* (restored)
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Roman Signer Room with Christmas Tree (2010)
A decorated tree, which runs on an engine, creating its own ornaments. It then spins at high speed causing the ornaments to fly away and destroy the walls.
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Olaf Breuning Snow Drawing (2014)
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Charles Ray Shoe Tie (2012)
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Great Sky Gifts Chirpee Singing Christmas Ornament (1976)
This vintage Christmas decoration plays a repeating chirping bird sound. Want to buy this?
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Cameron Jamie & The Melvins Kranky Klaus (2003)
In the snowbound villages of central Austria on 6 December, villagers congregate in homes to await a visit by a benign St Nicholas bearing seasonal gifts. They are also waiting for the Krampus, strange mythical beasts with shaggy coats and serious attitude. As St Nicholas rewards the good, so the Krampus punish the bad. Kranky Klaus tracks a herd of Krampus as they work their way through the village mauling and menacing to the very limits of acceptable intimidation.
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Katie Paterson History of Darkness (2010-ongoing)
History of Darkness is an infinite slide archive; a life-long project, it will eventually contain hundreds upon thousands of images of darkness from different times/places in the history of the Universe, spanning billions of years. Each image handwritten with its distance from earth in light years, and arranged from one to infinity.
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Various Santa Claus (20??)
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Keegan McHargue Boot (2010)
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Jeffrey Mandel Elves (1989)
There’s ONE elf! Not only that, but they didn’t use a kid or dwarf wearing a suit, they go and make top and bottom halves. You would think it was done that way so the elf could have all sorts of neat facial expressions, but it can barely move. Kirsten, Amy, and Brooke have this weird ceremony in the woods and bring the elf back to life. Soon Santa’s little killer is knocking off bit part actors, including a department store Santa. Hot on the heels of that death toll are the Nazis though, grandfather’s old friends know the elf was resurrected and want to help it mate with Kirsten. Nazis created the elf, and a perfect virgin will give birth to Aryans after it lays her. Mike takes over as the department store Santa and has something for Kirsten. The girls have a sleepover in the department store where Kirsten works. Mike shows up, the Nazis show up, and of course the elf shows up. After that Mike rushes around learning about the Nazis’ secret elf program to save Kirsten.
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Gary Hume Back of a Snowman (2002)
The 10-foot-tall, half-ton, faceless snowman stands outdoors. Hume has described the snowman as “the perfect sculpture, viewable from all sides, immaculate from all angles.”
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Ryoji Ikeda Spectra (2014)
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Alan Sailer War on Christmas (2012)
First, you may have noticed I like color, maybe a little too much. The gelatin gives me another color to play with. Second, the gelatin acts as a flexible medium to absorb energy from the pellet and transmit it to the item (in this case Christmas bulbs). The result is a pattern as the bulb breaks into little pieces.
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Gregory Markopoulos Christmas USA (1949)
Christmas U.S.A is not a primarily erotic film, containing no nudity or even nods to the act of gay sex. Instead, the film is a narrative about the gay psyche, surviving, enduring and eventually defeating oppression by the America so lovingly elevated in Post War America. Markopoulo’s looks upon the familial unit with revulsion and fear. Mother is haggard, kid sister is suspicious, even Father with his newspaper looks to his shirtless son in fear. The boy of our narrative wanders a Kafka-esque homestead of conservatism, kept propped up by mothers domesticity and fathers glowering presence. His mere presence, glowing shirtless like a ivory Greek statue, makes the dark rooms glow with eerie brightness, as he rests his head between his masculine arms. He cannot be contained, a ceremony occurs beneath a bridge, perhaps a known cruising spot in our humble town, a clean cut boy holds a candle stick, walking towards another boy, his arms spread like Saint Sebastian, bowing to him.
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Ulver Christmas (2005)
We revelled in the freedom of not having to play by anyone’s rules, our own included. With the EPs and all the stuff we did before, we had rules. The Silence EPs had rules because they were all based on mishaps. That’s the whole concept of glitch music. It has to be based on sounds that aren’t intended, in a sense. We also had rules laid out for the soundtracks, naturally, so Blood Inside got a little out of control. We just went all over the whole spectrum.
