In my Queens housing project kichen, born like an awkward, multi-eyed Opabinia* creature from the Cambrian era, I emerged as a mulleted multimedia artist. My first illustrations were done on television-sized sheets of bristol board with black paint marker (popular with graffitti "taggers") and charcoal pencil. With these inexpensive tools I could draw and communicate anything I imagined. I felt a freedom of expression previously relegated to big-budget film directors, since I only had to draw a scene without worrying about the expense of filming it (or even owning a 35 mm camera like Lourie Anderson).
Soundtracks were created in an equally frugal manner with vinyl records of sound effects and a cassette recorder. (I later upgraded to a sampler with a cassette multi-track tape recorder.)
My first multimedia performances were done with a boom box and art easel. I recited poetry, while playing sound effects and flipping through story-board illustrations in a similar manner to Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. I performed at NYC subway stations, open poetry readings, and friends' houses. Appearing like a rare mulleted multimedia creature from some prehistoic pre-grunge era, my performances were only seen by a handful of people. |
