We received so many emails after our interview with Luis Venegas about his new Electric Youth! magazine (above), we’ve decided to carry it ourselves. Issue #2 is due out soon, but you can pick up the premiere “I Love Spain” issue in our store now. Hot hot hot Spanish boys on nearly every page. I’m just sayin…

We’ve also got a very few copies of Luis’ first-ever issue of Fanzine137, the “Anything Goes” issue, (below) from way back in September 2004, also in the EVB store.

By the way, if you’d like to hear about things like this before we make it public and sell out of everything, sign up on our mailing list.

Over the years, the international art world has been enriched by the collaborative work of many artist-couples. Examples include the work of pairs such as Mike and Doug Starn (identical twin brothers), Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (husband and wife), and Jake and Dinos Chapman (brothers).

Some same-sex partners, of course, round out the list. From England, there is the provocative work of Gilbert & George. From France, the homoerotic photography of Pierre et Gilles. And now, from Argentina, artist-lovers Leo Chiachio and Daniel Giannone, collaborating since 2001, are bringing change to art and culture in Buenos Aires, where some traditional sexual taboos persist.

I spoke with Leo and Daniel about seduction, embroidery, self portraits, Asian influences, love, ornamentation, Kabuki theatre, porno mags, Farrah Fawcett, art, queer culture in Argentina, Madonna, Mishima, toilets, their son-dog, and of course glitter. Read the Spanish version here.

Rafael Esquer: So, the first thing EVB wants to know is, who picked up who?

Daniel Giannone: It was 2001 in Argentina, and the country was going through a devastating financial crisis. Everyone was affected including, of course, the art world. It was then when visual artist Chino Soria had the idea of transforming his home into an art gallery. He invited 40 guest artists to exhibit. One weekend Leo’s piece “Happy” was on display. And I attended…

Leo Chiachio: First, we checked each other out, then, on a balcony I kissed Daniel. Apparently, it was a kiss that left a lasting impression.

DG: I was hooked. I wanted a second meeting, for a second kiss. Days went by. Our second date was at the Rojas Cultural Center. This time I was ready to jump Leo!

LC: Our rendezvous was Bar Cipriano, where we drank and listened to music. We ended up at my place. We’ve never been apart since.

RE: So, what came first?

D&L: In this order: seduction, sex, love, art.

RE: How do these things influence each other?

D&L: The love we feel for each other feeds us, thus nourishing the creation of our art. It’s all in a constant communion.

RE: When you were ten years old, how would you have answered the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

DG: What I told people was either a lawyer or a veterinarian, but secretly I wanted to be a classic dancer, a painter, a movie star or a soap opera actor.

LC: An artist, a veterinarian or a singer (a famous one, obviously!)
RE: As your artistic medium, you chose needlework, stitchery, and embroidery — all traditionally feminine pursuits. Why?

DG: We are interested in rescuing those activities that slowly have been relegated to the feminine world. We’d like to show that, as two men, we are totally free to enter and inhabit such a world.

LC: Also, after many years of being indoctrinated by academia, we now want to ignore it and bring to our work as painters, materials that belong to the crafts – those materials we used as children (glitter, embroidery, etc). As adults we want to play like children.

RE: Daniel, you started embroidery at a young age, taught by the nuns in your Catholic school. How did you start embroidery Leo?

LC: When I was very young I started making art on t-shirts and old shirts handed down by friends. Even though it was a time of economic crisis, the desire to create was even stronger, so I started making art with the materials I found around the house such as thread, clothes, buttons and so on. I used to like buying useless stuff in American flea markets. I would carefully save them as if they were treasures found on a deserted island.

RE: Well, not all your work is made of fabric and thread. I’m intrigued by “Collectable Throne.” Tell me about it.

D&L: We made it for the Cultural Center Recoleta in Buenos Aires. They invited selected artists to make an art piece using a toilet, so, we covered it with glitter, which we’ve been using in our work for quite some time. Our idea was to transform the toilet into a throne through beauty, with imagery from an imagined paradise where fire rises from beneath. It culminates as a paradise inhabited by us, surrounded with flowers. Love prevails in paradise - a world of flowers and love.

