Mixed-Media on Luv 'til it Hurts

Looking for Lesbians

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A collection of essays, artistic contributions, and two inserted zines, “Cidade Queer, uma Leitora” was developed as part of an 18-month inquiry in São Paulo. Initiated by Lanchonete.org and ArtsEverywhere/Musagetes, the Cidade Queer program was a broad collective inquiry into how can we understand the contemporary city through a queer, intersectional, non-normative lens. The program included a series of encounters, dinners, residencies, and performances, and “Cidade Queer, uma Leitora” reconfigures these moments into a new form, extending the inquiry trans-nationally. The Reader was edited by Júlia Ayerbe and designed by Laura Daviña of Edições Aurora/Publication Studio São Paulo. Order a copy in Portuguese or English online. The following graphic work is a complementary, web-only contribution by one of the authors in the Reader.

A NEW BOOK OF BEAUTY, INTIMACY, LOSS, AND RENEWAL: ERIC RHEIN: LIFELINES

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Institute 193, the innovative gallery and publisher, has announced the publication of Eric Rhein: Lifelines

This is the first book from artist Eric Rhein: a unique monograph-memoir spanning three decades of his life and artwork. It features intimate photographs taken between 1989 and 2012—including self-portraits and images of friends and lovers from the period between Rhein’s HIV diagnosis, his near death, and the returning vitality that new medications would afford him. As a personal response to the AIDS crisis, these compelling portraits highlight tenderness and care as life-saving forces.

Paula Nishijima on LUV (red site)

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*In the process of making Luv ’til it Hurts (starting with a two-year staged impersonation by its alter-ego, Luv Hurts), I began working with fellow artists, Paula Nishijima and Brad Walrond. Paula reviewed my organization of ideas & content from its 2018-20 archive (a.k.a. the red site) using her ‘swarm’ methodology to understand patterns, and ultimately to propose the project’s next online iteration.]

HIV 2020: Aprendizajes para narración audiovisual con voz propia

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*For HIV2020, Juan De La Mar screened his autobiographical film, De Gris a POSITHIVO as part of a panel on 1st person narration along with Mariana Iacono, Jorge Garrido and Erick Cid.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqDEXTEgBRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQWYMLOM9ro

“De Gris a POSITHIVO” es un documental autobiográfico sobre mi experiencia y la de mi familia tras ser diagnosticadx VIH+.

Compartiré reflexiones y aprendizajes con Mariana Iacono, Jorge Garrido y Erick Cid sobre las narraciones con voz propia frente a nuestro diagnóstico.

Exquisite Corpse

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*The working group that comprises Luv ’til it Hurts–Brad Walrond, Paula Nishijima & Todd Lanier Lester–asked designer / installation author, Jakub Szczęsny to tailor Exquisite Corpse expography to the first 15 artists featuring in a traveling show on HIV and related stigmas. We envision that Exquisite Corpse will change from location to location. Szczęsny’s exhibition spaces (shown below) can be combined to fit the needs of new artists joining the show as well as a range of different host venues.]

luv rules

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

When I first put out tent pegs for Luv ’til it Hurts (LUV), I framed it as a two-year period of R&D. The duration of the R&D is the (art) work. This is because I could guarantee to perform ‘research and development’ for a period that I determine duration. I aimed the process at a concept loosely termed ‘philanthropic device’, and then somewhere on this axis where process (asking questions / meeting people while focused on a theme) ‘meets’ identifiable / achievable structure or agglomeration of activities (culmination), I’ve been watching and nudging, teasing out and archiving the ensuing form. And, of course the ending can be the beginning of something else. If something substantive and/or timely comes out of this two-year marathon, I’ll see it. The period is up at end of June, and I’m on a keen outlook for what emerges. It might need new words to describe it, as it shouldn’t be run-of-the-mill. It will be clear soon. Of that, I’m sure.

