In her new book of staged photographs, Motel Bizarre: Tales from the No Tell Motel, Stephanie Crabe (BFA 2003 Photography) explores that distinctly American institution: the middle-ofnowhere roadside motel. In the book, Crabe investigates the seedier side of these residences of the transient, forgoing the more familiar viewpoint that portrays these places as not much more than cradles of kitsch. Crabe shows Motel Bizarre to be a hidden world of fantasy and sexual deviancy. The images are full of characters who exist on the fringes of society; neo-Nazis, transvestites, prostitutes and hired thugs are just a few of the inhabitants.
While Crabe presents the motel as a place where those who have seemingly no place in
society can indulge any or all of their urges, she does not make it a particularly terrifying place. In fact, Crabe’s photographs show a colorful group of characters that look as if they have finally found a home for their perversities. Housewives carouse with male strippers; a dominatrix and her slave enjoy a little BDSM; and a couple of young lesbian punk rockers are able to escape their families for the night. While attempting to demonstrate the loneliness that comes from transience, Crabe does not look down on these people—instead she turns them into antiheroes from a world that exists outside the margins of familiar society. [CM]

In pursuit of manhood

Wednesday, 19 March 2008

The argument for a new gay identity is examined by S.V. Koumakis.

‘Gay is dead.’

So begins Androphilia: a Manifesto by Jack Malebranche, in which the American author expounds his uncompromising views of modern gay identity; and his vision of a masculine ideal of excellence that recalls the warrior ethos of ancient Greece.

“The word ‘gay’ describes a whole cultural and political movement that promotes anti-male feminism, victim mentality, and leftist politics,” says Malebranche, who advocates use of the term ‘androphilia’ to express ‘a sexual love and appreciation for men as it is experienced by males’. He also uses the word ‘androphile’ to identify men who desire other men.

The first print run of Androphilia was almost sold out less than a year after its release. Readers’ feedback on Malebranche’s website describes how the book resonated with them. Yet the author has also met with criticism; even accused of homophobia.

“To accept homosexuality in oneself is now equated with accepting an intrinsic effeminacy, and any denial of this is widely believed to be symptomatic of ‘internalised homophobia’ … The real ‘internalised homophobia’ is the belief that you can’t truly be a man simply because you love other men,” Malebranche argues in his manifesto.

The author, who describes himself as “an unrepentant masculinist,” also admits to having once been a go-go dancer in New York’s club scene.

“I’ve challenged gender constructs. I’ve done drag. I talked the talk and fagged out with the best of them,” he says. “My critique of gay culture doesn’t come from an outsider’s ignorance; it comes from an insider’s knowledge.”

Malebranche, who speaks in his book of his decade-long relationship with his male lover, whom he acknowledges as the most important person in his life, is far from the ‘perfectly vile queer’ his detractors would present him to be. His views, though blunt, are candid and to the point, and his depth of vision is exceptional.  

Feminists might claim that Androphilia: a Manifesto encourages men to become misogynists. How would you respond to this?
Androphilia is often labelled ‘misogynist’ because it does not serve a radical feminist agenda. Androphilia does not in any way advocate the abuse of women or hatred of women, and it takes no position on the role of women in society. It is a book written by a man specifically for men.

Critics suggest there are statements in your manifesto which would break up the gay community if taken to heart.  What is your view?
Gay leaders frequently talk about a need to ‘build coalitions’ but these coalitions always seem to pit homosexual men against straight, white men – the scapegoated universal enemy of all minorities. What homosexual men really need is to work on building a coalition with straight men. They need to start building a history of friendships and positive interactions with straight men that will give straight men cause to stand with homosexual men and stand up for them, instead of against them.

Some would argue that androphilia would push homosexuals back into the closet. How would you explain to them that this is not the case?
I am not ‘in the closet’. I wrote a book about homosexuality and put my picture on the inside flap. I’m not asking anyone to be secretive about their sexuality. There’s a difference between prancing around like a fruit with a rainbow striped t-shirt on, proclaiming your sexual preference to everyone you meet; and simply being ‘out of the closet’. The root question here is ‘does being ‘out of the closet’ mean being honest about your sexuality when asked, or does it require an exhibition of effeminacy?’

