Arts Extra! San Francisco

DOWNTOWN — Arts Extra! joined the ranks of the Verasphere crew, a group of artists and friends with a flair for unbridled self-styled expression, to experience the eccentricity and fun of the 37th annual San Francisco LGBT Pride parade along Market Street on Sunday, June 24th.

Recognized as the world’s most vibrant affirmation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride celebration, people from all of the world participated in SF Pride 2007 to support the 2007 festival’s theme of “Pride, not Prejudice”, and to take that message to the streets.

The most audacious collective of colorful costuming that embarked upon the celebration may be attributed to Verasphere, a friendly crew whose creative focal point is centered on artist and designer Mrs. Vera, aka David Faulk. The international team of Pride participants embraced the welcomed hysteria of cheering sidewalk spectators along Market Street from Beale to Eighth Streets.

Whether embracing the public with kisses or performing zany skits from one side of the street to the other, Verasphere represents a shared perspective of local celebrants who turned out in unlimited color to march against intolerance and homophobia at the weekend-long event.

And the message does become all the more significant when demonstrated visually through outfits that push the limits of imaginative attire, according to Mrs. Vera. “I’m simply not going to wear this big fabulous outfit if I can’t have an attitude about it,” she said in reference to the pain-staking preparations involved with assembling her outfit.

But breaking new ground in outlandish looks continues to become all the more challenging in this city. “San Francisco is so jaded; they didn’t even look at us,” quipped photographer and Verasphere member Mister Tina, aka Michael Johnstone, as a bus full of people zoomed past us without even noticing our full queer regalia. Perhaps they were speechless.

Both Mrs. Vera and Mister Tina also work year-round as artists with the nonprofit organization Visual Aid, whose mission is to help present and preserve the work of professional artists whose careers are confronted with life-threatening illness. Visit visualaid.org to learn more.

Another highlight of the Pride festivities of the weekend was Robert Melton’s art exhibit in the Civic Center. Melton, an emerging curator in the local arts scene, provided a refreshing venue for Pride revelers to take in local artwork inspired by the Pride festival’s theme “Pride, not Prejudice”.

The Pride 2007 art exhibition, “Artspace”, featured artworks that focused on gay marriage, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, aidsquilt.org, and other queer-related themes. Melton recruited local artists to show their works in this inaugural exhibition for the Pride celebration, which included sculpture, mixed media, photography, painting, and a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

“Artspace showcases many different works from local artists whose subjects tie into this year’s Pride festivities, illustrating tolerance and not prejudice,” he said.

Melton’s role in the exhibit involved recruiting artists and providing a vision for the exhibit. While knowing the artists may help assemble together a diverse showing of Pride-related works, but Melton also credits Visual Aid executive director Julie Blankenship for providing easels and other materials to make the exhibition successful.

For more 2007 Pride coverage and photos, visit the Bay Area Reporter online at ebar.com, or the San Francisco Bay Times at sfbaytimes.com. For more information on SF Pride activities or the Verasphere crew, visit sfpride.org or verasphere.com.

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View more photos from Arts Extra! at flickr.com/photos/artsextra.

All photos by Jamie Windborne unless otherwise noted. Copyright (C) 2007 Jamie Windborne, www.artsextra.com. All rights reserved.

MISSION DISTRICT — The 6th Annual Transgender and Queer Performance Festival, Fresh Meet 2007, took place at the ODC Theater June 14 through 16. Hailed as the Bay Area’s highest profile transgender arts event, Fresh Meat 2007 was a featured presentation of the 10th Annual National Queer Arts Festival and part of Gay Pride Month.

The program included Hula, taiko, modern dance, traditional Colombian dance, theater, hip hop, aerial dance and much more. This year’s Fresh Meat Festival featured nine world premieres by nationally recognized artists who put transgender and queer twists on traditional forms.

Artistic director Sean Dorsey curated the special lineup, calling it “an extraordinary powerhouse lineup of artists who are reclaiming tradition and blazing new paths with their art.” Performances included Sean Dorsey, Colombian Soul, Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, Taiko Ren, Freeplay Dance Crew, Imani Henry, Miguel Chernus-Goldstein, Shawna Virago, Julia Serano, Ryka Aoki de la Cruz and Triple Threat Taiko.

The festival is especially important to Bay Area’s growing transgender arts community because of its break-through presentations in bringing forward vibrant voices that enrich San Francisco’s diverse lifestyles.

The festival’s premiere performances included artistic director Sean Dorsey’s new dance theater trio that explored bullying and the brutal consequences of resisting gender norms. Recognized as the nation’s first out transgender modern dance choreographer, Dorsey presented “Bullied”, a dance theater piece for a trio of dancers (including James Graham and Adam Kenyon Venker) navigating their way into, through or out of masculinity, while confronting the brutal consequences of bullying.

According to Dorsey, “The transgender community faces violence and attempts suicide at double to three times the rate of the general population. It often starts with bullying. Being different, and betraying masculinity in particular, is not tolerated -– it’s punished, and it’s punished severely.”

