GAYLETTER

Jimmy DeSana’s work was featured in the last issue of GAYLETTER Magazine and we fell in love with it. He is an artist whose art has been overlooked for many years, mainly because most people never had the chance to see it. Jimmy died of AIDS in the late '80s and left his work to artist Laurie Simmons (who was his old roommate and close friend.) She has been cataloguing and organizing the work for the last 20 years and is now doing everything she can to exhibit it. This new exhibition at the Steven Kasher Gallery features “30 rare Cibachrome prints from 1985. This set of “lost” prints has never before been on view to the public and is being presented at a time when interest in DeSana is at a renewed high. Art and photography from the early 1980s is being critically revisited in recent exhibitions at major museums and galleries. There is a special interest now in queer artists and the legacy of a generation destroyed by AIDS. Jimmy DeSana is an essential figure in this evolving canon.” This is a real treat. Jimmy’s work was influential to many of today’s contemporary artists. And let’s be honest, since when has death ever got in the way of an artist’s career? I’m sure we’ll continue to hear plenty more about this brilliant young man who was so ahead of his time.  —tom

I just read lots of information about this event, so let me do the best to simplify it. There’s an exhibition on view at The Bureau of General Services — Queer Division titled ‘Growing Sideways’ by the Buenos Aires-based, Chilean artist Catalina Schliebener, that was organized by curator John Chaic. Growing Sideways is a site-specific “floor-to-ceiling installation, growing across two and three dimensional surfaces and creating a disjointed narrative exploring gender formation and erotic curiosity…” This event is a conversation between Catalina Schliebener, John Chaich and the artist and educator Kris Grey. They will be “drawing insights” from the recent exhibition ‘Cut Ups: Queer Collage Practices,’ that took place at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art last year. ‘Cut Ups: Queer Collage Practices’ brought together an “intergenerational” group of about 15, “queer and feminist artists who each explore collage with diverse, erotically inclined tactics. The works in this show draw from print culture and pornography, dating from the era of gay and women’s liberation to the present.” That was helpful right? You are welcome homo. Yeah no problem, thank you for reading. Also, if you are broke you can donate whatever you have, they are nice people, they will let you in no matter what you can afford.  —Abi

I adored this film. Directed by Mike Mills, (who I just discovered has a baby with Miranda July) 20th Century Women is set in the late '70s in San Diego, California. The main character, played by Annette Bening, is a single mother to a young teen boy played by Lucas Jade Zumann. Trying to raise him right, the intellectually curious mom enlists a free-spirited young woman played by Greta Gerwig, who rents a room in their house, and has recently recovered from cervical cancer, plus one of the boys childhood friends, played by Elle Fanning, to help her raise the teen. Billy Crudup plays another tenant in the house who seems to pay rent by helping renovate the dilapidated old mansion. 20th Century Women is funny, thought-provoking, and my only wish after leaving the theater was that I could go back in and spend more time with these characters. It’s the kind of film that would make a great TV series, especially in today’s world, where showrunners are given maximum freedom to bring their creative visions to life. During last Sunday’s Golden Globes I was hoping that Annette would win the award for best actress in a comedy or musical. Unfortunately she didn’t come away with a Globe, but don’t be too upset. As I’m sure her character might say about awards, they are nothing more than a scam invented by the bourgeois to reaffirm the notion that their tastes are superior to everyone else’s. Resist! And go see this film.  —tom

I started watching Search Party at midnight on one of my first nights back home for the holidays. As the first episode ended I totally had that fuck, I need to binge the whole thing right now feeling, but I have a large degree of self-governing, so I went to bed, woke up the following day and continued about my viewing. Search Party follows Dory (Alia Shawkat) as she tries to find the missing Chantal Witherbottom who lived in the same college dormitory as her. They were never friends, which makes Dory’s intent fuzzy, but Dory is persistent enough to involve her boyfriend and two pseudo-bffs Elliot (whoever casted John Early for this role, thank you) and Portia in the search. Whether they’re gabbing at Greenpoint’s trendy cocktail bar, Ramona, or trying to successfully host a dinner party with malicious intent, Search Party’s cast stays true to some sort of millennial form. Tweets and texts pop up on screen to provide the character’s own interiority; everyone is lying or fumbling their way through jobs. I basically told you nothing about the plot because I can’t. I don’t want to say too much, but I rewatched the finale just so I could laugh, ponder and dissect everything this show does right one more time.  —Chris Stewart

There’s this saying I heard during election season: “never wrestle a pig because you’ll just get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.” It’s another way of saying that if you give some people an inch they’ll take a mile. This is what will happen if the Democrats give the Republicans anything! They will take everything. They must not be accommodated. They made their bed when they decided that they would oppose Obama at every turn and even obstruct his Supreme Court nomination, and now they have to lie in it. You don’t negotiate with bullies. “If you’re worried that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is going to lead Democrats to cut soul-selling deals with Trump and his right-wing Republicans, then join us on Sat Jan 7 at 1pm in front of Schumer’s apartment building at 9 Prospect Park West to send a MASSIVE MESSAGE: DON’T ACCOMMODATE... #NotOneInch!!! TRUMP AND HIS HATE-BAITING RIGHT WING DON’T DESERVE ONE CRUMB OF SUCCESS!” Can I get an amen to that!  —tom

I love the American Museum of Natural History, and I love that they open up the place for dance parties like this. If you’ve never partied at a museum, then you really gotta add it to your to do list. It’s a super grand, super cunty way to spend an evening. Museum’s just get so much better with booze and music. “During this monthly party, enjoy drinks and dancing in the Museum’s Rose Center for Earth and Space. Guests can also take a walk up the Cosmic Pathway to the Hayden Big Bang Theater where acclaimed actor Liam Neeson narrates a dynamic flight through the virtual universe based on an accurate cosmic atlas. Beer and wine will be served at a cash bar. Advance purchase of tickets is recommended to guarantee entry.” Music for the night is by Kenny Dope and Eli Escobar. Get your tix quick as this is a popular event!  —tom

In case you are not caught up with 2017 — we now live in a wonderfully scary world where there’s more than one drag competition! For those of you that are slow, let me give you a new tip, you gotta watch this drag show by The Boulet Brothers where they are searching for the “World’s First Drag Supermonster.” The Boulet Brothers (Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet) are well known in the drag scene in Los Angeles and I am sure many of you around the world might know these scary cunts. They always look frightening and amazing at the same time — good wigs, good makeup, their looks are on point, trust. They describe themselves on their Instagram as “Drag Terrorists, Queer Provocateurs, Nightlife hosts & performers...” I am not gonna give anything away about the show, because I don’t want to ruin it for you — I feel like anything I tell you will ruin the surprise — it’s one of those shows that you gotta see for yourself. All episodes are on Youtube (via the Hey Qween channel). It’s nothing like Rupaul’s Drag Race, Dragula is budget, but it works, the only thing they need to improve is the sound. There’s some interesting talent in the cast, their challenges are absolutely nuts... I can’t tell you anymore about the challenges because I don’t want to ruin your experience. And I definitely can’t say anything about the exterminations (that’s what they called their eliminations). You are gonna gag and probably scream a few times when you see the first one...  —Abi