This is a list of posts that have inspired me or my work.  Sometimes the inspiration directly feeds into a particular piece I am working on.  Sometimes it is just an artist’s work that I really love, and contributes to the feeling of living with inspiration. Sometimes it is the excitement that another artist is expressing similar themes and images in a different time or place.

“Because I found it hard I felt honoured” — playwright/ poet Howard Barker

Dolly Parton

writing on the body — cultural theorist Nelly Richard 

“My Favourite Artistic Advice” – great short video on youtube for creativity 

Andre Bretion’s ‘convulsive beauty’

The Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch

Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain – a talk by David Lynch and associates

One of my favourite blogs: www.tenthdimension.com

a selection of works by multi-disciplinary artist Kent Monkman

I took middle names

‘In Praise of the Self-portrait’ -an article by Laura Cumming in the U.K.’s Observer

The Self-portraits of Rembrandt morphed

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, by Todd Haynes

Quentin Crisp

Ev’ry time We Say Goodbye by Annie Lennox

Close to the Knives: a Memoir of Disintegration by David Wojnarowiczs

Using your Rape-Fear Fantasmask

excerpts from Martha Graham’s autobiography Blood Memory

excerpts from Fast Feminism by Shannon Bell

Fire in My Belly, a video by David Wojnarowiczs and Diamanda Galas

excerpts from ORLAN’s Carnal Art Manifesto

Diamanda Galas

photography of Hans Bellmer

Michel Foucault on life and art

To be Queer is to be a Sublime Outcast, a message from the Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times’ Theatre: Brendan Healy

Camille Paglia on art

Spalding Gray’s Swimming to Cambodia (excerpt)

Frida Kahlo’s The Broken Column (and other selected pieces)

the self-portaits of Frida Kahlo morphed

the photography of Claude Cahun

Fensler Films 01 – 25

Giorgio de Chirico’s The Disquieting Muses

the photography of Raoul Ubac

Cindy Sherman’s “Sex Pictures”

Diana Damrau as The Queen of The Night

The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan

Stevie Nick’s Gold Dust Woman

Salvador Dali’s The Metamorphosis of Narcissus

short videos: WARN-U and Corps Core

Andre Masson’s Mannequin

selection of works by Damien Hirst

Nikos Kantantzakis on the spirit and the flesh

U.K.’s Guardian interview with ORLAN

Aphrodite – I thoguht this was a brilliant commentary on beauty standards

more excerpts from Martha Graham’s Blood Memory

excerpt from “Holy Terror”, Bob Colacello on Andy Warhol’s self-portraitsTaylor Mac’s Walk video

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Jean Genet’s Un chant d’amour

Samuel Beckett’s Not I (video)

Barker’s beauties