RE: Looking at your work and its use of atypical “artist’s tools” or materials makes me wonder what kind of stuff you collected as a child?

DG: Dolls, the same that my sister Nora had. I loved the ones made of velvet and glitter. Also, I collected postage stamps and art magazines. And as a teenager, I had a crazy collection of Farrah Fawcett photos.

LC: Tons of figurines, cars and any kind of magazine. And as a teenager, gay porno mags!

RE: What do you collect now?

D&L: Contemporary art created by our friends, art and design books, DVD collections (Sex & The City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under) and Italian music.

RE: Diana Vreeland once said that we all need a splash of bad taste. What’s yours?

D&L: We are not sure if we have one, too many, or whether our life is full of splashes! We love Brazilian soap operas, B-movies, gossip magazines, American Idol auditions, reality shows…

RE: A few years back, EVB discovered some of Leo’s pieces – homoerotic images created by penetrating paper with a needle. Daniel, what were you doing back then?

DG: Acrylic and oil painting.

RE: Your opus is primarily self-portraits, right?

DG: Yes, but in addition to our self-portraits we also paint “Piolin”, our son-dog.

RE: Who else would you like to do a portrait of?

D&L: Saint Sebastian, the nudes of Botticelli, Andy Warhol, Marie Antoinette, Joan of Arc, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Robert Downey Jr., Daryl Hannah, Ney Matogrosso.

RE: I see Asian influence in your work…
D&L: Yes, what’s interesting to us about many very traditional Asian cultures is how, from the very beginning, love stories between men (samurais, actors) get told despite the cultural taboos against them. In Japan, for example, in traditional kabuki theatre, women’s roles are played by men who start at a very early age. For many, this becomes their sweet sentence.

RE: Tell me about your interest in queer culture.

D&L: The interest has always been there, but it’s becoming increasingly stronger since we got together. We let art take total control of our lives, and we live our love freely. We value being part of this grand movement, increasingly growing, that is bringing change to a traditional society strongly rooted in Catholicism. Being openly and visibly gay means to be alive, to belong and to be protagonists of change, of history.

RE: Speaking of… can you share your impressions of queer culture in Argentina?

D&L: Since Argentina is a big country, we will speak mainly of Buenos Aires. In the last few years there’s been more acceptance of everything queer. That is, the creation of civil unions for same-sex couples, gay film festivals, many groups and organizations, gay pride, gay cruise ships that stop in Buenos Aires, more visibility of gays and lesbians in the media, even an exclusively gay five-star hotel. Lately, Buenos Aires has become an important gay-friendly destination.

RE: Is Argentina or South America ready for Leo and Daniel?

D&L: In Buenos Aires, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Down here being homosexual is still a big taboo. It’s not common to see two men living together. It’s still not accepted that two artists publicly create together using themselves as the subject of their work. A public gay relationship is not fully accepted. But we feel change is in the air.

RE: When you work and live together, what happens when you fight? What’s happens to your collaboration?

D&L: We discuss, talk and constantly speak up. We don’t always agree on what we want, but we’ve learned to listen to each other. This has made our relationship richer. It empowers the creative process. The diversity of thought makes us stronger. Fights slow down the creative process. Synergy is always present. Constant dialogue is indispensable to grow.

RE: Have any of your pieces caused controversy?

D&L: Often people are interested in knowing who made what, or they want to know the intimate parts of the creative process - the intimacy of our lives. Other times, controversy happens when questioning the conceptual part of the art. The interest lies in wanting to know the creative universe inhabited by two gay artists sharing their home and their art. Society has trouble understanding that it can be possible - but IT IS.

RE: Saint Sebastian, Yukio Mishima - what other gay characters influence your work? Who will show up in the future?

