'"S/Z: Installment 1" - a video by Skye Thorstenson', San Francisco, CA. May, 2010
S/Z - Follow this link S/Z: Installment 1 is a 23 E Studios film that began pre-production back in 2007. Inspired in equal parts by Roland Barthes analysis of narrative structure, the cut-up technique made popular by William Burroughs, and Antonin Artaud's film theory. While fragmented and wildly jumping between time and space, there are some constants - Under the mounting pressure of an impending apocalypse, Skye is making a documentary film about himself making a re-enactment of his experiences. Skye hires and actor to perform as him making a documentary on him making a re-enactment of his life and hires an actor to perform as him performing as Skye, etc. "When you cut into the present, the future leaks out." - William Burroughs
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'Myles Cooper Musical Cartoon - "Gonna Find Boyfriends Today"', San Francisco, CA. February, 2010 Watch here! - Follow this link
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'PTWH DVD Release & Drawering Party' Nightmare City Studios Annex, San Francisco, CA. January, 2010 Hosts Keturah and Carol Anne toy with time and space in this episode of the public access show that features mystical interventions with Princess Diana's spirit. Also, youtube artist Myles Cooper gives a rousing performance, Dad Fag, WORK and Schlitz Claiborne prove that you don't have to tune those things to play 'em, and all-around-general-muse Johnny Grindstaff attempts to transform from a barfly into a butterfly. This installment originally aired on June 14, 1996. Nightmare City's variety show, "The Pixie Troll Witch Hour," takes its cue from Jon Moritsugu's short, "Mommy, Mommy Where's My Brain?", "Wayne's World", "The Uncle Floyd Show", and Glenn O'Brien's "TV Party", but veers toward the silently incoherent. Aslo screening Skye Thorstenson's video for Myles Cooper's "Gonna Find Boyfriends Today", followed by the mysterious film "Planet of Cork". Hosted by: Nightmare City (Carol Anne McChrystal & Keturah Cummings)
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'Chimera: Fabrications of the Mind' Gensler Gallery, San Francisco, CA. January, 2010 Gensler’s 2010 Art Program kicks off with Chimera: Fabrications of the Mind, an exhibition balancing the creative imaginations of 14 artists within the walls of this global design firm. From Greek mythology, the Chimera was a fire-breathing monster composed of a lion’s head, a goat’s body and serpent’s tail. The Chimera represents a fabricated illusion, a composite character wrought from the imagination. Here the imaginary and creative re-use flourish within the realms of fantasy, desire and appropriation. The artists presented offer this familiar vision; the constructed world of popular character, storyline and fantastic illusion. Chimera: Fabrications of the Mind extends throughout the Gensler space, impregnating the site with fanciful creations while providing exceptional representations of the real and the unreal. Curated by: Matt Boyko and Collin Burry
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'JIGSAWMENTALLAMA' David Cunningham Projects, San Francisco, CA. November, 2009 JIGSAWMENTALLAMA is a group exhibition and weekly film and video screening series. A full schedule for the weekly screenings will be posted on the DCP website. "Nosebleeds. Confessions. Glitter. Melodrama. Reversals. Puzzles. Opera. Science. Heartbreak. Lemons. Role-play. Dream Tunnels. Monkeys. Denouements. Wigs. Turntables. Effusions. Kaleidoscopes. Pirates. Feathers. Gloves. Entheogens. Cameos. Body Doubles. Magic. Horror. Intrigue. Inaugurations. Catharsis. Glamour. Wastrels. Soap. Stilettos. Sublimations. Invocations. Vikings. Cheese. Conversations. Channeling. Comedy. Fireworks. Projections. Pink Noise. Hexagons. Stalkers. Seizures. Tele-novellas. Strain. Smiles. Drag. Monsters. Sadness. Madness. Poetry. Music. Disaster. Masks. Flour. Milk. Caulk. Plaster. Deconstructions. Reconstructions. Abductions. Feints. Nostalgia. Manipulations. Data-bending. Tragedy. Mirror-balls. Joan Collins. Buffalo Bill. Powder Puffs. Demons. Pleasure. Puce Moments. Flesh. Aliens. Alien Flesh. Flashbulbs. Dry Ice. Joy……." Virgin Prunes. Curated by: David Cunningham Participating artists include: Keith Boadwee, Scott Hewicker, Anne McGuire, Austin McQuinn, Toban Nichols, Sonja Nilsson, Margeret Tedesco, Skye Thorstenson, & Grant Worth. With weekly screenings of film and video works by: Kenneth Anger, Harry Dodge & Stanya Kahn, Craig Goodman, Scott Hewiwcker, Kalup Linzy, Anne McGuire, Jack Smith, Skye Thorstenson, & Ryan Trecartin.
