The Photography of Neil Girling - The Blight

  Neil has come a long way since first appearing on the scene just a few short years ago, and well he should; he works like a person possessed.

 It's nice to see that he's getting more into studio work - & I hope we get to see more in the future.

www.theblight.net

  I can't recall the first time I met Lee, nor did I know then that he was an artist. He was just a seemingly really nice guy in his beavertail shoes, dressed like the love child of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and I liked him immediately.

He's one of those people who I feel like I can enter into a completely bizarre conversation with for hours, having fun testing the limits of absurdity while still maintaining a touch of coherence. Don't know why, that's just the impression I got after a few quick chats with him, and I'm usually pretty damn good at reading people. In him I read an absolutely delightful, comical absurdity, and on top of that, he's just a really nice guy...

Then, I saw his art, and was completely astounded...

Los Angles late 1950's. Not even a memory. Just some black and white photos. The best one, me in a swing, my right leg looking painfully twisted. And then the call from grandfather – “you betta get that checked out”. Gee, so I had a leg brace for a while.

The bright colors and the rust. Colors so potent that you imagine that the formula used to make them caused sever illness to their inventors. The creaking, cranking and'a belching of the aging rides. Blurring mechanical metal spinning tiny cars whose performance sounds almost like a wheeze. The horror house with the larger than life nude demon statue provocatively covering his manly (?) bits with his pitchfork. What kind of idiot mad genius designed that! The sickly salty smell that on the most humid hot of July days that takes on Alka Seltzer pungency. And the faces of the amusement park workers - hard lined, ruddy and eyes beyond blood shot - more like blood explosions. The bodies - men wire thin with muscled arms snaked with popping veins and faded tattoos. Their smell an elixir of booze, body odor and Vitalis. Women with swinging hips, candy lips, and a layer of fat curling over their hot dog skin-tight capris. Canary hair the same color as the hot buttered radioactive corn being sold on the boardwalk. As you are handed your strip of ride tickets you pick up the stale waft of baby powder. By the food stand adorned with a rocket perched like a cherry are the darkened halls of a bar whose members sit in silence staring at world in a glass. Even darker, smaller and secretive is the bar under the subway station. Perhaps the risk of walking two blocks in the sun, to the joyous in comparison boardwalk bar, is too great. Hovering over all the people, the rides, the beach and surf- like an invisible force field - is the scratching, screeching Geiger counter reading melodies of a thousand transistor radios all on the same station and all sounding different. And feeding it like a foot to accelerator is laughter. All ages, all times, from human and machine - laughter. Coney Island in the 1960's.

Interview with Raven Creature

by kSea flux & Raven

Since she could pick up a pencil, Raven Creature drew. She drew all over everything including her own skin, giving her teachers and parents headaches. While she guards her given name she is legally Raven Creature now, to the surprised stares of being called at doctors appointments as the other patients look on.

Miss Creature makes her home in humid New Orleans, despite mosquitoes and storms.

An Elf at Faerieworlds

A contortionist is bent completely, seemingly twice in half. Someone unfolds from a long silk and threatens to crash to the stage, catching themselves an instant before impact. A stilter does a backbend over a clown, and completes an effortless walkover. A giant fireball blots out the stage.

The flash of a camera and a streak of red curls and you know Pixie is on the scene. With a tippy-toe bounce, and camera as far up as she can reach, another perfect expression of passion. If you've seen any underground circus, belly dance ensemble, aerial artist, contortionist, fire troupe, clown rock band or maniac on stilts, chances are, Pixie has photographed it. She has blown the underground circus and performance scene wide open with a style that encompasses the true essence of her subject, as well as that unmistakable Pixie spirit. As a frequent subject myself, I felt lucky to pull her out from behind the camera to ask her a few questions. ~ Brady

Pixie, as interviewed by Brady

What was the first time you felt the spark to do what you’re doing now? What were some of your first inspirations?

When I was a little-r sprite, I was inspired by moments, by people, music and time passing… Even then, I was aware of time, perhaps through watching my three younger sisters go through predictable stages. I saw definite patterns and phases coming and going. I felt a need to preserve time for them.

I think it is very fair to say that Nic Caesar is a friend of mine, even though I have only briefly met him once at a show I invited him to be a part of- because his amazing and darkly whimsical art simply needed to be there.

I'm not certain exactly how we ended up finding each other, whether he found me or I found him, but I do know that it was through a previous gig I had working with a band called The Dresden Dolls...

Nic rocks,is incredibly kind and lighthearted, and truly is probably one if the easiest people I have ever had the opportunity to work with - and just to solidify that point, when I began this magazine, I told him that I am not much of an interviewer at all, and if he could help, I would really appreciate it. Less than a day later, I recieve an email where he has written out how own questions and answered them - and except for the 'tell me a secret' question, these are all his. He did a much better job of interviewing himself than I could have at that point. (Hopefully I've gotten better by the time you actually read this.)

So here is Nicolas Caesar as interviewed by Nic Caesar - and really, at this time it is the best interview I have ever not done, and the very first one for Big Top ...I like Nic. ~ kSea