Darlings, what could we possibly add to what you are about to see? Nothing really, but in order to slightly prepare yourselves, read along:
"February 16 + 17
BATHROOM FOLLIES
JAMIE BENSON + ANDRAE GONZALO
This Choreographer/Fashion Designer team present an examination of artifice and its function in the American psyche through the combined vernacular of dance and fashion. The hidden truths of the human experience lie behind “closed stalls.” They are the “garments” we are left wearing, after being fully exposed. Only when we bother to start looking, do we truly begin to see."
Hmmm.
Well! We feel like we have TOTALLY had the hidden truths of the human experience exposed to us for the first time! We have truly begun to see.
And you?
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82 comments:
I'm sorry, I couldn't go through the entire thing. My ears bled.
Geez Louise! Always thought Andrae was slightly out there, but this is something else. But I have to give him credit for being the least self-conscious human beint I've ever seen...
I feel slightly disturbed. I think I just died a little on the inside.
Okay, I'm officially over the hill. I don't get either the presentation OR the show.
I felt bad, so I went back and watched the whole thing. I have to admit, the human bug was hilarious and the show became slightly less demented after Andrae's exit. It actually looked like dance towards the end.
WTF? What's the fashion angle? Unless it's the guys in tights...
I love Andrae. He put a smile on my face on the day I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner. Money wasted, IMO, but my cleaning woman disagrees.
OH. MY. GOD.
Nice ass, Andrae! Is that his boyfriend?
Me again. I'm supposed to be working, but eh!
Is this an American blog? Because in Canada, the Life Network will start showing Season 2 of "Project Catwalk" next Monday night (March 5th). It's taking over PR3's rerun slot. How about it, PRGayboys? If you can understand the designers, that is... There were a couple I couldn't follow at all during Season One. And I'm good with accents!
Ok, maybe I think too much - but I kind of get the idea of the bathroom/fitting room as the "backstage" behind the artifice, where we manage the public persona we present. But I didn't really get all the writhing on the floor bits.
Oh puhleeze. All that was was four minutes of my life I'm never going to get back. Jesus.
oh lawd...
I do have a sense of humor - really I do - and maybe I'll be able to find it again after I come back from my safe place.
Been a dancer my whole life - student, professional, teacher, studio owner. Struted many a catwalk in my day too. With that background I've just gotta say that his video represents everything I hate about people who use modern dance as an excuse for their weirdness and poor taste. I mean really people - wasn't that a large turd center stage being beaten with a plunger???!!
Jackass for the "we call ourselves artists" set. Cocked my head in confusion, laughed in places, and, ultimately walked away from both feeling dirty and that there be some serious stupid in this world.
Going to go find my blankee and wait out the wackos...
At some point, Andrae decided that Marilyn Monroe open-mouthed look was the one for him - and he will, goddammit, go through life with his mouth parted in sexual anticipation.
Did I just see an epic battle between urine and poop (the guy in the brown sleeping bag with little "chunks" artfully placed here and there)?
Andrae's inhibition sometimes makes me blush, but I still think he's a delightful freespirit/mad genius.
Well, indeed.
My brain must be too small to comprehend the profundities of these high art forms. I could use some interpretation from the PRGayboys.
That's why I hate modern dance. Andrae was cute though.
I'm sure there was a program to go along with it (please?) so maybe it made more sense if you were there and knew what you were kind of supposed to be seeing. The only part I understood was the giant poo and the bucket of urine. Ack! Oh well. Never was one for performance art anyway!
Oh, come on. You know it was hilarious! How many times in your life do you get to see a giant turd beaten down by a ballerina with a plunger?
Okay.... Well... Ah........
Hmmmmm........
hmm....now I truly see "underwear"! hehehhehe....
This was so funny and I could just see the look on my own face if I walked into the bathroom and people were in their unmentionables withering around on the floor!!!
Or....I would really be surprised to see the ballerina beating up poop when I walked in!
The moral is always wear nice undies? LOL
CJ
WOW!!
HOLY SHIT.
and I do mean shit....
I love Andrae, but these people give modern dance a bad rap. Totally meaningless crap all the way through.
Kaaay...
I don't quite get the symbolism. Or anything else this art was supposed to convey. I hope the audience was laughing w/ them. I wasn't.
Is that Andrae's BF? He's cute!
http://jamiebenson.com/
jamiebenson.html
Thanks for the link, DanielDC! He is cute, and I think that's Andrae's partner.
I don't get it, but maybe I don't get modern dance either. Well, Mr. Benson has an impressive resume.
More information here.
Thing like this make me very uncomfortable because I always feel like I'm not smart enough or sophisticated enough to "get it." But this: "Jackass for the "we call ourselves artists" set." and this: "Did I just see an epic battle between urine and poop" make me feel a whole lot better. I'm not the only one who, deep down, thinks that maybe this is a bit too pretentious and poopy.
Wow.
tiresome.
" Anonymous said...
Been a dancer my whole life - student, professional, teacher, studio owner. Struted many a catwalk in my day too. With that background I've just gotta say that his video represents everything I hate about people who use modern dance as an excuse for their weirdness and poor taste. I mean really people - wasn't that a large turd center stage being beaten with a plunger???!!"