Codename: Exquisite Corpse

Mon, 11 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*When the project began, I wrote a piece entitled Why Make an Open Work? where I used some borrowed ‘game storming’ graphics to show the chaos needed within a project before it comes to a point. This logic showed up again when Adham Bakry made LUV’s first design elements (see image). While I don’t imagine that an art exhibition is the only ‘point’ of LUV’s two-year period of understanding, it does seem very compelling as we near the end of its initial two-year period. Codename: Exquisite Corpse! xo Todd]

Game of Swarms descends upon LUV

Mon, 11 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Game of Swarms will be thus a communication device as well as a register of the artistic research upon how dynamics of networks in nature can be used as a tool to understand new ways of relationality among humans and non-humans—based on the distribution of agency, rather than the centralisation of powers.

***

Collaboration is often considered a value, but not a standard behaviour in Western societies, as much of their thinking is rooted in the individualistic view of the subject—based on autonomy and self-determination. Game of Swarms is an artistic investigation and communication device that offers an alternative to that exceptional framework of the human, emphasising the collaborative behaviour of systems in nature.

1986: An Elegy for Our Coldest War

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Could Be The Ballroom was always our Nuclear option
A rock scrabble bunker become a threshing floor
How we survived our Coldest War

A Mother a Father an entire house full of babies
tucked into mangers woven out of street corner filament
limber enough to parent those of us:

born with and with out parents
with and without islands

begat inside flags with and without stripes
while reading for A-level exams

A Visit With El Santo Taller de Cerámica (Bogotá)

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

*Spanish below

LTIH: Do you prefer being called Sergio or El Santo?

ES: You can call me anything, I like both, Sergio is the name that my parents gave me, and El Santo is the name that I gave to my work, I’ll tell you a little bit more about the story of El Santo.

I believe it is important to start by telling you that when I was very little my mother would scold me, saying in an ironic way: “you are a saint, you never do anything, absolutely nothing.” Hehehe. In our culture saints are important, and I confess that ever since I was a little boy I really liked the idea of saints as characters, beyond the religious, I like to think that there can exist beings with some type of magic power or presence, with a sensibility that can change things, make things, or achieve things. In religion, saints, and even God himself, are like superheroes who give their all for a better world. I think it is very beautiful for one to believe in something, and even to believe in something in order to live. So I got the idea that the saint could be this character that lives in me and that is manifested through art and drawing. Because I need to believe in him, in something.
And I believe that that is how the story of this character, or trademark, started in my art… And my saint really has fulfilled me, because I feel like, and I always tell my students, that I live the best version of Sergio, doing what I like best.

Learning from We (SOMOS)

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Back at the end of 2019, a group of eight called SOMOS (or ‘SOMOS Mais’) formed in São Paulo to coordinate activities for December 1, International AIDS Day. The idea at first was that a collective might form to continue working together on our HIV-related artworks after the big holiday; however, the group didn’t stay together. A sweet event, Sarau Transante transpired on November 30th and members walked together the following day on São Paulo’s AIDS Walk. At the time I was unsure if anything had been ‘gained’ by all the effort that went into the group formation and its lone event; I reflected on our initiative in Using one ‘project’ to see another. Today, though, I can see some (new) things that I personally learned from the process. And, that’s nice! xo Todd]

More instructions for afterlife (next-LUV) designer

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*In February and back before Covid19 suspended travel (and life as we knew it) a group of LUV peeps met in NYC to work on the ’next-LUV’ or an afterlife for Luv ’til it Hurts, a project that I originally charted for only two years. Those two years are almost up. We received some instruction/planning questions from teammate Jakub Szczęsny at that time, and again now as a new group plan takes shape. xo Todd]

What would you do tomorrow if it was the last day of your life (VIHda)?

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

“De Gris a POSITHIVO” Documental Autobiográfico de Juan De La Mar que hace parte de Luv ’til it Hurts, se encuentra seleccionado para “Media Library 2020 - Visions Du Réel, Festival Internacional de Cine de Nyon”.

“De Gris a POSITHIVO,” an Autobiographical Documentary by Juan De La Mar, who is part of Luv ’til it Hurts, has been selected for the “Media Library 2020 - Visions Du Réel, Festival Internacional de Cine de Nyon.”