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John Baldessari Christmas (1986)
Acrylic on two black and white photographs. Overall: 37 x 20 1/4 in. (94 x 51.5 cm.)
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The critic Claudio Malberti defined painter Luigi Beneficent style as ‘Realismo Estremo’ or ‘Extreme Realism’. Benedicenti replaces the fish and meat that used to decorate the dining rooms of the leisure class with contemporary Italian patisserie, ice cream and classy drinks.
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Mike Kelley Toy Santa Claus (1993)
Color Photograph 9 1.4 x 6 inches 1993 Limited Edition of 100 *Stamped ‘MK 1993’ en Verso Provenance: Ikon Ltd. Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
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America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree (2015)
High School Choir Performs as 67 Foot ‘Singing Christmas Tree’
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Richard Billingham Fishtank (1998, excerpt)
A high-rise council flat in the Midlands at Christmas. The father, the mother, the brother. Some animals. The father drinks a lot, the brother plays around a bit, the mother holds everything together. The older brother films them with his handycam – closely, slowly, intently, recording whatever is going on.
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Adam Parker Smith Pump (2011)
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John Armleder Untitled, 1985-2014 (2014)
Location: Neuretstrasse, at the edge of the forest behind The Alpina Gstaad
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Karen Kilimnik Switzerland, the Pink Panther & Peter Sellers & Boris & Natasha in Siberia (1991)
stuffed animals, fondue pot, toe shoes, pine bow, artificial snow, candy bars, pine cone with glitter, paper lace doily, bell, two drawings, mylar, cellophane, reindeer, masking tape and decals
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Tokujin Yoshioka The Snow (2010)
The material is feather, which I believe is the lightest material of the present day. The snowscape created with the feather would be more like the memory of snow lying with people rather than the actual snow.
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Per-Ingvar Tomren & Magne Steinsvoll O’Hellige Jul! (2013)
Coming from a group of enthusiastic Norwegian amateurs, O’Hellige Jul takes place in a small town the days before Christmas. Norway’s horror scene is still in its infancy, which means that mainstream movies play safe and independent movies are the ones pushing the envelope. No horror movies with two, three or four million dollars budgets have tried to be innovative in Norway so far, and O’Hellige Jul therefore joins the ranks of movies that are produced on shoestring budgets but still manages to go beyond most of what’s been seen before (FYI, a Norwegian shoestring budget could be 5 or 15.000 dollars, not the 300.000 dollars Americans call low budget).
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Polly Apfelbaum The Dwarves w/o Snow White (1992)
Apfelbaum paints with dyes on rectangles of crushed velvet that are then folded, showing the underlying layers of colors, and placed on cardboard boxes. The boxes function as pedestals for the painted velvet.
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Unknown Godzilla Christmas Tree (2011)
Photos surfaced online last year of this huge Godzilla Christmas Tree in the Aqua City Odaiba shopping mall in Japan. There aren’t really any other details about the holiday display.
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Paul McCarthy TRANS gum (2006)
TRANS gum is an edible image of Santa Claus individually hand silk-screened onto an eight-by-ten inch piece of chewing gum. The image is one of a special series of drawings by Paul McCarthy made specifically for the cover of TRANS> 8. By transforming the traditionally sanctified icon of a happy Santa Claus into a demented, sexual image—as seen in his video performances Tokyo Santa (1996) and Santa Chocolate Shop (1997)—Paul McCarthy examines the distressed state of the human psyche. Often staged as an act of violence and a perversion of certain behavioral patterns, his performances always combine such devices as irony, exaggeration, and the grotesque. Translated for the first time onto a pink, sugary, odoriferous, oversized stick of bubble gum.