D&L: Our world is influenced by many disciplines like fashion – John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood. Cinema – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Gregg Araki, Takeshi Kitano, Bruce LaBruce, Rosa von Praunheim. Music – Rufus Wainwright, George Michael, Madonna, Grace Jones, Ney Matogrosso. Literature – Yukio Mishima, David Leavitt. And urban legends like Irupé’s Love and El Pombero.

On the other hand, we are interested in how throughout history the roles or men have changed. Unlike the animal kingdom, men’s ornamentation in every civilization has changed. Historically, men have been more exotic in their adornment – hair, jewelry, make up – than women. However, this tradition has been relegated to women, demanding of men a universal image that is supposed to be virile and uniform. Globalization has contributed to make this tough male image universal. It is an aesthetic that has taken over the Western and Eastern worlds alike.

RE: How do you want to be remembered one hundred years from now?

D&L: As two men who learned how to transform their art into a way of living.

RE: What is your next adventure?

D&L: We are creating an embroidery series where we depict ourselves as aboriginals of every civilization. We dream of showing our work around the world. We’d like to have a show in New York, to have Galliano commission us to do an embroidery piece, and to have Madonna come to us for her portrait.
All images © Leo Chiachio and Daniel Giannone.
Click “more” for the Spanish version of this interview.

(more…)

Twink Life is a new zine by young London artists Simon Leahy and Richard John Jones, for twinks and the men that love them, shoved into my hands outside a late night gallery opening. I got in touch with Richard and found out a bit more - sort of.

Elias Redstone: What is Twink Life all about?

Richard John Jones: Twink power!

What is the true power and beauty of a twink?

When you’re a twink you can do anything, you’re the brightest jewel in the crown of gay life. Twink is kinda derogatory but it’s up to twinks to claim their sovereignty.

Why did you start the zine?

Babes, because being a twink is hard, all the time.

What’s so hard about it?

It’s a gift given by time, which often seems like a hard fuck up the ass, bad and good. It’s turbulent, and your hormones are totally fucked up, but you so frsh.

What’s in a typical twink’s life?

Partying, getting drunk, having fun, meeting people, passing the time and learning how to take hella cock.

Where did the term twink come from - do you know?

Hostess Twinkies, commonly regarded as the quintessential junk food - “little nutritional value, sweet to the taste and cream-filled.” A twink is memorable for his outer packaging, not his inner depth.

What’s the future for Twink Life?

The future is so awsome and beautiful. When I grow up I want to look back at my time as a twink as a time of discovery and power. Not as a time of confusion and objectification. We want Twink Life to grow all over the world, uniting twinks, forever, in this moment of time. Empowering them to realize the true power and beauty of twink.

Big Scot has been keeping the riff raff out of our bars and clubs for the last 20 years [applause]. He is absolutely an East Village legend, and absolutely not to be fucked with. He’s also a gentle giant, a writer, and an artist and musician in the tradition of what made the East Village hot in the first place. He may even be a murderer, but probably not. His storytelling can best be described as stream-of-consciousness. At any rate, he’s been around, seen a lot, done more, and luckily is a great friend of EVB because he’s naming names.

Weston: Pot, Ketel One - ready to go?

Big Scot: Yeah.

How about a background track for the readers. Name your tune.

Slayer, “Seasons in the Abyss”.

I think I’ve seen you maybe once without a metal t-shirt. What’s the Holy Trinity of metal?

Blood, sweat, and love.

I meant the bands.

The best live, Slayer. Black Label Society (BLS), and Queens of the Stone Age.
[since publishing this article Scot has sobered up and wants to change his original answer to Slayer, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. What the hell was he thinking with Queens of the Stone Age?]

Surprised about that last one, but those are the three must-haves for EV boys that don’t know anything about metal?

Yeah.

Lets start with your public door-whore persona.

I am not a whore [laughs].

What doors have you whored before your current gig at Eastern Bloc, in the East Village (of course)?

What doors have I not whored should be your question. OK here we go. Limelight, Pyramid…

Limelight during the Michael Alig days?