What advice would you give to an adolescent youth coming to terms with same-sex desire?
Let your own actions and interests define your character; don’t rely on the easy, one-size-fits-all comfort of the gay identity. Concentrate on personal achievement and development. Educate yourself. Choose a vocation and excel. Earn the respect of your peers. Make your mark on the world. There’s nothing wrong with sex, there’s nothing wrong with being homosexual, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to find a relationship. You can make your own rules and craft your own destiny. That’s what sexual liberation is really all about, isn’t it? Figure out for yourself what it means to be a homosexual man.

In your manifesto, you assert that ‘androphiles could become leaders of men in virtually any field’. This is truly visionary, and makes perfect sense. What led to your keen appreciation of the masculine ideal and potential?

In part, my appreciation for masculine idealism stemmed from a shift in personal philosophy that moved from ‘the world as I think it ought to be’ to ‘the world as it is’.

At some point I realized that what I really needed was a reality check and a kick in the arse. I needed to be challenged, not coddled. I needed discipline, linear thinking and goal driven, objective measures of achievement – not the endless circle of excuses, subjective evaluations and self-destruction.

I slowly began to appreciate the way men groom each other, the way they toughen each other up, push each other, and discourage weakness. When I was a teenager, I dismissed all of this as macho bullshit, but as a grown man, I started to understand the ‘why’. I started to appreciate the value of it and the role that it plays not only in making stronger men, but in making stronger, more durable societies. 

Carlos Batts shares this issue with Coop (featured in our upcoming book Carnivora).

Androphilia – A Review
Filed under: Books — Drub @ 12:54 am

Androphilia by Jack Malebrache

I took my time wallowing with giddy enthusiasm in the heady passages that have enflamed many reviewers and people who patently missed the point of the book known as Androphilia: A Manifesto. Anything that makes people that upset has to be doing something right as this is usually a signal that it’s making people think uncomfortable things about themselves and the world around them that they’ve lazily accepted.

More importantly, Jack Malebrache’s book is unapologetically about reclaiming sexuality and defining male-to-male sexual relations and ideal relationships that are bound in that and what it all means – selfishly and more importantly without the prejudices and castrating influences of Feminism and The Gay Movement.

It’s a liberating read, empowering each person who reads it (should they not slip into comfortable paths of victimhood) to accept, define, and move past convention. While I can see how people could easily jump to conclusions and call this book a manifesto born out of self-loathing, but then they’d be doing a disservice to the words, message and ultimately themselves.

This would be old thinking – or simply victim mentality. Androphilia has a fresh, often objective, view that asks us to reexamine masculinity, and forces us to challenge ourselves and our place in the world. In reading Androphilia, we are asked to challenge the concept that sexuality isn’t a biologically determined construct, but a chosen one, sighting that we didn’t choose to be straight but chose to find happiness in the company of men. Secondly, we are to face the gay community and give it a big middle finger for dictating how we should behave, what we should believe, and how to assume a “gay identity”. Powerful, powerful stuff which is something I totally understand and respect why these are important steps in taking off the yoke of the Gay Party and cease being victims and nicely dovetails with all the bullshit I personally had umbrage with when the gay bar rags and other gay publications wrote about “gay skinheads” citing me and my friends as something that “doesn’t exist” because we didn’t fit neatly into a cute, inoffensive pink box.

Androphilia confirms and embraces everything that men who are sick of the gay community are out there looking for and everyone should read it, regardless of where our affections lie.

Visions in the dark
Stephen Kasner’s art (call it ‘creepy-mysterious’) has lots of fans. But it isn’t for everyone.
By Rachel Leibrock – rleibrock@sacbee.com

At the time, it stung. But Stephen Kasner now remembers the moment with a rueful laugh.

It was a summer evening in 2004, and Kasner was making his Second Saturday debut at the Exploding Head Gallery on 12th Street.

Hanging back in the shadows, the Cleveland expat watched as a 60-something couple examined his paintings – including one of a giant, macabre, dark-hued oil on canvas titled “Woman With Arm.”

The female patron tilted her head one way, then another. She stepped up close to get a better view, then moved several feet back for a different perspective.

Finally, she declared: “No, I just don’t like anything about it.”

Nothing.

“It would have been a relief if she’d liked the colors or technique,” Kasner says, retelling the story recently.

“But she couldn’t find a thing. She just hated it. That was my trial by fire.”

Welcome to Sacramento.

Of course, Kasner, 37, hasn’t let such an inauspicious beginning stand in his way. Three years ago, he moved to Sacramento with his wife, Rebecca, and 11-year-old daughter, Madeleine, to be closer to Rebecca’s family.