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'Color & Color' art publication, New York, NY. October, 2009 Color & Color is an artist-curated publication guided by the duality of two thematic colors per issue. The premier issue, Color&Color #0, features Orange & Blue with work by the following artists: Deric Carner, Amanda Curreri, Renee Gertler, Jason Hanasik, Sam Lopes, Celia Manley, Jeremy Chase Sanders, Erik Scollon, Skye Thorstenson, and Christine Wong Yap. Curated by: Amanda Curreri and Erik Scollon
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'Three Pieces: Platform for Art and Sound' P.P.O.W Gallery, New York, NY. October, 2009 Three Pieces: Platform for Art and Sound. An evening presentation of three new pieces of sound, image, text or movement from local and visiting artists. Presentations by Amanda Curreri and Erik Scollon sharing the release of their art publication, Color & Color, a sound event is performed by o.blaat (Keiko Uenishi), and language drawings by Sal Randolph Presented by Roddy Schrock and Deric Carner in various locations.. Participating artists include: Erik Scollon, Amanda Curreri, o.blaat (Keiko Uenishi), Sal Randolph, Deric Carner, Renee Gertler, Jason Hanasik, Sam Lopes, Celia Manley, Jeremy Chase Sanders, Skye Thorstenson, and Christine Wong Yap |
'The MASHUP Show: Art Will Eat Itself' NOMA Gallery, San Francisco, CA. May, 2009 THE MASHUP SHOW ART WILL EAT ITSELF takes its cue from David Quantick’s assertion that “pop will eat itself” in an NME magazine article. Stating that since pop music simply recycles good ideas continuously, a perfect pop song could be written by combining the best of the best from these ideas into one song. The most popular echo of this phenomenon manifests itself in the ongoing mashup music genre. This genre is known for coliding songs that would seemingly have nothing to do with one another and subsequently creating a whole new song as the outcome of this encounter. Curated by: Marcella Faustini Participating artists include: S. Clay Wilson, Nightmare City, Zachary Scholz, Museum of Viral Memory, Skye Thorstenson, Alex Lukas, Erin Allen, Scotty Enderle, Anne Colvin and more! |
'HONEY BUNNY V.2' Monkeytown Gallery - Brooklyn, New York. January 20th, 2009 Thumping sex and candy colored worlds implode with the innocence of desire as Vena Virago returns with this abstract vision of triple-x, a journey of sex, obsession and transcendence. With HONEY BUNNY, Virago offers a unique insight into her own persona as artist and pornographer, delivering a multifaceted work that exists as a film, a performance piece and an art show. Originally filmed within the Margie Schnibbe exhibit at the Circus Gallery (LA), and released by Vivid Alt in 2008, Honey Bunny has been reimagined, reshot and remixed by a widening circle of Monkey Town artists. Participating artists include: Vincent Gallo, Pierre Yves Clouin, Eva Midgley, Skye Thorstenson, Sam Zimmerman, William Skullmaster, and more! |
'Dream On!' Mission 17 Gallery - San Francisco, CA. December 2008 - January 2009 Juried by: Clark Buckner (Director/Curator, MISSION 17) Joseph del Pesco (Curator-at-large, Artists Space, New York) Laura Mott (Assistant Director/Curator, MISSION 17) Susan O'Malley (Assistant Curator, The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art) Dreams have long been celebrated as sources of inspiration and analogues for artworks. In dreams we see that the world might be otherwise, that oppressive forces might be overcome, and that our wishes might be fulfilled. But the dreams that have driven the development of the modern world have resulted, to the contrary, in previously unimaginable nightmares. We live in a world where genocide has become commonplace, where the necessary conditions for life on earth are threatened by our own actions, and where there seems to be no limit to our exploitation of one another.
Is it naïve now to dream--a disavowal of the conflicts that in fact define our condition? Or has the need to dream become more urgent than ever? |
'Honey Bunny' Vivid Alt DVD Release, Los Angeles. September 2008 Two short films by Skye Thorstenson, 'Orgiastic Plasma 1' and 'Orgiastic Plasma 2', using re-articulated footage from LA based artist Margie Schnibbe's (aka Vena Virago) latest feature are currently exclusively available as extras on the Honey Bunny DVD. Curated by Sam Zimmerman of Monkeytown Gallery - Brooklyn, NY. Press: Margie Schnibbe/Vena Virago, Follow this link Honey Bunny DVD, Follow this link |
'DISEMBODY' Fringe Exhibitions Gallery - Los Angeles, CA. July 12 - August 8 2008 Installation and screening of film ' Disembody ' 2008 featuring music by Phil and Libby Spirito. Collaboration with Lee Pembleton, Alex Lukas, Keturah Cummings, Carol Anne McChrystal, Elise Irving, Amy Sampson, Carson Murdoch, David Gurman, Jonathon Grindstaff, Marcella Faustini, and more... Press: 23 E Studios, Follow this link Fringe Exhibitions Gallery, Follow this link |
'THIS ONE GOES UP TO 11', Why + Wherefore / Monkeytown Gallery - Brooklyn, NY. June 5th 2008 40 works of video selected by Summer Guthery, Hanne Mugaas, Lumi Tan, and Nicholas Weist. Hosting by Vimeo. Thanks to Mark Beasley for our title. Featuring Uri Aran, Bad Beuys Entertainment, Trisha Baga, Chris Bors, Michael Bell-Smith, Charles Broskoski, Robert Cauble, Tyler Coburn, Jen DeNike, Carla Edwards, Lars Holdhus, Desiree Holman, Brian Kenny, Oliver Laric, Annika Larsson, Lars Laumann, Kalup Linzy, Guthrie Lonergan, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Gene McHugh, Jenn Norton, Geoffrey Pugen, Hayley Aviva Silverman, Jennifer Sullivan, Joshua Thorson, Skye Thorstenson, Brina Thurston, Whoop Dee Doo, and Damon Zucconi. |
'Video Revolutionaries' Getty Museum - Los Angeles, CA May 30th 2008 An excerpt of S/Z was screened with 15 other pieces of video work in a show that ran in conjunction with the California Video exhibit at the Getty. Getty Museum, Follow this link |
| 'NY Art Magazine' - New York, NY. December 2007 - January 2008 The December/January issue of NY Art Magazine will feature a short roundtable discussion between me and an extraordinary Canadian filmmaker Jenn Norton. Editor Nicholas Weist organized this unique introduction between Jenn and I through Youtube - the first part of our talk is still online too- but the rest is continued in the magazine. Press: Nicholas Weist, Follow this link NY Art Magazine, Follow this link |