This was before Michael Alig, but I used to sneak him in when he was, um, 19. I HELPED PROMOTE A MURDERER!

Did you help with the murder?

[pause]

OK, next question…

[laughs] No, I didn’t help with the murder, but I did know Angel.

Back to the doors.

Limelight, Pyramid, Boy Bar, The World, Mars, Sound Factory, Sound Factory Bar, Twilo, Barracuda [vomit noises, more vomit noises], The Cock.

I heard [redacted] waters down their drinks.

Yes, I believe they do. The first time I had a drink in there I was like this motherfucking Jack is fucking watered down you motherfucking bitch. I can’t stand those fucking assholes. One of them wanted to look at my paintings and I was like, “I would never sell you a painting, bitch. Even if you wanted the million dollar one” [laughs]. Can I finish my doors? OK, The Cock, The Park and now Eastern Bloc.

Speaking of Eastern Bloc, I’ve seen you turn away legions of hot boys. What the hell?

They didn’t have ID.

And? I have seen fake IDs handed to you. Not good enough?

[laughs] No.

Give us some dirt on the Eastern Bloc staff - but be nice it’s our favorite bar.

I don’t really have any dirt on any of them. They’re all friends of mine, we all get along and they’re great to work for. And all those clubs I listed - this is the first time I haven’t worked for a cokehead owner. The first one! I was like, wow, after 20 years of doing this, this is the first place with no cokehead owners.

We’re going to get sued.

No, I’m telling you the truth. They’re nice guys at Eastern Bloc and I really like everyone there. It’s small and it’s - oh we had one employee that was kind of funny - he used to do happy hour and used to play Tori Amos. You’d walk in and think “lets’s do some heroin and slit our wrists”. But he’s gone now.

Who was the last guy you threw out at Eastern Bloc?

Oh that was this guy last Friday. They called me in and the dancer comes over, “I need help, I need help, there are people on the stripper pole!” So I go over and I tell this one chick to get down, she gets down, and then there’s this big fucking guy, and he was screaming “HALLELUJAH JESUS! JESUS! AMERICA! AMERICA!”, and I said dude, you can’t be touching the pole while the go-go boy is trying to dance, so he looks at me, gives me this dirty look, and he takes his hand off the pole, and I go back to the door, and turn around, and his hand is back on the fucking pole, and I’m like dude, you can’t put your fucking hand on the pole, and he says “but I have to! If I don’t I’ll fall over!”, and I said I think its time for you to go and he gives me this look and says “try to throw me out”, and tries to stare me down, and he was a big fucker, and I was like ok bitch are you ready to go - I’m not in the mood, but then I suggested “you know, you’re fucked up, you need to get some air, lets go outside”. So we go outside and he’s like “thank you, I love you! Thank you for being so understanding” and waddled down the street home.

So when we hang out at the door with you, I love watching all the straight boys walk by all sly to check the place out, and then circle back and come in… or am I imagining things?

No, you’re not. Somehow my body odor attracts them. If you’re good looking, mental, and confused about your sexuality, then you’re in love with me. And I’m in love with you.

Um…

They come to ME! you’ve seen them, right?

I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. They probably think you’re the guy from Harry Potter.

HAHAHA! Hagrid?

Yeah, exactly! What’s it like working with Daniel Radcliffe anyway?

Who’s Daniel Radcliffe?

Um… so the East Village has changed a lot over the last twenty years. What was it like when you first started doing doors in the neighborhood?

When I used to work at Pyramid on Avenue A, I had a big red bong underneath my chair, and when my friends showed up we’d take bong hits. That’s how cool it was back in the day. People would bring me beer… people were afraid… Avenue A was “alright”, Avenue B was “Beware”, Avenue C was “crazy” and Avenue D was “dead”. Now you walk down Avenue B and there are people with baby strollers. I miss when it was bombed-out buildings and junkies - it was like zombie land. I lived on 8th Street between B and C at one point - because I was between beware and craziness.

