ARTLAWS

In the late 90’s, JT LeRoy – a male teen sex worker turned-novelist – became an overnight literary sensation.  Publishing three bestselling books, LeRoy’s electrifying work revealed a subversive American culture that had never before been explored.  Immediately, LeRoy was celebrated by Hollywood and the Literati.  The only problem was... JT didn't actually exist.  In 2005, a 39 year old woman by the name of Laura Albert was outed as being the real author.  Albert had employed her then sister-in-law Savannah Knoop to don a wig, fedora and dark sunglasses and portray the elusive author who was rising to fame.  Ever since New York Magazine declared it “the greatest literary hoax of the millennium”, Albert has been misunderstood by many.  As she completes her soon to be released memoir, we sat down with the author to discuss how trauma and survival informed her early work, and also how our evolving cultural understanding of gender identity has shifted the interpretation of JT LeRoy's legacy.   

A note to our listeners:  This episode contains mature language and sensitive subject matter including child sexual abuse, negative body image, and eating disorders.  Discretion advised.

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Joep Beving is a Dutch composer and 21st-century music phenomenon, known worldwide for his gorgeous and haunting compositions which he often refers to as "simple music for complex emotions.”  Joep has reenergized the world of modern classical music  and proven that it’s never too late to embrace one’s creative passion.  His first album "Solipsism", which he humbly wrote and recorded at age 38 in his kitchen, was self-released with the hope of a few listens.  Instead, it became an overnight viral sensation.  Over the following five years, Joep's penetrating and deeply moving songs gained more than 320 million streams (and rising).  "Solipsism" was soon followed by the acclaimed albums "Prehension", "Conatus" , "Henosis" and "Trilogy".

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Today in Paris marks the unveiling of the infamous Christo and Jeanne-Claude's posthumous dream project -- "L‘Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped”.  Artlaws is thrilled to present a special event interview with celebrated artist and photographer Simon Chaput who knew Christo and Jeanne-Claude intimately, as both friend and colleague.  After meeting the artist couple in New York in 1983, Simon quickly became an integral part of their life and  their work. 

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were an unparalleled artistic duo celebrated for their magnificent, monumental, and ephemeral environmental installations often unprecedented in scale -- such as "Running Fence" down the California coast, "The Gates" in New York’s Central Park,  and "Wrapped Coast" in Australia.  Also known for wrapping architecture and natural elements in fabric -- such as “Surrounded Islands” in Miami and the “Wrapped Reichstag” in Berlin -- their poetic public works transcended traditional boundaries of painting, sculpture, and architecture.  What stands behind each work has always been a powerful call for freedom and beauty. 

 "L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped" -- a project first conceived by the artists sixty years ago -- has today been fully realized.  We spoke with Simon leading up  to and en route  to this unprecedented  event. 

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Moisés Kaufman is a Tony and Emmy nominated playwright and director, best known for his revolutionizing  plays that sensitively probe questions of culture and sexuality.  As co-founder and Artistic Director of Tectonic Theater Project, Kaufman has been one of the most important voices in American theater over the past three decades. 

Born in Venezuela to Orthodox Jewish parents, Kaufman came to New York in 1987 to study experimental theatre at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.  It was during this time of great social upheaval that Kaufman began to consider new ways in which stories could be told on stage.  By exploring and bending traditional formal elements, Kaufman set out to define a new theatrical experience.  This  exploration led to his two groundbreaking debuts -- "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" and "The Laramie Project". 

While Kaufman’s work is experimental in nature, his productions have always reached wide audiences and attracted top talent, including Jessica Chastain, Jane Fonda, and Robin Williams.   His Broadway credits include “The Heiress”, “33 Variations”, and the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning “I Am My Own Wife” .  A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, presented by President Barack Obama in 2016, Kaufman continues to push boundaries on stage while tackling society’s crucial issues. 

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Zack James is the founder of Animeme Studios and creator of one of YouTubes' most successful and longest running animated series YO MAMA -- a channel that's garnered over 8 million subscribers across all platforms and over 2 billion views. 

Considering the longstanding success of the franchise, many people are unaware that the show's creator is an autistic man who was born with non-verbal autism.  He was never supposed to speak -- let alone, pioneer such phenomenal new media success.  Originally gaining popularity as "Outback Zack", Zack started off as a YouTuber who published viral videos out of his grandparents’ trailer.  Sensing an opportunity on the growing YouTube platform, Zack combined an early love for cartoons with his own boundary-pushing comedy to create one of the internet’s most successful franchises, now celebrating its 10th year anniversary.  