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Pierre Huyghe L’Expédition Scintillante (2002)
“Like a lot of people in my generation, I’m interested in the notion of the departure point- in something that is a potential scenario rather than a plan- but that’s a process of suspension. Still, I like the format of the parable and, as I was saying, it’s really a haiku: it’s a very short way to express something, more to do with a poem than a novel.” — Pierre Huyghe
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bd594 Christmas Jumper (1998)
A video was posted by YouTube user bd594 from Toronto, Canada, over the weekend. Not only does the knit from Goodwill feature a festive tartan, it is adorned with a tinsel Christmas tree and is attached to a working toy train set which has also been decorated with cheap LED lights.
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Various Xmas Gifts (20??)
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Merry Xmas From 3D Porn Star Vivian Extreme
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William O’Brien Untitled, 2020
‘In 1817 The Society of the Separatists of Zoar, or Zoarites, arrived in Ohio. Together 200 separatists emigrated from Württemberg, in southwestern Germany, fleeing religious oppression from the dominate Lutheran church. They wanted to practice a simpler form of Christianity based on the writings of Jakob Böhme, a unique Lutheran Protestant theologian, philosopher, and mystic. Böhme’s concerns concentrated on sin, evil and redemption, however breaking with church was his questioning of the Fall of Man, contending a condition of reaching God, was for man to first pass through hell. Divine life being dependent on time spent with shame.’
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Françoise Sullivan Danse dans la neige (1948)
Danse dans la neige was conceived as one of a cycle of 4 dances themed for the seasons. L’Été (now lost) was shot on 16mm film by Françoise’s mother while on holiday in July,1947. A spur of the moment invitation from Jean-Paul Riopelle in 1948 sparked the improvisational performance the next day of Danse dans la neige. Danced and directed by Sullivan, recorded on film by Riopelle and on camera by Maurice Perron, only the photographs survive.
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Carlos Aires Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart (2010)
Engraved kitchen knives
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Shimabuku Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere, 10 May 1994 (1994)
‘One day, I thought that if I became Santa Claus in the warm season, I had to feelthat I was in some southern hemisphere country that had Christmas in the warm season. It was spring, and I became Santa Claus in the vacant lot near the ocean, through which the train passed. I was the Santa Claus whom you could glimpse at from thetrain window, but could not look back and gaze at. The glimpse of me was the event that would linger in your mind, because of its momentary impression. I thought it would be wonderful if someone from Latin America or Australia wason the train, and, catching a glimpse of me as Santa Claus, recalled Christmas at home in the warm season. I picked up the garbage in the vacant lot. This Santa Claus in the spring held the bags that were blue and filled with discarded things. Sometimes, I think about Colombus. He tried to reach India, then he discovered America. Where can my “Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere” reach?’
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Philippe Parreno For Eleven Months of the Year its an Artwork and in December it’s Christmas (October) (2008)
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p.s. Hey. ** _Black_Acrylic, Yum! Everyone, The new episode of Ben ‘_Black_Acrylic’ Robinson’s rafters-endangering, Cosmic Disco, Electro, Coldwave, et. al.-compacted Play Therapy podcast is the perfect way to rev up your weekend, and it’s here. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. The only Clooney directed film I’ve seen is ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’, and I thought it was awkward and a waste of a great Charlie Kaufman script, but that ages ago, so I’ll try his latest. ** Misanthrope, Will the wonders of the online worlds never cease? $300 a week supplemental unemployment would be great if you’re homeless. Oh, I don’t know, the fuckers in charge will do what they’re going to do, and complaining from the peanut gallery doesn’t make the slightest difference obviously. Yes, brothels were just like small hotels with really tacky interior design. ** James, Well, thank you, sir. May your book have a glorious birth all around. Oops, I thought maybe you were being avant-garde there. I’ll try to find and snip the dash-y things. Bon weekend! ** Sypha, Yes, I saw your blurb somewhere. Am I wrong in thinking that was your debut as a blurbist? ** Bzzt, Hi, Q! I saw the ASAP