What’s the craziest shit you’ve seen in the last 20 years. I want names.

Ok this one will be gossipy. One time, this gossip columnist from [redacted] - I was working at The World, and they had this one section in the middle of the place called the “It Club”, and the staff would always go in there because we knew the beer cases were open and we could go in there and get beer, so my buddy and I were in there drinking a beer, and we see [redacted] over in the corner with some young guy with his pants down, and he was trying to get the guy hard but he couldn’t get hard because he was so fucked up, but he’s still sucking on his dick [sucking sounds], so we crouched down and he hears us giggling, so he stops and looks around - and then [sucking sounds].

I don’t think we should print that.

You don’t have to say who it is, just say “gossip columnist”.

I have funny fuck story. This guy shows up at Boy Bar, and he’s like “can I come in?”, and the other doorman told him (more…)

Finally! UK-based Topshop and Topman are coming to SoHo, New York City! We got a preview of the clothes earlier this week and they’re fucking fantastic! Watch this space for much more, but until then we wanted to at least leak the new store news, and be the first to give you a tease of the ‘Black Trouser Project’ - Topman’s third in a series of ongoing projects where invited designers interpret a specific product. In this case, the classic black wool trouser, interpreted by Patrik Ervell, Todd Lynn, Anne-Sofie Back, Aitor Throup, and East Village Boy friend Tim Hamilton.

As some of you know, EVB just got back from a fantastic time in Hong Kong (big thanks to everyone who showed us the real HK), and Tim’s clothes were in every hot store on both sides of the harbor (or is it harbour). So, come on New York - WTF?

Anyway, check out our preview from Topman, and our chat with Tim.
Richard: What makes for the quintessential black trouser?
Tim Hamilton: Black is timeless and it’s hard to go wrong with a black trouser. More of
a drop crotch and tapered leg look cut will hold up for awhile.

What’s best worn under a black trouser?
Nothing.

What would you most like to put in your black trouser?
A giant black dildo of course.

What would you most like to take out of your black trouser?
You, with an open briefcase of 50 million dollars.

What is your No.1 essential item of clothing this summer?
Trouser shorts in black.

Should flip flops be banned from New York?
FUCK YES!

Should linen suits be banned from everywhere?
HELL YEAH!

Religious artwork has always been rife with homoerotic imagery - the inevitable byproduct of a general social and cultural repression, gay artists who’s homosexuality was conveniently overlooked in exchange for more devotees, cash and power, and of course altar-boy loving priests (let the hate mail begin) - so when we saw Italian artist Diego Tolomelli’s work, rendered in a language most commonly associated with religion, we knew this was something we had to get to the bottom of.

Weston: So Diego - Italian and working in stained glass. Religious?

Diego Tolomelli: Not in the slightest. Yes, I’m Italian and Rome is hardcore Catholic, but I’m queer.

W: Any chance you were an altar boy?

DT: Not even close. I went to sunday school to learn to play guitar but I got bored very quickly.

W: Stained glass works are made partly from mouth-blown glass. An appropriate production method, no?

DT: Mouth-blown, painted, stroked with a badger brush - it’s enough to bring a sweat to ones brow. It’s sensuous work.

W: OK, the big serious question. The dichotomy of Christianity and homoeroticism, the sacred and the profane. What exactly is the connection between the two for you?

DT: In the history of Italian art, a whole host of our most famous artists were gay: Caravaggio, Botticelli and of course Michelangelo, but their patrons forced them to follow strict rules. Take the Sistine Chapel – all of the cocks were covered. But if you really want to see pornography in Christian imagery, take a look at medieval representations of hell. Christianity and the erotic are old bedfellows.

W: Do you feel any connection with that long line of gay men that created artwork for the Church? What if the Vatican gave you a call?

DT: I doubt the Pope would commission an erotic panel, publically anyway. As you can imagine I don’t really market myself to the Church – but should they suddenly started knocking on my door I’d welcome doing a nice Saint Sebastian.