He even likes it here, he says. Even if the city doesn’t quite get his bleakly enigmatic sensibilities, which he has showcased around the world.

His works are also famous among fans of underground heavy-metal music, with a new oversized coffee-table book, “Stephen Kasner WORKS: 1993-2006″ (Scapegoat Publishing, $29.95, 160 pages), chronicling his oeuvre.

So, Kasner is confident that local art aficionados will, eventually, open up to his efforts.

“At least (the woman at the Exploding Head Gallery) tried,” Kasner reasons. “I was just happy that she put forth some kind of effort. She wasn’t blatantly disgusted; she didn’t just walk away.”

And that’s a start.

(Not so) dark shadows

Kasner doesn’t really like the term “dark,” although even he stumbles when he tries to think of a more fitting term to describe his murky, surreal work: oversized oil paintings, ink illustrations and heavy-metal album covers.

“It is dark, but it’s also something else,” Kasner says. “It’s ethereal – I think there’s beauty in them, too.”

Relaxing at home with Rebecca, a freelance Web designer, it’s clear Kasner is finely attuned to the thin line between the beautiful and the grotesque.

The Kasners’ Victorian flat, perched on the edge of downtown, is a rich, Gothic tapestry of overstuffed furniture, framed butterfly corpses and Kasner’s looming works. The effect is intriguing, yet foreboding.

Kasner, however, is more of a study in contrasts. Although he cuts an imposing figure, with long, dark hair and a goatee, he is unfailingly polite, warm and approachable.

Certainly, if there are any gloomy personal subtexts to his work, Kasner keeps them private. It appears his is art for art’s sake, with no unhappy childhood woes to spur on inspiration.

Indeed, Kasner’s earliest memories place him, at age 3, beneath his seamstress mother’s workshop table, scribbling away on an illustration.

Looking back, Kasner says, that untitled piece of crayon on wood depicting a ghostly figure with a gruesome smile represents art’s purest intentions.

“That was this beautiful time,” he says. “Just a period when I simply sensed the power that comes from within when drawing. There was no conception of commerce or money – that meant nothing to me.”

Kasner got his first notion of turning his love into a career when an uncle tipped him off to the idea of art school.

“I remember thinking, ‘Wait – you can go to school for this?’ ” Kasner says. “From that moment on, I didn’t set my sights on anything else.”

OK, wait, he admits, that’s not quite true. There was a love of music, too, fueled by lessons and his first acoustic guitar, a present from his father.

After high school, Kasner studied at the Cleveland Art Institute, where he searched for a voice while trying to fight the intimidation of attending classes with kids who grew up on a steady diet of museums and art galleries.

Kasner slowly built up his confidence and, the summer before his final year, dived into his thesis, shaping the distinctive style that now personifies his work.

It paid off – big time – when, on graduation day, Kasner was approached at his senior art exhibit by the members of one of Cleveland’s most popular metal bands, Craw. The band was searching for someone to do its new album cover – they had even held a contest – but one look at Kasner’s work and, well, would he be interested?

He was. For Kasner, who just happened to be a Craw fan, it was a fortuitous moment. The album went on to do well in metal circles, and established Kasner as a go-to guy for eerily provocative album covers.

“It was just unbelievable,” he says. “It was the crystallization of fine art and media.”

It was also a timely boost after rejection from several commercial illustration companies.

“They told me I’d be better off on my own,” Kasner says with a shrug.

So, following his experience with Craw, Kasner hunkered down, nabbing a few freelance gigs and setting about to perfect his images: beautiful birds frozen in near-death poses, ghostly dreamscapes populated with skeletal figures and demons, spooky portraits swathed in filmy light.

And, his work started to get noticed, netting reviews from such art and music magazines as Alternative Press, Vice and Obscura. There were exhibits in New York, Washington, D.C., and Australia.

Then, a few years ago, Baltimore-based Scapegoat Publishing approached Kasner about showcasing his work in a full-color art book.

“It had a darkness that fascinated me,” says Kevin Slaughter, Scapegoat’s co-publisher, on the phone from Baltimore. “It was kind of dreamlike, with a beautiful sensibility.”

Slaughter’s business partner, Chris X, admired Kasner’s work as well, especially the way the artist rendered shadows and light into exquisite reveries.

“Some of the images are nightmarish, (but) some are peaceful,” he says. “For some, ‘dark’ comes with connotations of evil or violence, and I don’t think his work embodies that at all.”

