“10 Reasons Why Uncle Sam Could Never Survive Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Hell my Perfect Suspects,
I’ve been a busy queer these days painting over the gender signs on bathroom doors and bootlegging 70s soft-core porn at flea-markets. However, now that I’m back I’m extremely excited to be bringing you an amazing installment of the best art filth on the web!
Today we’re featuring two female artists who’s work I find to be invigorating and intriguing…and hot, naturally.
Firstly we have Tara Hemsey, a photographer from south jersey who shot these beautiful black & white photos. I fell in love with these pictures the first time I laid eyes on them. The juxtaposition between models sensual expression and posture with the masculinity of her muscle tone and army pants fascinates me. I also love how her diamond bracelet glitters at the sides of the frame as a reminder of this mixture of woman and warrior. With gritty sexuality and classical composition, Hemsey invokes the voyeuristic command of Mapplethorpe’s early work. Hemsey is certainly an artist to watch for.
Secondly, we have Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory, who is a slam poet, writer, and the founder/editor of Verbatim Publications. Check out Jennifer’s website HERE. So that you could get to know Jennifer a little better I thought I’d post this charming bio she has on her website;
Hi, my name is Jennifer-Leigh, a.k.a Phoenix. If you’re reading this, then you’ve officially found me. I’m a loveable eloquent klutz whose words might just clear your mind’s dementia long enough for you to recognize truth again when you see it in the mirror & remember what love looks like, even if it’s scribbled in imaginary markers on the heart of your best friend. They might make you want to depart on the first train to a city you’ve never seen & take up graffiti art as a viable pastime after you move into a brownstone with a stranger you kissed on the street. Or, you might even be inspired to pick up a pen and write. Either way, it should be pretty amazing. Feel free to email any questions, comments, hippie rants, love letters, or epistolary revolutions to rhapsodyinblu@gmail.com.
Today we’re featuring a poem originally written to be performed in Filthy, Filthy: An evening of classically queer performance which was produced with the outstanding Coffee Black Productions in conjunction with Queer Noir! I was so in love with the poem I knew I had to have it here on the site!
So without further bullshit and shenanigans, I bring you Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory’s “10 Reasons Why Uncle Sam Could Never Survive Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the work of Tara Hemsey.
Your Pithy Fag Fatale,
-T
“10 Reasons Why Uncle Sam Could Never Survive Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
1.
By now, you should know that
when a man comes to your door
dressed in tails and a top hat,
he isn’t seeking business.
2.
These days,
boys are raised to be
all asphalt and gutter.
Tearing down walls
leaves no time for looking
up at the stars.
Carrying them around on your hat
like some kind of immature halo
just mocks the man who swallowed nails with His hands
and who, apparently, wants you dead.
3.
When was the last time you saw a man fight for his life
in a bow tie?
4.
Blue will never be America’s color.
She chokes on too much funeral
to be brighter than charcoal gray.
5.
Fox News will be the first to tell you:
every gay man
was once a little boy
with dreams of becoming a recruiter.
6
The belly of a tank has an uncanny resemblance to the inside of a closet.
7.
Women were never his concern.
8.
There is nothing more vulnerable
than imprinting your body
on a nation’s worth of billboards
of tattooing your incomplete
across your belly
and admitting that
it will never be enough.
9.
Once the wreckage has fallen,
reincarnating itself into history books
and hate crimes,
it will always be his fault.
10.
When was the last time
you heard his voice?
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Perfect entry, that everyone should see. Thank you.