Still

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Eric Rhein
Communion with Oak (self-portrait)
1998, gelatin silver print, 20”x16”

I walk with the shadows

of the men I’ve known,

and loved, and tasted,

and feel, even still,

the warmth of their breath

against my skin.

Eric Rhein

1992

_____________________

Eric Rhein is an artist living and working in New York. He has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad, and has been reviewed in the New York Times, Huffington Post, ARTnews, Vanity Fair, and Art in America. He is included in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art’s Visual Arts and the AIDS Epidemic: An Oral History Project. He is a founding member of Visual AIDS Archive Project, and more of his work can be found on his Artist+ Registry page.

I wanted to elaborate more on the concept of 'transcendence'

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Image: ‘Hummingbirds’ (Installation of 6), 2016, by artist Eric Rhein

I wanted to elaborate more on the concept of ’transcendence’, mostly because I have some reservations about it. BUT, the fact that HIV is a disease that you live with took me to the place of transcendence. I departed from Eric’s work and paid especial attention to it. The aesthetics of the drawings helped to describe such transcendence in the LTIH project. (more about it later)

Conversa com Vinicius Couto (PT/EN)

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Early this year I got the chance to talk to Vinicius Couto in São Paulo about three strands of his work. The article contains images from a performance he made in São Paulo, Rio and Cairo. I was particularly interested in his idea of getting HIV+ people together, as well as what he says on ‘aesthetics’. His initial interview took place before COVID19, and I asked for clarification on his idea for getting people together a few days ago. xo Todd]

Fresh Designs for Love Positive Women 2020

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[On the occasion of Love Positive Women 2020, a project by Jessica Lynn Whitbread and partners around the world, Colombian graphic artist, Power Paola offered some new Spanish-language designs, which can be used for years to come as well. I met Power Paola through Daniel Santiago Salguero, who convened the Luciérnagas laboratory. Thanks Daniel and Power Paola!! xo Todd]

Coming Out of the Web 2.0 Closet

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Five or so years ago Canadian artist Niki Singleton and I made a Facebook project called Coming Out of the Web 2.0 Closet. We both had a story whereby ‘friends’ or family members had used social media to shun us or tell us we were going to hell or something similar for being gay, and out. A couple more friends from NYC and Beirut gave us their stories to render in five-frame comic strips. I hear HIV being referred to in a variety of coded ways (like having a House In Virginia), and for sure we talk about it as a second closet to come out of … so I decided to reboot this project here in the LUV scrapbook (of things). I’m also really fond of another work we made called Host-an-Occupier along with Danish collective Wooloo and Mexican-American artist Alicia Marvan. xo Todd]

artHIVism, Condom Art & a lifetime of caring

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*A longer EN language interview is available below for download; Todd Lanier Lester interviews Adriana Bertini for LUV.]

TLL: We met first in Barcelona at the 14th International AIDS Conference in 2002. I don’t remember too much about the trip, except that I was presenting a poster with a colleague on community sensitization work on HIV/AIDS we’d done together in the East Province of Cameroon as US Peace Corps volunteers. Again, a very long time ago.

Candles & Hearts #LPW2020

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Working together with the City of São Paulo office of Human Rights, George Ferraz prepared (styled) two downtown cultural spaces for Love Positive Women 2020 with the theme of Yemanjá and using the posters designed by Thiago. A message from the Office of Human Rights was distributed along with Valentines Day cards. The Human Rights flier encourages HIV+ women to use the city’s three citizenship centers for meetings any time of the year, and provides a QR Code to find more info easily. Both Tapera Taperá bar and esponja spaces in São Paulo hosted Love Positive Women-related info / set-ups. Thiago made the candles for an event in NYC held on February 9th. George helped with the event too, making some more cloth hearts, like the ones distributed in São Paulo and Khartoum. There were extra hearts and we mailed them to Puerto Rico with Valentines cards. Some also went to the cast of I, OF COURSE, WAS LIVID, a Love Positive Women-affiliated event at Housing Works bookstore. And, about 15 leftover candles go on to the VisualAIDS Women’s Empowerment Art Therapy Workshops. Thanks guys! xo, Todd]

