Pranks, Punk and Industrial Culture from V. Vale

Wed January 9 Gee Vaucher came into San Francisco to stay with us. A few weeks earlier she had been in San Francisco to mount a large “introspective” (pun on “retrospective”) art show at Jack Hanley Gallery, 395 Valencia/15th St. This spanned from 1964 to the present, and appeared to be the work of at least five different artists — the work was so diverse, in so many different mediums (media?) including whimsical yet noir little sculptures. After seeing such a body of work, we immediately nominated her one of our favorite living artists. (more…)

Gee Vaucher arrived at 8pm — took an hour to get here from the Jack Hanley Gallery at Valencia/15th St because she had to walk (with luggage) to Market Street, and on the advice of a passersby waited a long time for the “F” bus which circled around to Broadway, and then walk to RE/Search at 20 Romolo #B.But, better late than never! Our friend Seth R. was tuning up our computer network and we all shared an appetizer of black beans/cheese dip with corn chips (massive bag from Costco left over from our premiere night of the Todd Blair (SRL) Tribute Video made by Marian Wallace).
Gee had recently been to Bethlehem working with other artists from around the world as part of a project set up by Banksy to raise awareness of the situation in Palestine and to help raise money for several children’s projects in and around Bethlehem. You can fly into Tel Aviv and it takes an hour and a half on a bus to get to Bethlehem. To Gee the drive through Israel felt more distressing than being in Bethlehem and since arriving back she has been reading a book by ILAN PAPPE titled THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINE which she feels describes why she was feeling so uncomfortable. (more…)

RE/Search & Hypnodrome present CRASS!!!
ONE NIGHT ONLY!!!
TWO SHOWS!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crass       
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/CRASS/    )

On Saturday, January 19th, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher, founding members of seminal early English punk band Crass, will be appearing at San Francisco’s own Hypnodrome. Rimbaud will give a spoken word performance, followed by an interview with Rimbaud and Vaucher by legendary Bay Area punk-documentarian V. Vale. An audience Q&A session will follow.

The beautifully decorated, wonderfully intimate Hypnodrome gives you a thrilling chance to encounter Vaucher and Rimbaud (in his first ever San Francisco appearance) from either one of the 38 general admissions seats, or one of 6 special VIP “Shock Boxes,” tickets to which include a signed poster.

Saturday, January 19th

7:30 & 10PM
General Admission: $10

6 Shock Boxes (2 person capacity each; includes signed poster): $40/box

The Hypnodrome, 575 Tenth Street /Bryant St, S.F.) For Advance Tickets, call RE/Search 415-362-1465 www.researchpubs.com

Todd Blair is a longtime [since 1989 or 1990?] SRL crew member, CCA media arts teacher, promoter, entrepreneur, artist, and general catalyst-to-make-things-happen in the Bay Area. While cleaning up SRL’s latest Amsterdam show, in a freak accident he fractured his skull and is still in a hospital overseas. His companion ALEX is there with him, as many hours as permitted and then some.
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() Thur Nov 8, 6pm RE/Search at Camerawork – 657 Mission Street, Second Floor (bet. 3rd St/New Montgomery St), San Francisco, CA 94105-4104. TEL: 415 512 2020

V. Vale, founder of Search & Destroy and RE/Search magazines, in conversation with photographer, and author of Punk ’77, James Stark. There will be a one-night photo show of photographic prints (for sale) from Punk ’77 – books can be autographed. $5 Public, $2 Students/Seniors, Free for Camerawork Members – http://www.sfcamerawork.org/

Eugene Robinson, front man for the band Oxbow, reads from his new book: Fight: Or, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About A-ss-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your A-ss Kicked for Asking.

V.Vale will attend the screening of Meditate and Destroy (feature documentary on Dharma Punx author, Noah Levine) and Death Row Art Star (a short film by Aron Ranen); San Francisco on wed – Nov. 14th, 6:30pm @ the Victoria Theatre, 16th St/Capp St in San Francisco.

http://blog.myspace.com/meditateanddestroy

You can view the film trailer here: www.meditateanddestroy.com

Mon Oct 1, 7:30pm:

V. Vale and Naut Humon attend Bill Fontana lecture, Mon night 7:30 pm at Kroeber Hall, U.C. Berkeley

5:00pm Last night Naut Humon picked me up in his Honda sedan and we breezed through rush-hour traffic, Emeryville exit to Shattuck to Albany tunnel to Ajanta (?) Restaurant. Thin sheet of gauze hanging past entryway. Sat in window and watched people walk by, their faces beautifully lit by the setting sun. Naut ordered a salmon appetizer and sizzling platter chicken tikki; i got a vegetarian dinner with vegetable samosa, some dark brown balls floating in lentil soup, the best basmati rice, carrot appetizers and mango chutney and pickles, which Naut loves. Naut’s chicken was so hot I ordered a mango lassi. mango sorbet for dessert.
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V. Vale RE/Search sees Blixa Bargeld / Alva Noto at RML 9-28-07

V. Vale RE/Search on Blixa Bargeld / Carsten Nicolai aka Alva Noto (collaboration) at RML, SF, Fri Sept 28, 2007. 2 shows: 8 & 11pm. With Kangding Ray (raster-noton) as opening act. Panel w/ V. Vale and Naut Humon [RML curator] suspended.

Here’s the official PR on the RML space: “RML’s newly launched Language, Sound and Cinema Series featuring documented, exclusive, rare, real-time presentations by international artists who will demonstrate their special project prototypes to independent patrons who wish to subscribe and witness first hand & up close these uniquely engaging exhibitions, seminars, and intimate ‘testbed’ style dress rehearsals… Sept 28 (shows at 8 & 11pm) features the world premiere artistic collaboration of Blixa Bargeld with Alva Noto (aka Carsten Nicolai) and guest performance by Kangding Ray (raster-noton). For a full description of the amazing video music surroundscape you will experience – this is definitely a mind-expanding “futuristic” rare event – go to…”
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V. Vale [RE/Search] sees Biosphere at RML, Sat Sept 15, 2007, 8 & 11pm, San Francisco.

The Recombinant Media Lab (RML) environment (developed and curated by Naut Humon) is an experimental rectangular room featuring ten video projections (full 360 degree video imagery on all four walls of a 6:4 rectangle) with 16-channel sound emanating from speakers all over the room and implanted in the floor. Miraculously, there doesn’t seem to be any feedback. Thus the sound and imagery is capable of fully immersing the audience.
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Psychic TV, Aug 24, 2007 San Francisco by V. Vale, RE/Search

Aug 24, 2007: Psychic TV (PTV3) at the Independent, San Francisco. With “The Dilettantes” and DJ Crack Whore. 628 Divisadero St.

I received an email from Genesis P-Orridge informing me that they were playing San Francisco Aug 24, Los Angeles the next day (Aug 25), and then flying to Europe where they were scheduled to do a 20-city tour starting in Russia…

My friend Gary Chong in L.A. called me up and asked if I were interviewing Genesis P-Orridge tonight. Which was a good thing – it prompted me to take my tape recorder. And next time I’ll take my digital camera with a completely blank memory card, mainly so I can shoot some low-fi video clips… Stephane, who worked on my first publication, Search & Destroy (1977-79) picked me up in her red-and-white truck…
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