The exhibition from PHOTOLA now moves to West Hollywood-
Long Hall Gallery-Plummer Park
1200 N Vista St, West Hollywood, CA 90046
opening reception- Saturday, February 8th 6-9:30 (thru march 4th)
live auction hosted by comedian Deven Green
Special Appearance by the Princess Ra
DJ by Paul V With the support of the City of West Hollywood benefit art auction for the Trevor Project and the ONE Archives Foundation. admission is free.
over 50LGBTQ photographers from an international competition & Wall of Fame.
Rick Castro, Fertile La Toyah Jackson, miniVHS on HD video, 52min., 1993 RESTORATION PREMIERE!
Vaginal Davis launched her groundbreaking publication Fertile La Toyah Jackson in the late 1980s. The photocopied zine brimmed with local art and music factoids, with styling and photos by Rick Castro (working under the alias Beula Luv), pieces of celebrity gossip and quickly established the queercore music scene by detailing (one could argue “exaggerating”) Ms. Davis’ musical projects: Cholita; The Afro Sisters; Black Fag; and Pedro, Muriel and Esther. Establishing Davis as an erstwhile chronicler of the alternative musical movement, Tower Records even signed an international distribution deal for the black & white 8.5x11” publication. Dennis Cooper likened its loquacious contents to Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon series, on account of its insider gossip, celebrity sex stories and fantastic lore that the Davis presented as fact.
In 1993, Davis teamed up Rick Castro (Hustler White) to make Fertile move. Together they created two VHS volumes of the zine, which captured the zeal of the publication, but also documented Los Angeles in transition, as shows like Melrose Place began to make their city streets a mass culture stomping ground. Posing as an MTV VJ, Davis walks the Santa Monica strip for segment “Streetwalker Fashions” interviewing the trans sex workers there, transforming the boulevard into a red carpet affair as she asks, “who are you wearing?” Other chapters depict lost West Hollywood haunts like Eat A Pita, The French Marketplace and the mirrored hustler haven, Numbers. Brimming with local talent, like Taste of Latex editor Lily Burana, Iris Parker of Madame X, RuPaul even makes an appearance, as she promotes her breakout single “Supermodel” and sits for a one-on-one interview with Ms. Davis.
RICK CASTRO & FERTILE LA TOYAH JACKSON- CIRCA 1994
Dirty Looks is thrilled to screen a new restoration of Fertile La Toyah Jackson Volume 1, produced with the support of the City of West Hollywood Arts Division’s Transgender Arts Initiative, under the stars of West Hollywood and in the former hustler haven of Plummer Park. Copies of Dirty Looks Volume 4 will be distributed at the event, featuring a chapter chronicling the title, with contributions by Rick Castro, Joshua Chambers-Letson, Rudy “Bleu” Garcia, Brontez Purnell and Linda Simpson.
Rick Castro is a Los Angeles-based photographer, filmmaker & writer known for his work focusing on fetish and desire. In 1994 Rick's VHS footage of hustler interviews inspired Bruce LaBruce to collaborate as co-directors/writers for the film Hustler White, (1996). The film was a great success internationally and is listed by the Los Angeles Times top 100 underground films of the 20th century. Castro also directed a documentary for MTV called, Plushies & Furries, (2001) the first mainstream project about the furry community. Fertile LaToyah Jackson video magazines, (1993) are examples of Castro’s early raw, jovial film work with then unknown “blacktress" Vaginal Davis as star.
Vaginal Davis is the internationally revered intersexed doyenne of intermedia arts and sciences. She takes public discourse to Dementia 13 levels as she spells out the queer and blatino experience in her own inemitable fashion creating new words out of thin air and crashing bull-in-a-Madame Mau China-Shop style over notions of propriety and reality.
This event was made possible with the support of the City of West Hollywood through a Transgender Arts Initiative grant.
On June 28th, 1969, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera led the Stonewall riots, which were the catapult for the contemporary LGBT rights movement.
Four years later, Sylvia and Marsha were pushed out of the movement and had to fight for the right to have space in Gay Pride parades. Sylvia fought her way on stage at the 1973 Gay Pride march in NYC to deliver a speech that denounces the liberal white gay rights "revolution" and demanded and ACTUAL revolution, one in which QTPOC, specifically, Trans women of color, were centered. I think of this today, and anytime we talk about Pride™️: how far have we really come when Queer and/or Trans People of Color still have to fight to be heard in greater LGBT spaces?
The upload deleted the captions so here's the transcript:
[crowd noise: booing and yelling]
Sylvia: Yall better quiet down! I've been trying to get up here ALL day for your gay brothers and your gay sisters in jail! that write me every motherfuckin week and ask for your help. and you all don't do a goddamn thing for them. Have you ever been beaten up? And raped? and jailed? Now think about it. They've been beaten up and raped And so they have to spend much of their money in jail to get their self home and try to get their sex change. The women have tried to fight for their sex changes, or to become women, of the women's liberation. And they write S.T.A.R., not the women's group. They do not write women. They do not write men. They write to S.T.A.R., because we're trying to do something for them. I have been to jail! I have been r*ped! And beaten. Many times! By men! Heterosexual men, that do not belong in the homosexual shelter. But: do you do anything for them? No! You all tell me to go and hide my tail between my legs.
I will not no longer put up with this shit.
I have been beaten, I have had my nose broken, I have been thrown in jail, I have lost my job, I have lost my apartment, for gay liberation.
And you all treat me this way?? What the fuck's wrong with you all??
Think about that!
[crowd noise: applause]
I do not believe in a revolution, but you all do. I believe in the gay...power. I believe in us getting our rights or else I would not be out there fighting for our rights.
That's all I wanted to say to you all people.
If you all want to know about the people that are in jail, and do not forget Bambi L'Amour, Andora Marks, Kenny Messner, and other gay people are in jail, come and see the people at S.T.A.R. house on 12th street on 640 E. 12th Street, between B and C, Apartment 14. The people there are trying to do something, for ALL of us, and not men and women that belong to a white middle class white club!
And that's what you all belong to! REVOLUTION NOWWWWW!! Gimme a G! [crowd: G!] Gimme an A! [crowd: A!] Gimme a Y! [crowd: Y!] Gimme a P! [crowd: P!] Gimme a O! [crowd: O!] Gimme a W! [crowd: W!] Gimme a E! [crowd: E!] Gimme a R! [crowd: R!] Gay... [voice cracks] [more quietly] Gay power. [crowd noise: applause] Sylvia: Louder GAY POWER!! [crowd noise: whistling]