Scrapbook, Love Positive Women 2020 (#LPW2020)

Sun, 16 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*When I asked NYC-based artist Thiago Correia Gonçalves if he’d like to help make a Love Positive Women event, he proposed making Bobó (shrimp and cassava stew) for Yemanjá, the goddess for fishermen who is celebrated on February 2nd in Brasil. When I asked poet Brad Walrond to participate, I’d already seen a poem ‘Yemaya’ in his forthcoming book Every Where Alien. He offered his 1986, Yemaya and other poems. DIG Ferreira, Jesse Hawkes, Livia Alexander, George Ferraz and others helped out. George made another batch of cloth hearts for attendees to the February 9th, NYC event. In addition to Bobó, Thiago made dendê or palm oil-infused candles that each guest would light upon arrival and then take home as a keepsake from the night. Thiago let me help a little making the wax and filling the candles the night before … and puréeing the cassava. xo todd]

Behind the Curtain #LPW2020

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Behind the curtain

“أنا مريضة إيدز ونفسى أتعامل كبنى آدمة، معملتش حاجة غلط علشان المجتمع ينبذنى ولما بمرض مش بلاقى دكتور يعاملنى كويس، وبقيت أخاف من الناس فاضطرت لارتداء النقاب خوفا من تعرف الناس على شخصيتى عند اللجوء لتلقى العلاج. "

“فى عام 2006 ظهرت الأعراض الأولية كإسهال وترجيع وسخونية، وفقدت الكثير من وزنى فبعد أن كان 83 كجم أصبح 45 كجم دون أن أعلم السبب، وعلى الرغم من أنى أجريت الكثير من الفحوصات والتحاليل التى حيرت الأطباء وشخصها الكثيرون بأنها مشاكل فى المعدة أو مرض الدفتيريا”.

'Maidei', Synopsis + Scene 1 #LPW2020

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Bobó for Yemanjá #LPW2020

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*When I asked Thiago if he’d like to make a meal in NYC–something we’ve done together a few times in São Paulo and once in Bamako–he said yes and immediately suggested making an offering to Iemanjá. We’ve worked together since 2012 (usu. on Lanchonete.org projects), and I imagined that the idea would be good. When I heard Iemanjá and given the date of our NYC performance (Feb 9), I immediately thought of making it a Love Positive Women 2020 event. It’s gonna be really cool. George saw the NYC design around the time that both esponja and Tapera Taperá (cultural spaces here in São Paulo) agreed to be styled for Amem Mulheres Positivas/Love Positive Women 2020. So then came Portuguese and Spanish versions of the same poster, pared down. If in São Paulo, drop by esponja or Tapera Taperá, and in NYC, let us know if you’re free on the 9th. xo todd et al]

Love Positive Women in AR/PT/ES

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*It is very exciting (and an honor) to get to imagine and implement ideas for Love Positive Women 2020 in Khartoum (Sudan), New York City (US), São Paulo (Brasil) and other places in South America. Designer Adham Bakry (Port Said/Cairo) came up with a version of the Love Positive Women insignia in Arabic and Gustavo Marcasse in both Portuguese and Spanish. Love Positive Women is a project by Jessica Whitbread. xo Todd]

Cidade Queer, a film

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Watch: Queer City / Cicade Queer, by Danila Bustamante.

Bodies that listen, dance, resist, manifest and become visible in our contemporary city. Bodies that dance the sounds of funk music, rap, samba, voguing, waacking, among other sonic styles of contestation, resistance and struggle. Through talks, dinners, experiences and exchanges, a city seeks to discuss how we live, work, share and survive the different LGBT+ stories and realities. The mini-documentary “Cidade Queer / Queer City”, directed by Danila Bustamante, takes its name from a 2016 site-specific, collective curatorial process in São Paulo, Brazil.