Dorsey’s choreography for this performance combined eloquent forms with tense moments that explored rough interactions and dynamic variations of space between the dancers. The intimate and sometimes horrifying sketch of a gender queer youth bullied by schoolyard predators evoked repressed emotions while examining the physical invasion of personal space. “I got shoved into a metaphorical locker — more so than I care to tell,” Dorsey’s character narrated within the theater piece.

Freeplay Dance Crew’s trans/queer dancers re-defined hip hop with their new ensemble piece, “Wait A Minute”. Freeplay Dance Crew, myspace.com/freeplaydance, was founded in 2000 by Joshua Klipp and Jonathan De Lima. They have appeared on stages such as the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Festival and the San Francisco Pride Main Stage.

“Wait A Minute”, choreographed by Sarah Bush and the rest of the FDC ensemble, worked up the audience with its playful and flirtatious dance maneuvers. The highlight of the performance was when the dancers formed a single line, one behind another, and removed each others’ shirts to signal a gyrating, floor-slapping climax to the act.

Julia Serano closed out the evening with a biting, non-fiction monologue that explored the realities of life as a transgender woman in the contemporary queer community. Julia Serano, juliaserano.com, is an Oakland-based writer, spoken word performer and trans activist. She is also the author of “Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity” (2007), a collection of personal essays that explores how misogyny frames many popular stereotypes and assumptions about transsexual women.

Fresh Meat 2007’s opening night reception also celebrated the opening of Fresh Meat in the Gallery, its fourth annual transgender visual art exhibition presented in ODC’s Gallery through July 6. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 2 to 5 p.m. and during evenings when the theater has performances. Admission is free.

Fresh Meat Productions is the nation’s first arts organization dedicated to year-round transgender arts programs, which include the annual Fresh Meat Festival, performances by artistic director Sean Dorsey’s award-winning dance company, and visual and media arts events.

ODC Theater is at 3153 17th Street (at Shotwell). Visit odctheater.org or freshmeatproductions.org for more information.

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View more photos from Arts Extra! at flickr.com/photos/artsextra.

All photos by Jamie Windborne unless otherwise noted. Copyright (C) 2007 Jamie Windborne, www.artsextra.com. All rights reserved.

SOUTH OF MARKET — Art Now San Francisco and Juxtapoz Magazine combined fantastic beats with an artistic setting to host their monthly Get Exposed Party at 111 Minna Gallery on Saturday, June 9th. The party provided an inviting social setting for local artists to submit their artwork on disc to be featured in the art and culture magazine Juxtapoz.

Ert O’Hara, web director for Juxtapoz, said the idea for the event came from the many emails the magazine receives to feature up-and-coming artists’ work. “A lot of people email us on how they can get into the magazine, so we thought we’d organize an event for art submissions to spotlight people who are emerging artists or diamonds in the rough,” she said.

Although artists were eager to submit their works, O’Hara said that a few were a bit jittery handing over their digital portfolios. “I understand where they’re coming from,” she said. “Their work is their love, their baby.”

Artist Gabriel Castellanos, myspace.com/gmcmp, discovered the monthly Get Exposed Party through MySpace. Castellanos, who has previously exhibited his alternative paintings at the 111 Minna Gallery Space, said that the Get Exposed Party was a new way to expand his artistic presence. “I just thought it was one of those opportunities that arise,” he said. “I’m not expecting anything, but it’s a good way to get yourself out there and have fun doing it.”

The Get Exposed June party also celebrated DJ Zita’s new mixCD release of “TOOOOO FUNKY! Old School Funk Mix”, myspace.com/djzita. DJ Zita spun a variety of musical styles for a crowd of nearly 70 people, including true school hip-hop, classic old school joints, and sexy chilled-out downtempo and R&B beats.

The event also hosted beats from DNZ (Amazing Zoo Crew) and mash-ups from DJ Platurn (Oakland Faders) and DJ Centipede (Mophono).

The party also presented a stylized setting where couples were anxious to begin their weekend on a romantic note. Treating Arts Extra! to a sparkling wine, Annica Carlin and Peter Sherman confided in me how this particular night scene was just the venue to get reacquainted. “It’s the end of the week, and there’s artwork at the event,” said Annica. “What better way to catch up?”

Art Now San Francisco founder Joseph Gross, , began ArtNowSF in 2005 to combine his passion for unique artwork with a love of urban fashion and the ability to throw an engaging party in a city of endless creative talent.

111 Minna Gallery is at 111 Minna. Visit them online at 111minnagallery.com. For more information about the monthly Get Exposed Party, visit ArtNowSF at artnowsf.com and Juxtapoz at juxtapoz.com.

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View more photos from Arts Extra! at flickr.com/photos/artsextra.

All photos by Jamie Windborne unless otherwise noted. Copyright (C) 2007 Jamie Windborne, www.artsextra.com. All rights reserved.