Amen, sister!
W.T.F.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KEE----RAP!!!!!!!!!!!!
profp
p.s. although I DID watch the whole thing. *meep*
I'm a better person now. Thank you, boys!
I love Andrae, but............yeah.
In an attempt to be optimistic...Even bad art is still art.
And nice ass Andrae.
To quote Simon Cowell, "What the bloody hell was that?"
I still love Andrae, but ... yikes.
So can we assume that Jamie Benson is the son of 70's hot honey Robbie Benson? If he's not I want to know when they allowed cloning of humans because he's a dead ringer. Actually even cuter than Robby at that age if that's possible.
I can't see the video capture but saw some pics on the links provided by bettie 5:23 pm (thanks and a tip of the Hatlo Hat!). So I'm by no means a prude but I didn't ever need to see Andrae on the Can looking coquettish!
BrianB
OH JESUS!!
Now we know where Andrae is!
Okay, that was probably the single funniest thing I've seen in weeks. I know what that says about my level of taste and sophistication, but there you are.
I have fairly high standards when it comes to modern dance. This is one of the most pretentious and ridiculous piece of garbage or should I say shit I've ever seen in the name of art. The image of that large turd being beaten with a plunger will haunt me forever.
"Only when we bother to start looking, do we truly begin to see."
Perhaps they did not look long enough.
So that's what happened to Andrae.
Geez Louise.
I'll never look at poop the same way again.
Thank you, Andrae - I really did get past the smelly artifice of urine and feces and now I do see!
Hallelujah!
Taste and content aside, there was some atrocious dancing in there. Jesus.
-Em
Oh well, I'm old enough to have "enjoyed the pleasure" of seeing a band in the early 80s fronted by this gal who actually did poop on the stage.
And that was the highlight of the night!
Unfortunately, I missed their performance at a party in San Fransisco that finished up with the house burning down...
It's either funny or sad that I can't recall their name.
-- desertwind
What. The. F*ck. Was. That?!
oh my god. i don't know how anyone can call this any form of dance. i'm actually quite offended. were the people supposed to be laughing? because i would've spit and walked out.
oh my god.
Quite frankly it is an insult to anyone in the dance industry.
They think this is funny, because ????
This really isn't my thing, but I realize that sometimes you just have to let art flow over you. Which is really bad advice when the art is a dancing tampon gavotting around the stage with a urine specimen.
I can't say as I am a big fan of dancing feces, but the corn was a nice touch.
This reminds me of the scene in the Big Lebowski where the Dude's landlord pulls together his abjectly ridiculous dance piece. Dear God, I'm embarrassed to be watching.
Well at least you two dance connoisseurs didn't attempt to tackle this one.
I think some dancers and actors have this aversion to work." Let's make our living playing make believe" . Something not right inside the head that drives this 'artistic" need.
You guys most likely liked the dude's little red tights becuase you got to see his codpiece area.
Bathroom Poompas!
"Aidan said...
Which is really bad advice when the art is a dancing tampon gavotting around the stage..."
Eww, I was trying to figure out what that was. Oh god!
BrianB: He does look a lot like Robby Benson, so I got curious. Wikipedia lists Robby Benson as having two kids: Lyric & Zephyr. So it must be the cloning thing.
To me this is a classic Cornish College in Seattle (where Jamie Benson attended) piece. It's the sort of thing that The Stranger (local alterna-rag) would go ga-ga for and have it as their pick of the week.
Performance Art in Seattle tends to get way to serious and sometimes there's a need for the absolute farce (which I'm guessing this was). It sounded like the audience was laughing along to me.
Bring the work to Seattle boys! It'll be a sellout at Velocity! You might even have people dress up and participate.
OK. The only thing more disturbing than that clip, is the thought that someday, before I die & my life is flashing before my eyes, I'll have to see it again.
'Art' is one of those words that is overused (like 'luxury' and 'gourmet'.) There's a difference between art and over-indulged college brats spending daddy's money.
That was not art. It's one thing to get high and order a couple pizzas: It's another thing entirely to get high and then force complete strangers to sit through something you should have realized was crap (seriously) the minute you came down.
I give it 5 Enemas (my lowest rating).
--Gotham Tomato
I loved it.
But then again, I'm insane.
GothamTomato, I love you.
I admit it, I got through the first ten seconds, remembered why I never liked him for one minute in the show, and bailed.
How sophisticated do you guys think you have to *be* to get this?
Anne
Andrae's costumes were nice. And he and his boyfriend are so cute. And it was at Highways where this sort of performance is often on the bill.
The audience seemed to enjoy it.
I just have to come to the defense of Our Little Lamb --
Bravo! He looks so happy.
-- desertwind
Yikes. Am I the only one who thinks shock, edgy art is rather passe', done, overdone and ready for the yard sale.
I am done with deep meaning and people making statements via art etc. . Generally they haven't much to say and they take so dang long to say it.