INGABIRE “Gift” (2005); #LPW2020, pre-A

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Watch: INGABIRE “Gift” (2005), by Jesse Hawkes.

For its first Rwandan Film Festival in 2005, the Rwanda Cinema Centre helped several young directors and groups of actors to make films on important issues in Rwanda. The film “Ingabire” was based on an original musical theatre piece that was created by a group of high school students at an HIV Prevention conference earlier in the year. It was based on true stories from their lives and lives of their friends. The film still resonates today. During a recent Global Youth Connect workshop, I showed this film and the participants insisted that “stigma against people living with HIV does not exist in Rwanda today.” Little did they know that there was a GYC delegate from Rwanda standing in that room who didn’t disclose their status among these peers for fear of stigma. Apologies for the subtitles, but we created it in two days, and English was not one of the key languages of the staff at that time. Rwanda has since shifted from French to English as its official second language of instruction in schools after Kinyarwanda, which is the language you hear in the film.

Please, touch me (PT/EN)

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Alberto Pereira Jr. first made ‘Please, touch me’ for a 2019 workshop in São Paulo. His production notes are the third in a series that also includes a project abstract #movingtarget and creative writing, ELE. xo, Todd]

Instigado por um workshop realizado no instituto Itaú Cultural, sobre estigma e produção artística contemporânea em relação ao tema HIV/Aids, realizei a minha segunda saída do armário: vivendo há 10 anos com HIV, criei a performance “Por favor, toque-me”, revelando meu status positivo e convidando o público a ressignificar a imagem pré-concebida de um corpo positivo.

Instructions from next-LUV designer for NYC mtg

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*Polish artist and architect, Jakub Szczęsny is helping to lead ACT III. LUV’s denouement is gonna be a blast! Stay tuned!!]

Socket Wrench

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[*A few years ago (2013), graphic artist Beldan Sezen was in the Netherlands and needed some quick photos of a historic scene. The graphic short she was making is called HOMOE, set in 1964 pre-Stonewall NYC, about a man remembering the homophobic murder of his neighbor “back in the day.” We decided to trade my photo-taking for some design work on a concept I sent to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called Socket Wrench.]

#movingtarget

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

alvos desde sempre

porque não hegemônicos

corpos reclassificados

incômodos

inconformes

marginais seculares

preto

feminino

não-binário

trans

intersexual

refugiado

positivo

imigrado

expulso

indígena

sacrificado

Mas em movimento!

Body Work and conception: Alberto Pereira Jr. @albertopereirajr
Body Art: DIG Ferreira @digferreira
Images: Flavio Melgarejo @ffmelgarejo

Capitalismo Viral

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

[*Bruno Mendonça e Felipe Caprestano - Terra Falsa (parte do projeto “Nenhuma Intenção Revolucionária”)]

O uso da palavra vírus para além do campo das ciências biológicas teve início a partir da década de 1980 com o desenvolvimento da cultura hacker, assim como ao longo da mesma década foi sendo assumido por outras áreas.

Essa passagem conceitual de um objeto estudado pela área das ciências
biológicas para outras disciplinas corresponde de forma bastante direta ao que os linguistas George Lakoff e Mark Johnson irão abordar como “metáfora conceitual”, ou seja, a atualização cognitiva de uma ideia. Essa atualização corresponde também a uma atualização cultural, social e político-econômica que ressignifica uma palavra, expressão ou conceito para dar conta de um novo contexto.

Act 1 is Over

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

[ACT I entailed a lot of things, and one of the most significant outputs is a GAME made by project members and artists/designers in Egypt. There is also this very cool GIF made by Brazilian designer, Gustavo Marcasse. Overall, ACT I was meant to be rather playful! Now, we’re working on ACT I.5 in support of Love Positive Women, Feb. 2020:]

Using one 'project' to see another

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This article is a field [luv] note to Luciérnagas and friends in Bogotá. I was there for a project by Daniel Santiago Salguero and his HIV+ peers. Fireflies, this is the word in Spanish for fireflies.

