recall reading it seems a few slipped past me in my youth.
like this book summarized on wikipedia.

The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors
Papa Bear has trouble adjusting to new neighbors that are different from him. The rest of his family is excited about new neighbors, and through meeting Mr. Panda and convincing that different is good, Papa Bear accepts the new neighbors.
It has been said that this book has racist undertones as pandas come from a different region, and Papa dislikes them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Berenstain_Bears_Books

papa bear, racist? you must be joking wikipedia!
but don't take wikipedia's word for it.
that's right gentle readers, i have the whole book scanned right here.

see for yourself.


































weird!