WTF???? Andrae has a boyfriend??? Realy??? Andy Cohen said in his blog that Andrae and Santino had a sexual affair during the show. Apparently Nick even walked in on Andrae "servicing" Santino once. Poor Nick!
That video is hilariously awful. I feel embarrassed for our little lamb. It looks like his fashion career is going nowhere.
That's just bad. No excuse!
Best wishes, Andrae!
I could not finish watching it.
" Anonymous said...
I do have a sense of humor - really I do - and maybe I'll be able to find it again after I come back from my safe place.
Been a dancer my whole life - student, professional, teacher, studio owner. Struted many a catwalk in my day too. With that background I've just gotta say that his video represents everything I hate about people who use modern dance as an excuse for their weirdness and poor taste. I mean really people - wasn't that a large turd center stage being beaten with a plunger???!!
Jackass for the "we call ourselves artists" set. Cocked my head in confusion, laughed in places, and, ultimately walked away from both feeling dirty and that there be some serious stupid in this world.
Going to go find my blankee and wait out the wackos... "
Well said, anonymous! Well said!!
One word ...
Craptacular.
UGH... flush it away. That was pure utter shit. I feel sorry for Andrae. Why is he wasting his time with this cringe-inducing crap? I felt humiliated on his behalf just watching that excrement...
I thought Andrae had some design talent. Now it looks like that's all gone down the toilet. It's a shame.
I think his "boyfriend" is a talentless hack and a lousy influence.
It's unfortunate that Andrae is choosing to throw his life away on this drivel.
I wish he would find a job. A real design job. Something to help develop his skill and potential.
Wake up, Andrae! Get real. I wish Tim Gunn would kick his arse and give him a reality check.
From gutter water gowns to toilet water chic.
i'm melting...melting! oh, what a world, what a world...
For once :
All of Tom and Lorenzo's loyal subjects agree and comment accordingly.
This little piece of "art" was truly crap.I wish the local police could charge them with something . Obscenity ? The originators are probably laughing their asses off that they even got people to pay to see it. I wonder how many stayed around till completion. They deserve a beating for this.
I just want to congratulate all of you that felt the same way and for once your comments were well aimed and concise.
Little Lamb should be roasted for this.
Why Alec, what gives you the right to judge the work of hard-working people? You are the reason why everyone hates gays! Now, get me a cappuccino.
Little lamb, that was maa-d, maaaaaa-d!
" Anonymous said...
Why Alec, what gives you the right to judge the work of hard-working people? You are the reason why everyone hates gays! Now, get me a cappuccino."
ROFL. I love you, anonymous!
"Alec Smart said...
They deserve a beating for this.
Little Lamb should be roasted for this."
Now, THAT's healthy and credential-based commentary!
How hypocritical of you!
alec, the other day (when you were hiding behind an entirely different pseudonym) you said this:
"You are right.Credentials often mean diddly . It is good starting point to at least have some formal training in the industry so when the viscious attacks are launched, at least the participants know it is coming from someone who didn't learn the biz by looking a woman's fashion magazines.
You should be ashamed of your snarky attitude and comments towards the participants.
Armchair critics have a tendency to really get the ire up with decent fair hardworking people."
We've already established many times over that you're a crazy loser, but now we can add "full blown hypocrite" to the list. But keep coming back! You're neuroses are almost as much fun as the Boys' writing. Almost.
OMG! Andrae's got LEGS! He looked a little strange doing the ballet dance though....and was he really dressed up as a piece of poo?
I was crying with laughter! Only in L.A.!!!
JohnP
WTF?
Thank God we can't smell this experience.
Puhleeze, people. This is comedy, not high art. Even the description of the event is poking fun at all the pretentious twaddle out there. Humor and opposable thumbs are what separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. I personally didn't find it all that funny, but performance art is so much better live, and you can hear the audience laughing throughout the performance. So Andre "sold out" by designing costumes? I think not. Fashion is a business. Designers gotta eat.
To quote Frank Barone "Holy Crap!"
Twyla Tharpe has a lot to answer for.
...was that a man dressed in a crap costume wriggling across the floor,
Wow!
" Kristi said...
Twyla Tharpe has a lot to answer for. "
ROFL. True!
That was a good one Kristi. Still laughing and cleaning up coffee that I choked on reading that.
When Gay Porn goes really bad...
I couldn't sit through the whole thing, either. Like much of modern dance, I keep thinking I would like it better if I could score some good weed.
Although it was all worth it to see Andrae wearing tights!
Santino's work is repetitive and over-embellished. If you strip away all the gaudy trim, then what? Not much. Just an unflattering ill-fitting badly proportioned frock. He has no range whatsoever. That's why he relies so much on the wickety whack. He piles on all that crap to disguise his lousy designs.
As for his unprovoked personal attacks on Diana and that 90 minute rant against the female judges for not understanding his vision...BLECH... the more I see of him, the more I want to rip out his larynx.
I teach modern dance for a living. The problem with modern dance is you can never say the truth about it. For instance, that sucked. Cause everyone is such an artiste that you can't say the honest to goodness truth. uh your work, it sucked. We need a Project Modern Dance blog and let you guys rip it to shreds.
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