Speaking of fireflies, I met some luminary folk while in Bogotá Like Jackie … as far as I know she is the only woman in Luciérnagas, well, except your costuming friend (Daniel). I would love to publish a text or reflections on process by her for the 2020 Love Positive Women holiday (Feb 1-14). We will be putting up 14 days of woman-authored content on those days early next year. Can you ask (or work with) Jackie to make a text? Let’s do in Spanish, but also we can translate on our side. If you will agree to interview her for the site, then you can also be a bit instructive w/ your questions. Just make it about the lab process. In that way you both support Love Positive Women.

LUV game feedback from Bogotá + Luciérnagas

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

As I detail in Relatory Bogotá, I got to take part in the final piece of Luciérnagas with artist Daniel Santiago Salguero, offering me up-close access to a performance intervention in Bogotá’s Botanical Gardens on a Friday night with thousands of people around enjoying the cool night.

LUV game feedback from Grenoble + Ankh Association

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The first public presentation of Exposition Points de Vie, organized by Ankh Association and dedicated to people living with HIV in Egypt, took place on October 26th in Grenoble, France. The exhibition gave light to their experiences, joys, and difficulties. It involved the interactive game by Luv ‘Til it Hurts, a Falafel party, and Karaoke. The benefits went to حملة اعرف اكثر - Campagne ‘Pour en savoir plus’ - ‘Know more’ campaign .

Nic/Taha:
Hope the event in Colombia went well! I just wanted to send you a short feedback of our event in Grenoble yesterday. It went really well, a lot of people attended and they were all really interested by the project and the discussion was really interesting as well.

LUV game feedback from São Paulo + Somos Mais + AIDS Walk

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

About a month before the São Paulo AIDS Walk (now in its 3rd year), which was also on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2019, a group of positive folk and peers began meeting on Tuesday nights for a drink.

The idea of a Sarau came quickly after the name of the motley group, Somos… or Somos Mais. We are visual artists, community organizers, organization makers, filmmaker, bartender, health worker, fashion designer, poets, performers and couple who make a Centro club and art space called Um55. Our first Sarau Transante was on Saturday, November 30th at Um55, the day before World AIDS Day.

Medicine Man

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

“Medicine Man.” (40x30 inch), by Issa Nyaphaga.

(Mixed media) paint from 2013 - 2014. Santa Fe, NM - USA.

“HIV-AIDS Stigma Free.”
- Issa Nyaphaga

Photo by Oumar Mebouack

puppy luv + cloth hearts

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

So George and I had this idea for an intervention in the São Paulo AIDS Walk, which happens on or around World AIDS Day, December 1 (yesterday). A group of us (somos) made a poetry, film and performance sarau, Somos (Mais) Sarau Transante was on Saturday evening, November 30 to get us in the mood for the intense day of AIDS Day … the acts, walks, talks, performances and such. It’s a lot for one day. It’s a lot to pay attention to all at once. That’s why I like so much the project by artist, Jessica Whitbread called Love Positive Women … it creates another set of days (Feb 1-14) during which positive women are commemorated, interacted with … thought of. This relates to the cloth hearts.

Wrap love in latex - Interview with Juan De La Mar

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

TL: Hi Juan,

If memory serves this is a line in your film, De Gris a POSITHIVO … ‘wrap love in latex?’. I think it is when you are walking in the streets of Bogotá (all wrapped in plastic wrap).

Juan, first, I really appreciate your film, and furthermore it was great to have it privately screened at the event at El Parche on October 30th in Bogotá. I also really enjoyed being a part of the Laboratorio Luciérnagas performance and intervention at the Botanical Gardens on October 25th. The whole trip was amazing for me, and reminded me why I’m making the Luv ’til it Hurts project.