And now, Zack is confronting tech giants like YouTube and Facebook.  As algorithms continue to shift in favor of the corporations, Zack is fighting to ensure that they become more transparent and that the future of digital media is inclusive of all voices. 

[*Note:  This is our first episode of REBEL YELL, a new series from ARTLAWS that highlights artists and creators who are pushing boundaries in media, and changing the face of our digital landscape.]

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Many people know the multi-talented Martin Mull as a celebrated TV and film actor and comedian, as well as a musician and writer.  But what some people don’t know is that, first and foremost, he is an artist -- a respected accomplished American painter, whose work is embraced and lauded by the artworld,  and resides in museums and private collections worldwide including, The Whitney, The MET and LACMA.  Renowned artists from  Richard Prince to Eric Fischl to  David Salle, consider Martin Mull a contemporary  American master.  

Since the 1970's, Martin Mull has been a ubiquitous presence on the big and small screens - from Norman Lear’s groundbreaking series “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and “Fernwood Tonight” to "Arrested Development", “Roseanne”, “Two and a Half Men”, and “Veep”, as well as films like “Mrs. Doubtfire”,  Robert Altman’s “O.C. and Stiggs”, “Mr. Mom”, and “Clue.”  

With a Smithsonian American Museum show and a major monograph on the horizon for 2023, we join Martin Mull LIVE at his studio in Los Angeles.

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Hailed as the “Punk Ballerina” by Vanity Fair, legendary dancer and choreographer Karole Armitage is the Artistic Director of the New York-based Armitage Gone! Dance Company. 

After rigorous training in classical ballet, Armitage began her professional career as a member of Balanchine’s Grand Theatre de Geneve. Soon thereafter she started exploring modern dance when she joined Merce Cunningham's company, performing leading roles in his landmark works.  In the mid-80’s, she established her first dance company in New York City -- The Armitage Ballet. As both dancer and choreographer, Armitage began combining classical, modern, and street influences with a bit of punk, rock-n-roll, and rap mixed in. She quickly became notorious for her radical and avant-garde work. 

Armitage has directed and choreographed groundbreaking ballets internationally, and for several years she served as Director of MaggioDanza, the Ballet of Florence, Italy. Armitage also choreographed two Broadway productions -- Passing Strange and Hair -- which earned her a Tony nomination.  In addition, we learn how she penetrated the Harlem Ball Culture and brought her experience to choreographing Madonna’s Vogue tour. 

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For over 20 years, Casey Spooner has pushed boundaries at the intersection of art, spectacle, and entertainment.  When he first joined forces with his art school friend Warren Fischer in 1998, little did they know their multimedia project FISCHERSPOONER would capture the attention of the world.  Making their debut at an East Village Starbucks, this outsized-glam duo soon found themselves topping the charts and accepting invitations to world renowned galleries and museums like the Guggenheim, Pompidou, and MoMA.

Casey has always been a visionary artist whose work moves fluidly between music, film, photography, performance, and design, and now he’s  emerging as a solo artist with a new body of multimedia work entitled SPOONERHOLLYWOOD.  Inspired by the pioneers of early filmmaking, SPOONERHOLLYWOOD is a conceptual artist studio with an eye towards the future, his mission being to build an empowered independent and financially self-sufficient creative class.  And like everything else he does, he is steps ahead of the art and music worlds.

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Los Angeles based photographer and visual artist Melanie Pullen is best known for her breathtaking and startling series High Fashion Crime Scenes.  In this extensive photo series which has evolved over fifteen years, Pullen recreates grisly true historical-crime scenes, while outfitting her "victims" in haute couture -- 13 million dollars worth.  Melanie takes a forensic approach to her work with extensive research, that for this series included visits to the LA Coroner’s office. By incorporating iconic high fashion labels, like Prada and Gucci, Pullen highlights not only America’s cultural obsessions with true crime and consumption, but the ways in which our modern media exploits women and violence.  

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Brooklyn based performance artist Narcissister is infamous around the world for her shocking and transgressive performances, which the New York Times dubbed "avant porn".  Growing up as a mixed-race child in La Jolla, the artist experienced hate crimes and discrimination first hand.  Feeling like the ultimate outsider, she began to look inward and recontextualize the world around her.  With her identity shrouded behind a plastic mask, Narcissister currently creates work that confronts oppression, tackles taboo subjects and challenges cultural notions of race, gender, and sexuality.  She's accomplished this across multiple platforms -- from museums and galleries to nightclubs and experimental art spaces.  She's even appeared on America's Got Talent.

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