review but not the Boston one. I’ll go find it, thank you! There was a quite negative review of the book somewhere, I think in the Iowa Review, but it didn’t bother me. I thought it was interesting. I feel pretty emotionally detached from WRONG’s reviews and stuff. I feel like that’s all for Diarmuid. It is kind of nice when the reviewers like the book’s main character though, ha ha. Sorry about your meh. It’s kind of a generally meh time. Oh, man, I hate writing personal statements. I’ve gotten so I refuse to do that unless it’s absolutely necessary. The task of hyping myself makes me go blank. I have to do that for the funding part of Zac’s and my films, but at least it’s about two of us, so I can pretend we’re some kind of third person who resembles a conjoined us. Thank you for writing about me in your statement. I hope my name doesn’t jinx you. Fingers stranglingly crossed that the programs recognise the boon for them that you offer. Great about the new story! And good luck in the basement. And I’m happy your love is going so well. That’s a biggie. I don’t really have any holiday plans. Everyone I know here has gone away for the holidays to see their folks and stuff. So I think I’ll just enjoy the Xmas decorations while they’re up and maybe buy another Buche and maybe give myself a Switch. How are you Xmas-ing? Have a very solid if not even transcendent weekend.** Jack Skelley, Mr. Skelley! Merry Xmas to you, maestro of the written word and old pal! Let’s Skype or Zoom or something if you’re up for it. It would be awesome to catch up face to face. ** Damien Ark, Hi, D. A little bird told me your Zoom event went very well. I was asleep at the time. But I’ll go see if it’s archived. ** Bill, Hi. Yep. I went to two of them: The Mineshaft, which was what one would expect, and Sewers of Paris because it was situated in the dead center of the old hustling strip in Hollywood, and my first boyfriend Julian was a hustler, as I know I’ve mentioned frequently, and I hung out with him frequently while he hustled, and Sewers of Paris let the hustlers (and me) come in out of the cold when it was cold. It was a nasty dive. But warm. But very smelly. German cakes! Do I even know what that would look like? Do they do a German equivalent of le Buche? I’ll google. ** Brian O’Connell, Hi Brian! Something weirder always takes weird things’ places eventually, I think? Or maybe just hope. I know, I know, I almost literally beat myself up at not knowing French and being such a Francophile. It’s moronic, but I just can’t seem to get fluent. I keep having this fantasy that I’ve secretly learned French really well and just have a mental block, and that one day someone is going to ask me complicated question in French and I will spontaneously answer them in perfect French to my astonishment. Brownies and ‘Salo’ are a most curious combination for all kinds of reasons that I don’t need to explain to you. That should enliven things. Thanks about my weekend. I’ll endeavour to make it count, and I predict yours will end in some variation on triumph. Was I right? ** Okay. This weekend I’ve restored an old, formerly dead Xmas show for you guys just to try to help get you in the spirit in my blog’s possibly inimitable style. See you on Monday.
Now available in North America 
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Sad that “XMAS USA” is the only one of aGregory’s films that’s widely available for viewing. “Twice a Man” was on You Tube for awhile, but I think it’s gone. His masterpiece “The Illiac Passion” played in experimental showcases a few years back. His lover Robert Beavers has everythign else under lock and key.
George Clooney has grown considerably as a director since “Confessions of a Dangerous mind.” I think you’ll like “the Midnight Sky” a lot. I also think you’d like George personally .I’ve dealt with him on a number of occasions over the years and always found him affable and seld-deprecating. he’s not hung up on himself in any way and has a wide range of interests.
You know, even though this is a restored Day I was a little foggy if I had ever seen it before: until I got to the Godzilla Christmas tree. That jogged some memories!
Dennis, yes, my debut as a blurbist! Though my blurb was slightly modified/edited in the final version.
Oh, apparently HARLEM SMOKE is available as an eBook on Amazon now…
Hey Dennis, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear I’m not much of a holiday guy. But I sure can appreciate Shoe Tie, and those Italian pastry sculptures.
Germans actually have a rich cake tradition. My favorites at the neighborhood place: Black Forest (layers of cream, chocolate sponge cake, and cherries macerated in kirsch), very light and flavorful, and these cakes with multiple thin layers of chocolate and tasty stuff like hazelnut cream or marzipan. There are a number of more homey pastries (like poppyseed cake, fruit strudels, etc) that are harder to get here. And for the holidays, stollen.