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part IV

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part III

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX’s Psyche Pictorial Part II

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Metamorphine Machine Furiosa XXX's Psyche Pictorial Part I

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

For all responses, see: MetaMorphineMachineFuriosaXXX

Relatoría Sesión #6 – Disidencia Sonora

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Laboratorio Luciérnagas

Relatoría 24 Agosto

sesión #6

disidencia sonora

artista invitado: Mauricio Rivera Henao

lugar: Adorno – Liberia

Relatoría:

Mauricio Rivera es artista sonoro, también trabaja con video e instalaciones. Tiene una pregunta constante por el territorio.

Disidencia = contra hegemónico

Obra: un diálogo con el lago Titicaca

Paisaje sonoro: retratar los paisajes en término sonoros. Volver plástica la materia sonora. Habla de tener conversaciones con insectos o minerales como gesto contra hegemónico ( disidente ).

Eu tive Aids por 2 meses

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

_____________________________________

Support Marina Vergueiro’s crowdfunding for the PROJETO EXPOSTA

_____________________________________

Eu tive Aids por dois meses.
Há 7 anos, eu tive Aids por dois meses.
AIDS.
AIDS mesmo.
Olha só.
Não morri.
Eu continuo aqui.
A Aids não.
Ela vazou.
Evaporou de mim
E sumiu.
A Aids é coisa do meu passado,
Desde que me tornei indetectável.
Já o HIV sobreviveu
Assim como eu.
O HIV é um vírus que você não vê…
Pois eu pareço tanto a você!
Não é mesmo?
Eu poderia ser você
E você poderia ser eu
O HIV não escolhe bicha, machão,
santa ou ateu,
tanto faz aonde você se meteu
Ou com quem você meteu.
O HIV é meu E é teu,
É de quem cruzar O caminho,
Seja monogâmica, “fiel”, bolsominion,
Esquerdomacho, idosa, tarado,
Mãe de família, trava, empresário,
O HIV se lixa se você tá no armário!

Relatoría Sesión #4 – Arte / Fronteras

Fri, 11 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Laboratorio Luciérnagas

Relatoría 27 Julio

sesión #4

Arte y fronteras políticas

Invitadas:

Melissa Guevara

Artista

Laura Echeverri

Abogada derechos humanos

Relatoría:

Melisa Guevara es artista Salvadoreña. Habló del libro “Luciérnagas en el Mozote” que contiene narraciones y testimonios sobre la masacre (1981) mas grande que ha sucedió en américa latina, 900 muertos perpetrados por el ejercito.

También nos habla del proyecto 24 Horas de fronteras abiertas, realizado por el colectivo del que hace parte, comprendido por dos colombianos, dos salvadoreños y un salvadoreño en NY. El proyecto se trata de grabar 24 capítulos relacionados cada uno a diferentes perspectivas sobre fronteras y migración, visto desde el punto de vista académico, artístico y de los inmigrantes mismos.

Relatoría Sesión #3 – Arte / VIH

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Laboratorio Luciérnagas
Relatoría 13 Julio

sesión #3
Arte / VIH

Invitados:
Fernando Arias
José Fernando Serrano
Juan Betancurth

Relatoría:

Fernando habló de su proyecto de residencias Más arte más acción. Dice que para el arte debe accionar. También habló de la importancia de la crítica

En diálogo con José Fernando se tocaron los siguientes temas:

Activismo / Violencia / LGBTI / proceso de paz / activismo LGBTI en Colombia / LGBTI con la paz (ahí se trabajó el tema Venezuela)

Sesión #2 - Memoria Léxica

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Relatoría Sesión #1 - Contexto del cuerpo en las Artes

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Laboratorio Luciérnagas
Relatoría 15 junio

sesión #1
Contexto del cuerpo en las Artes (para artistas y no artistas)

Escuchamos la pieza sonora de John Cage “canción para Marcel Duchamp”.
Hicimos cuadernos de notas para tomar anotaciones.
¿Por qué del laboratorio? Lineamientos.
Cada uno habló de cómo se relaciona con los contenidos del laboratorio

Contexto del cuerpo en las artes:

Body art, Arte Conceptual, Performance, Danza, otros. El cuerpo como material.

