City of Night

The book that inspired it all – for the most part, at least. I first read the book while undergoing the change reflected in this project and I thought, what better way than to showcase this change than through this book! The book City of Night follows a man whose name we never learn and who we never get to see. It’s told through dialogue and thoughts from the main character as he undergoes an exploration of identity by traveling the world and seeing all it has to offer him. It’s a wholesome story. Except our main character is a hustler, and what he seeks above all else is vindication, validation, and freedom.

The author, John Rechy, was a part of a project very similar to this in 1999. He created an instalment for a greater interactive piece; as with his literature it explored his life, the people he met, the places he went, his culture, his family. This project was recorded in a document by its head, Marsha Kinder titled, Doors to the Labyrinth. In that journal, Marsha says this about the purpose of Rechy’s piece:

“But what if you could rewrite these pathways and pursue your own repetition compulsions through Rechy’s legendary City of Night?”

And that really resonated with me because.. that was what I had been doing within this project.

It is the anonymity in City of Night that has drawn so many to its story, and I reflected that in my piece by well, the lack of my presence, in a grander sense.

The places we went.

Each scene in the video is a specifically chosen, important location to the story. Below you’ll find an interactive map with set markers. Each marker will take you to one of the locations in the video and give a little backstory to its relevancy.

From places relevant to my childhood illusions (or maybe, dellisions), to what is now my reality. The colour palate, darkness, and surreal light all work to tell the story.

Click around the map to explore my own City of Night, turned City of Light.

Neo-Barque

The style I edited my film into, also arguably the style John Rechy wrote his novel in. I’ve found a medium between film and literature reflected in my real life, and this video encapsulates all of that. Neo-Barque takes Baroque’s obsessive concern with illusionism and adapted it to a new cultural context. This style sees the world as my own theatre, and what better way to paint this picture than utilize the whole stage.

The visuals of this story focus on an area where reality borders on illusion, and that middle plane where I sought out my freedom.

That Night at the Artist’s Den

Less about the performance, it’s all about the…. This performance played while I made the biggest decision in my life yet, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go? Isn’t that the hardest question to answer, if you can’t see into the future. While I was locked inside of the Artist’s Den, watching and listening to this performance I made this decision. I closed off any of path in life I could’ve taken, left my spot by the window, and threw myself onto the world. That night I was faced with decisions, I was about to uproot my life and move to Ontario to tread down a different path, I struggle from the fear of missing out, or FOMO, and was stuck in a battle of what if? Clearly, I never made it to Ontario, listening to the Artist’s Den told me to finish what I started here in BC, exploring each spot, before I decided there was nothing here for me anymore.

The Artist’s Den is a soundstage; a live performance aired on American Public Television featuring musical acts of all kinds. I have found the name itself to hold symbolism relevant to my story as I ask myself the question, ‘where is my Artist’s Den?’.

Listen for Yourself.

A conclusive categorized list of every performer who’s been on stage The Artist’s Den, look for yourself and find your own freedom through their performance.