W: Christian art has always had more than a few homoerotic images. Do you see your erotic work as part of that history, or are you simply borrowing the technique?

DT: Christian art also includes paintings on canvas, but that medium has never been seen as a particularly Christian one. The connection of stained glass with Christianity or the Church comes from the fact that it was an important patron, as were the aristocracy and others with money. Consequently, there is a connection between the medium and the Church in peoples’ minds so I like to play with that.

W: You worked in the UK for a few years, but left because of the “British climate”. Do you mean the social climate?

DT: No, I really mean the weather! I never experienced any discrimination about my sexuality or nationality - unfortunately in Italy things are quite different. I loved England because I think it is a meritocratic society and this gave me opportunities to grow in my work - but I like blue sky and aperitifs in the street, so…

W: You’ve also worked on several ‘traditional’ projects like the UK’s House of Parliament and a cathedral in Nigeria.

DT: Those were two very different projects – I enjoyed being a part of them because I learned so much. The first taught me a lot about UK political history including purple potatoes and the Cat and Mouse Act. Nigeria was an amazing experience. I met some beautiful people and to this day I crave returning to Africa. Abuja is a city of contrasts. There are areas without electricity or sanitation, yet there’s an ongoing competition between mosques and cathedrals to outdo each other.

W: How do you think the people from the Nigerian cathedral would react to your ‘other’ work?

DT: It’s a country that doesn’t respect the human rights of gay people. They have a long way to go to catch up to Italy, yet we’re lagging behind the rest of Europe. I imagine their reaction would be very strong. When I was there I watched a Nigerian comedian make a joke about a man being arrested because he had been found in the company of gay men three times. I imagine in the eyes of his audience my crime would be much more serious.

W: Have you experienced any violent reactions to your work?

DT: Luckily not yet.

W: Presumably your work doesn’t hang in many church windows. How do people generally see your work?

DT: This is my first year on my own and producing erotic panels but I’ve organized two exhibitions in Rome - one in the headquarters of Rome’s LGBT association, Mario Mieli, and a second where I managed to bring stained glass onto the dancefloor of PhagOff – a very cool queer night. I’m into taking the art to people - I’d love to do this in other countries. People also get to see my work on MySpace and my website, and of course liberating publications such as your own.

W: I love that you include a lot of visual cues that place the work in a very contemporary context: cute underwear, fetish gear, tattoos, sneakers. What other contemporary content are you bringing to your very ancient craft?

DT: The influences I bring center around queer awareness. Artistically I really like Pierre et Gilles and Gilbert and George and I’m influenced by the internet and MySpace and all the artists I meet there.

W: What are you working on right now?

DT: I’m working on a homoerotic vampire stained glass panel for a commission by an author of erotic literature, William Maltese, for a forthcoming book jacket.

W: What is your ultimate fantasy project?

DT: As with most fantasies I am attracted by size, subject and location. The bigger the window the more adventurous and impressive it can be. The subject would focus on an exploration of gender and a blurring of gender boundaries. Of course the Louvre, or Metropolitan Museum of Art would be amazing locations, but I would be happy with the Ely Museum of Stained Glass in England and/or the Smith Museum of Stained Glass in America.

However, as I said earlier, I’m into bringing my art to the people and I am attracted by collaborations with other artists and craftsmen. So, a free-standing stained glass sculpture, with fleshy fantasies and erotic undertones installed smack bang in the middle of an urban public space would be heavenly.

All artwork by Diego Tolomelli and © the artist, unless otherwise indicated.

So I can’t lie (well not very well) - I’ve never been to Iceland, although I was supposed to go last November with Søren, the boy I was kinda dating but then he met Marcus, who I was also kinda dating, which of course changed everything. So, no Recyatrip for me and no more Marcus… or for that matter Søren!

So I now have to console myself with a bottle of Brennivín and this delightful video for Sigor Rós’s latest track ‘Gobbledigook’ shot by original EVB Ryan McGinley.