When I was living in Russia, I had time to contemplate and let loose the artistic expression side of me. True, the only work that resulted was my book, Juice--Electricity for Pleasure and Pain, but I had lots of other projects for historical fiction novels that I started picking at ...completion of which, alas, awaits the leisure I'll secure when I retire not too long off. I often though of myself as "having the heart of a Pushkin, but the tongue of an ox."
As I give more and more presentations at BDSM events around the country, I get chances to see the artistic samplings and scenelets of others, and my artistic yearnings start bubbling. I particularly like those involving displays of what I call "raw or primal power."
Examples of what I mean...
Scenelets: watching a husky leatherman having his sweaty, naked, boy secured to a cross and giving him a good strapping with a razor strop while the boy is struggling to please his top and both of them so intently involved in each other -- watching a cloud of lesbians exquisitely torturing one of theirs each so involved in each other and their scene that the energy just builds and builds and builds -- watching a superb flogging between a male top and a female bottom so artistically done and exquisitely executed that they are in their own universe and the attention of that universe is focused in admiration on them -- or watching a D/s scene between a Mistress and her male slave who is so enraptured at her and is so intent to please her that just a mere gesture, pose, or a softly given command on her part controls his very being and the two of them immersing themselves in their scene.
Artistic: watching a performance with a renown leather top give a flogging to a boy while his photographic images are frontally projected onto the two of them such that the tails of the flogger become an organic, moving, changing pallet of color, light, and pain while choreographed rock music augments the performance -- at LiL-1, watching a performance of a group of leathermen in harnesses going through a stylized scene "dance" amidst smoke machines and loud rock music -- and at ImsL, a female performer slowly and artfully using, to the accompaniment of slow music, a straight razor to remove all the lathered shaving cream totally covering her nude body.
For me the elements of such performances that draw mine and others fascinations are the intensity and involvement of the participants and the employment or use (or at least the illusion thereof) of harnessing raw power in that performance.
Now, I've been thinking of how I might--if I so took a mind--do a uniquely Uncle Abdul artistic performance. Electricity springs to mind. (Daaah!) It is a natural force that simultaneously fascinates yet frightens people. (Actually I examine such psychology of people's interest in electricity in my book. This is the fear-fascination-trust triangle.) Electricity affects the so-called "lizard brain" of people, that's why it seems so raw and primal. The only trouble is that most electrical play can't be seen. Even the arcs of the Violet Wand are 'wimpy' compared to the arc produced in say a piece of electric switchgear. Electrical play can be felt by the participants, but it's not audience dramatic--hence, not in and of itself something that would hold an audience say as fire play might.
Enter, stage right, "The Flames of Sir Jag" (Google it). I was fortunate enough to recently see one of his performances held in San Francisco. It was spectacular. The audience was thrilled. I was so impressed that I've taken up a correspondence with him to share ideas. It also rekindled my artistic endeavors.
His performance is a choreographed blend of naked slave girls, fire play, flogging, music, and dramatic presentation all blended to great effect. What particularly impressed me--beyond the whole impact of the performance itself--was attention to the safety of the performers and audience. And the performers didn't need to be especially talented or trained. Just their natural responses were enough to produce the effect. I would highly recommend that you see it if you ever get an opportunity.
But back to "performance electricity." To do something powerfully visual, you need lots of sparks and arcs. (Other things can be done too, but I'm not ready to let that cat out of the bag yet.) Sparks and arcs inherently require lots of energy and hence are inherently dangerous.
I'm a great fan of Kenneth Strickfaden who did the dramatic electrical effects in the 1930's Frankenstein films. The only trouble is that his special effects gear depended on lots of electrical energy and required that the actors be in the right spot lest they get burnt. The safety of the audience was assured, but only because they were passively watching the film.
There are photos of Nicola Tesla reading his newspaper while illuminated by 6+ foot, artificially produced, lightning bolts. He was the first one to 'play' with extremely high voltage electricity. His tradition is being continued on with Dr. Megavolt. All such were dramatic and impressive displays, but at the same time they require high energy and great pains have to be observed for the safety of the performers and especially the audience.
My problem in tickling my particular artistic expression itch is to how to be dramatic, capture the sense of playing with and harnessing the raw, elemental forces of nature, yet be safe. Daunting task indeed! Fortunately this is an artistic and an engineering problem that I relish in. Got some workable results too.
Stay tuned.
Cao-4-Now
Unc'
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