The days just drift by, can’t believe it’s already the 19th. I suppose I should start working on annoying holiday errands.
Bill
Dennis, Is it weird that best Christmas party is at DC’s?
Well, $300 a week supplemental unemployment actually gives most people more money per week and month than if they were still working, so it’s not that bad a deal at all. A person making minimum wage and working full time will get about $150 more per week than if he/she continued working full time during the pandemic.
Ugh, my follow up ear appointment, which was supposed to be going over the CT scan I got Wednesday with the doc plus an allergy test. I get there and the door’s locked. The ladies are inside. They open up and ask if they can help me. I tell them I have an appointment. They say there are no appointments. I show them the sheet they gave with the appointment date and time. They’re perplexed and acted like someone else had done this bad scheduling.
The allergist had already left for the day. The doc was still there but in a meeting and leaving early so he he couldn’t see me. In the meantime, I have a further ear issue. They thought I should go to urgent care or my regular GP. I even said maybe I’d have my mom look at it and use a needle to pop this new weird sore. They agreed. I’m not kidding or exaggerating here one bit.
They gave me another appointment for January 6. Getting home, I got to thinking about it and called and canceled that. Told them the doc should’ve seen me. “Well, it’s Friday and he was leaving early.” “Doesn’t matter, that was part of the appointment and I have this new issue he could’ve looked at.” I told them I want nothing to do with them anymore and will find someone else. Lady seemed okay with that.
Now, I’m writing the doc a letter and giving him bad reviews on various health sites. Fuck these people.
A beautiful Xmas display today! That Pierre Huyghe thing is gorgeous and I would dearly love to see it in the flesh.
The Xmas tree is on full display downstairs in our front room and here it is.
Ah yes, now this is more like it. Xmas is definitely here and it’s “an absolute fiasco from start to finish.”
I’m having issues with my laptop which haven’t damaged its function beyond making the spacebar stick, but the front looks like it’s coming unscrewed. A friend suggested this might be due to an expanding battery. I’m taking it to a repair shop for a diagnostic tomorrow afternoon – they promise I will have it back same day if I get there early enough!
As a result of all this, I finished my film top 10 list today. The final movie I saw for consideration was Kaori Oda’s remarkable CENOTE, which actually landed on the list. It looks and sounds like a Sensory Ethnography Lab documentary, albeit with a spiritual focus they’ve largely avoided.
I’m waiting for Jordan Wolfson to shock the art world with a new sculpture where a mechanical Santa gets his head smashed in. Too late for this year, though.
Hi, Dennis,
Quite a lot to love in this fantastic line-up, from Signer’s spinning tree of destruction to Mandel’s batshit Nazi elf movie to that lovely Charles Ray sculpture. The McCarthy, Smith, and Sailer are quite wonderful as well. I’ve been meaning to see the Markopoulos since it was written about in a probably now-defunct queer film column. Now I have no excuse.
Your prediction about my weekend was kind of right. We actually didn’t wind up watching “Salò”, because someone who really wants to see it suddenly couldn’t make it, and we all figured it’d be better to wait till another day when we could watch it with them than have them miss out. So instead we showed them the Austrian “Funny Games”, a fitting enough substitute. Everyone I’ve shown that movie too has really liked it, surprisingly, given how polarized most seem to be about in general. Anyway, it was a good time, and we still had the brownies. The real triumph, though, was finally finishing “The Kindly Ones” today. It’s a very trying and often frustrating book, and once or twice I felt like giving up, but also one of the most involved literary experiences I’ve ever had. I wound up really loving it; I rank it among the best books I’ve read this year. Now I need a break from extremely long novels.
That was my weekend—I’m wrapping it up now by watching “Black Christmas”, a personal favorite. How was your own? All the best.
300 a week is only about a hundred less than I was making working at a homeless shelter and I was being paid more than a lot of people in this Northern Michigan town. I just read Castle Faggot thanks for that it was wonderful.