Heading off to Milwaukee on Thursday to participate in the Midwest Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference. I’ll be screening (and interruptively performing) my video piece, Kapag Tumibok ang Puso (Nostalgia).
The conference topic is Failure, and the guest keynote speaker is the celebrated queer theorist J. Jack Halberstam, author of The Queer Art of Failure.
See the conference schedule here! Lots of interesting talks and panels.
If you’re in Milwaukee, hit me up! Let’s hang out and talk about art and social justice, and do each other’s nails.
In honor of Aaliyah’s birthday today (Jan 16), I’ll be periodically posting videos and photos of the late singer/actress/fashion icon.
Aaliyah was immensely influential in my development as a singer and artist. She was my idol, goddess, a pioneer, someone who exuded mystery, beauty, vulnerability, and in her own way, challenged gender normativity.
Her death in 2001, at the age of 22, still haunts me today, and I often wonder how her career would have progressed, how many more lives she would have touched, had she been able to.
Happy Birthday, Babygirl.
Aaliyah - Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number (by AaliyahVEVO)
IAMKIAM.COM - brand new site for the brand new year, updated with current works.
Check it out, y’all!
I’ve been working on this for the past couple days, and it’s finally ready. My old homepage was beginning to feel too cluttered and unorganized. So, ready for the new year, here is a brand-spaniking new IAMKIAM.com.
Enjoy, and comments are always appreciated.
<3 U ALL. Happy New Year!
New video art in progress: Yoga with Kiam and Jerry Blossom
Check out my performance with the Jerry Blossom Brigade for Salonathon/Chicago IRL #4 Release Party!
CHICAGO IRL Issue 4 Release Part I - Salonathon - Jerry Blossom Brigade
Kiam Marcelo Junio is a multimedia artist working in photography, video, sculpture, and performance art. Kiam served seven years in the US Navy and a registered Yoga teacher. He is currently studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Kiam was born in the Philippines and has lived in the US, Japan, and Spain. He speaks English, Tagalog, and Spanish.
Every Monday, artists of all types descend upon Beauty Bar to bring to life works that defy traditional genres, from dance pieces crafted in basements to puppet shows put together in attics to stories written on the CTA to the side projects of local legends. Conceived and curated by Jane Beachy, SALONATHON strives to support the creation of new, emerging and underground art in Chicago and beyond.
Just one of the many brilliant performances at the very first Chicago IRL Release at Salonathon! Check out contributor Kiam in collaboration with contributors [X]P and Janie Stamm as Jerry Blossom gets them in line.
(Source: jrvmajesty)
LATENT CONFRONTATIONS
KIAM MARCELO JUNIO
Reflection plays a key role for the works in this collection - both the intimate act of looking within one’s internalized history, and the physical act of seeing one’s presence on a mirrored surface. In this transmutation of lightwaves, how much is transferred? How much is lost?
Latent Confrontations brings the viewer to various thresholds between personal and public, between nostalgia and obsession, between the addressor and the addressed.
WORK LIST
Untitled (Therefore, I Am)
Paper, 36x42 in.
Letters I’ll Never Send
Acrylic, 8x12 in. (5 pieces)
“Letter to My Dead Mother”
“Letter to an Absent Father”
“Letter to the Bluest Eyes in Texas”
“Letter to a Shadow”
“Letter to the One Who Got Married
Threshold
Video installation 5 mins.
A Feeling of Estrangement
Video projection 7 mins.
One Word
Acrylic, 8x10 in. (15 pieces)
Faggot
Mixed media sculpture
For more info, visit www.iamKiam.com
LATENT CONFRONTATIONS
KIAM MARCELO JUNIO
Reflection plays a key role for the works in this collection - both the intimate act of looking within one’s internalized history, and the physical act of seeing one’s presence on a mirrored surface. In this transmutation of lightwaves, how much is transferred? How much is lost?
Latent Confrontations brings the viewer to various thresholds between personal and public, between nostalgia and obsession, between the addressor and the addressed.
Richard Serra answers: “Why make Art?”
A grand question, answered quite succinctly by a great artist.
Lady Gaga in Communist China
A video mashup of “Bad Romance” and a Communist China propaganda film.
This gets more and more ridiculous as the song goes. Hilarious!
Untitled, (4:25 minutes)
(video installation, mixed media)
by Kiam Marcelo Junio
Installation shots by Heidi Norton
Artist statement and other images here
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Set-up:
- Video displayed on iPhone
- iPhone propped up on a mini-tripod
- Headphones
- the Body Shop eye de-puffing cream
- standalone desk and chair
My first video installation is presented on my iPhone. The video is a personal moment I decided to share with viewers. Due to the intimate nature of the video, the installation is set up so only one person can view it at a time (and the video is not available online).
Part of my theory is the intent to use the new media of the iPhone to its full potential - as a digital video recorder, a display, a communication device, and even as a quasi-mirror (thanks to the front-facing camera). The headphones are used to isolate the viewing experience for the viewer, and not allow any distraction from the intimate moment shared with the content.
The critique for the piece went well, and I can say I achieved what I set out to do: put the viewer in a somewhat awkward position being privy to the intimate moment, and feel truly immersed in its personal nature. Some viewers stated feeling “protective” of me (the subject of the video), and one viewer even noted that she thought the de-puffing eye cream was intended for the viewer’s use. The instructor also noted that there runs within the video a short but concise narrative, and that the video explores issues of sentimentality, communication, appearances, narcissism, and sexuality.
Some suggestions include placing the display on the wall, still small and intimate, but with less access to the actual device. Another suggestion is to place the eye cream on display, simply to be visible. These and other suggestions are definitely good to consider if/when I plan to present the work in a different setting.
Bodybuilding, a one year performance by Stuart Sandford. To support the project please visit www.stuartsandfordbodybuilding.com.
I’ve actually thought of doing this same project, but it felt so self-indulgent. When I was thinking of this, I was still at a different place in my life, where I felt constrained. As much as I valued myself and had high self-esteem, I didn’t think anyone would really care what I do or don’t do with my own body.
Things have changed. I’m finding how important it is for me to integrate art into my everyday life, and to live as if creating at every moment. The artist Sophie Calle has also inspired me in an opposite direction, to view the world and its inhabitants, including my self in an objective stance.
I just heard about this project today, and have that “Damn, he beat me to it” feeling. But I do have my own goals and plans.
In the next coming months, I aim to focus on my yoga practice and develop a stronger routine. I hope to find a nurturing studio where I can possibly get a job as a teacher. I am also moving to a focus on dance/movement and performance-based art in addition to my visual work. Hence, I aim to improve my body to make it more conducive to performance and dance. In addition, I’m beginning to explore issues surrounding sexuality and the commodification of the white male body, and this zeitgeist’s effect on the marginalized minority mind. I have much to say on this issue which has affected me my whole life, and am preparing to address it soon in my art. Like I said earlier, life itself, can be an artistic process, and I aim to live it as such.
Now on the point of narcissism. I was having a conversation with an instructor last week, and I wondered why it was that I feel so guilty to share my life and thoughts with others through my art. She observed that much of my previous work in the military, the healthcare industry, and volunteer work has been to serve others selflessly. Turning the focus on myself feels inherently selfish. But the types of art that touch me are those that are deeply and personally invested. Many artists will create works that question the larger scheme, or address the questions of the medium. Others will tackle the issues within and manifest it in whatever means necessary (but also addressing the language of the medium). I believe that complete honesty may be a bit abrasive, and can turn people off, but at the root of it, I think this is the way for me to go. Complete, unapologetic honesty.
An excerpt of Malia Jensen’s Salty.
This just warms my heart.
Celery