The Gathering

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Company - S_elf Portrait_
1998, silver gelatin print, 20x16 inches

Introduction

In “A Conversation with Eric Rhein,” an interview on this website, Eric was asked about some writing he’d done: a text which corresponds with many of the themes in his recent exhibition, Lifelines. Eric followed-up with this memoir, written in 1998, and we are happy that he’s shared it with us here.

The Gathering
by Eric Rhein
(1998)

A Conversation with Artist Eric Rhein

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

New York based artist Eric Rhein speaks about his two exhibits, Lifelines, which
have been on view in his home state of Kentucky.
Lifelines is an exhibition at two locations in Lexington: at Institute 193 through
July 27 th , and the Lexington’s 21c Museum Hotel, through the end of August.
Todd Lanier Lester, of the Luv ‘til it Hurts campaign, asked Eric about the
shows—and his current and ongoing concerns.

House of Zion Debut at Luv 'Til It Hurts Launch

Sat, 08 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

[*Before Pony Zion took part in Cidade Queer and Luv ’til it Hurts, I had the opportunity to attend one of his workshops in Lecce, Italy. xot]

In his own words, Pony Zion describes his motivation for sharing his dance performance and choreography on the occasion of Luv ’til it Hurts’ NYC launch:

“This is one of those extremely special moments in time when we get to connect in artistic communication and celebrate one another through the expression within our gifts and on top of important platforms that were built to Lead, Learn and Love. Together, let’s explore our imagination, share our minds and live by our talents by engaging in our Luv ‘TIL it Hurts.”

HIV/AIDS Testimonial Art Story

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Joyce McDonald is an artist in many senses of the word. She is, of course, a literal artist: a talented painter and sculptor whose works often capture in stark relief the gamut of emotions she’s experienced throughout her colorful life. Joyce is also a weaver of words: not just as a poet or a songwriter (she is both), but also as speaker for her church’s AIDS ministry and assistant director of its children’s choir. We are celebrating her for Love Positive Women 2019.

Love Heals

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Being invited to write as an artist, to be celebrated for the campaign Positive Affirmation Day, felt great. I had a sense of pride, a warmth, a worthiness, feelings that I am learning to cultivate, so sure, I’ll support Love Positive Women, tell me more…

“Luv til it hurts”

“Ummm”

Now I feel unsettled, confused, triggered.

I breathe,

I am a survivor of intimate partner violence,

$oropositiva

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Piece: $oropositiva**
Collage on greaseproof paper and serigraphy
30x 40**

Micaela Cyrino, 30, is a visual artist and militant of sexual and reproductive rights, blackness, and HIV / AIDS, in her artistic work and in her participation in groups such as Coletivo Amem. She graduated in Visual Arts from Santa Marcelina University. (São Paulo, Brazil)

Coletivo Amem - São Paulo <> NYC

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Coletivo Amem is a São Paulo-based artistic collective that promotes festivals, performances and debates focusing on race, class, gender, and public health.

Coletivo Amem ‘occupies’ São Paulo’s Container Theatre during Virada Cultural 2018.

https://youtu.be/B4iXEe_PNFg

For the last two years Coletivo Amem and House of Zion (Brasil) have visited NYC during Black Pride and #HouseLivesMatter.

The House of Zion in Brasil came about during a 2016 visit to São Paulo by New York’s Pony Zion.

Letter Report

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Hi all this is a report that the musician that worked with me producing and thinking the music of my last completed worked named “Fantasia casi soneto después de una lectura de dan(c)e” sent me after going to ArteBA Focus (version of the big art fair in Buenos Aires done by the same people):

Hi, Dudu, how’s it going?

I was on ArteBA Focus for a while, all right. I give you a brief report: The work was in a plasma TV of acceptable size, but had no headphones, and the environment was too noisy to be heard well with the speakers of the device. Also, when I went, the video had a jump, a line of slight horizontal digital noise, which appeared cyclically and affected everything, video and audio. Still, it could be said that, given the context, the work was “intelligible”, and in fact, I saw several people stop to look at it for a while. Very good photos of you too, I liked them.