Date! A Journal Retirement Party

There’s been an idea kicking around in my head for awhile, A Journal Retirement Party. I’m getting to the end of my current journal and I want to throw an art-infused party. I thought it would be a cool opportunity to reflect on what has been and what we hope is to come, with people I love and/or admire (if you want more of a description see an e-mail I sent to some folks a week or two ago.)

My latest idea would be to call it Date! It could be an exploration of all the connotations of that word, the journal entry, the new romance, the fruit, and the understanding of time inherent within it.

This is a new idea so I’ll leave it at that. Feel free to leave me any thoughts or ideas.

THE E-MAIL:

So I had this idea which I think you all would make awesome collaborators for. A Journal Retirement Party. I'm getting to the end of my journal and it will soon be time to put it out to pasture. However, before I do it I want to celebrate these last couple of years and what they've been like, looked like, smelled like, felt like for me and my friends. I want to know where adventures have been had, what skins have been shed, and what conversations the moon has had. I don’t want this to be some self-indulgent wank fest, but a feast of life, art, and cheep wine. I want to invite talented artists who I/we like to come together, have an awesome time, and do what we’ve been called to do, BE ARTISTS. As I see it an artists job is to help people to remember the way their world was, to see how their life is, and to imagine what dreams the future could hold. This will be a collaborative performance/happening put on by a group of artists to explore this crazy world in all its divine multiplicities. I want it to encompass love, life, death, sex, teen angst, beauty, adventure, everything! If you’re still wondering what the hell I’m talking about look at the attached manifesto and/or think Francesca Lia Block’s Weetzie Bat.

Obviously the concept needs work, but that’s why Allah created more than one of us. So what are your ideas? What, if anything, makes you think “fuck yeah that sounds awesome?” What makes you say “Eli, that’s fucking stupid?”

Much love,
Eli

Some of my vision:

Space: My house. You walk into my covered deck to an obviously faux sacred space. I’m seeing candles and those fake electric candles scattered throughout with pillows all over the place and incense wafting through the space. Rubber chickens, plastic skeletons, and unicorns hang on the walls. There is a gender-queered old spirit (a performer) who helps guest walk the line between the glitter and the holy in order to find the playful sacredness. I want people to take it seriously, to draw voluble meaning from the experience, while realizing that that can be fun and playful.

Then you enter my living room where a series of visual art pieces draw you in and spin you around. Not being a visual artist, I’m hoping someone else will sink there teeth into that aspect. I’m would love to have some art being made as well as invite people to make their own. I’m think one thing which would be awesome would be a book binding workshop.

Program: I want to invite a few performing artists (poetry, theater, music, dance) to perform their journals in someway. This is where I would do my art. I would do some kind of ceremony, probably blending Islamic chants with queer drag and old school hippy something, to retire my journal. With in this would be an opportunity for others to retire their whatevers. I’m thinking there might be one or two rehearsals of this in order to better craft people’s individual working into a coherent journey for the audience.

The performance would last no more than an hour. After which there would be music and dancing. Again not be a musician, I would love to have someone think about how to push this beyond just having bands on a stage. Maybe the band could be in the center?? How could music be used to further people’s experience of this journey.

This is an new idea, so I don't have everything worked out, but here are some things I think it would be awesome to have in it.
-You!
-A book/journal making workshop.
-Some music (I have a friend I could probably get to do some stuff.) Also, maybe Tim would come on out.
-A visual art view. My living room could make a good gallery.
-A time for people to share snippits of their journals of the last couple of years (or whenever really.) This could include things that were funny, things that were momentous, or things people just felt like sharing. I'd want this to be curated in some way, so as to make it as interesting as possible.