Artist, rest and motion

Today, Kasner crafts a comfortable living with commissioned projects, freelance illustrations and work as a tattoo artist. Small paintings sell for $2,000 to $3,000, while a 7-foot-high piece commands as much as $20,000.

Downtime is spent noodling around with his experimental noise band, Blood Fountains.

For now, work and play coexist in the space he shares with Rebecca and Madeleine, who – although very proud of her father’s art (the fifth-grader included Kasner on a recent list of “favorite celebrities,” right up there with the likes of Hannah Montana) – prefers Kelly Clarkson to Dad’s experimental tastes.

He’s consumed with upcoming projects, which will include exhibitions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, plus two new versions of his book.

With all that, Kasner says, he’s too busy to pursue local shows – at least for a while.

When he does, Jodie deVries, co-owner of the since-shuttered Exploding Head, thinks that Sacramento will take notice.

“His work is strong and definitely, for the lack of a better word, has a creepy edge to it,” deVries says. “But it’s not creepy-scary, it’s creepy-mysterious.

“His bird and figural images are just so intense, so enigmatic and dreamy. It’s not work to be taken lightly – it’s serious. You can’t just walk by it and smile. It’ll hit you over the head.”

The way Rebecca Kasner sees it, people just have to respond to her husband’s work. There is, she explains, a little bit of his aesthetic in all of us.

“Stephen’s work is representative of something deeper that everyone knows something about,” she says. “I watch people examine his art and … inevitably they (talk about) how his work evokes memories they’ve forgotten or places they’ve only visited in dreams.”

But, if, in the end, they decide that, well, there’s just not anything to like about it?

Well, that’s OK, too, Kasner says with a good-natured sigh.

“I have a good sense of humor about such things – I don’t brood,” he says. “I’m open-minded enough to know that my work isn’t for everyone.”

Androphilia
Jack Malebranche
Scapegoat Publishing
15608 S. New Century Drive, Gardena, CA 90248
9780976403586, $12.95 www.SCBDistributors.com

Jack Malebranche, the author of Androphilia: A Manifesto Rejecting the Gay Identity Reclaiming Masculinity, is a bisexual man who prefers the company of and sexual relations with men – to the extent that he shares a long-term sexual and personal bond with another man. Yet he emphatically rejects the label “gay” because in today’s culture the concept of “gay” has become intermingled with the concepts of feminization, abandoning masculinity, underachievement, and irresponsibility to the lengths of false victimhood. Androphilia: A Manifesto rejects the baggage-laden gay identity, and calls for humankind to recognize homosexual desire as apolitical. “The Gay Party tells us that we homosexuals must band together to fight against high-school bullies, and to encourage kids to ‘come out’ and ghettoize themselves into little gay support groups where they can become conversant in Party dogma and avoid ever having to learn to deal effectively with their straight peers… The Gay Party insists we learn that we are victims of heterosexual oppression, and imagine that everyone is out to get us.” Malebranche prefers to substitute the word “androphile” for “gay” to describe himself, as he is an unrepentant advocate of the positive aspects of masculinity and male culture. Androphilia: A Manifesto does not attack or criticize those men (homosexual or heterosexual) who want to emulate effeminate qualities. The crux of matter is not that men should be forced to be manly, but rather that the majority of them simply are manly, and should not be pressured by the gay culture to despise or reject their masculinity. Nor should a man’s sexuality automatically define his hobbies, his politics, his interests, or who can or cannot be his friends. Though readers, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, may not agree with all Androphilia has to say, Androphilia is invaluable for its core messages of being self-reliant and true to oneself, and for its frank discussion of whether “gay marriage” (as opposed to less radical measures like domestic partnerships, which are more likely to be successfully accepted nationwide) is needed at all to govern same-sex relationships incapable of producing children who are the biological offspring of both parents. Highly recommended.

From the "

Volume 15, Issue 12
Published July 25th, 2007
Summer Reading
Excerpts From Five New Books By Cleveland Artists And Writers

With so much attention paid to what doesn’t happen in Cleveland, it’s easy to overlook what does. Every day around Northeast Ohio, in studios and coffee shops and spare bedrooms, creative people write and illustrate their passions. The “Summer Reading” issue is our way of honoring and promoting the work of a few such people with local roots, some still living here and some who have moved on; some long known to us and some we’ve just met…

“Just another dark and trippy CIA grad.” That’s what some justifiably forgotten freelance hack called Stephen Kasner in the pages of this very publication about 10 years ago. As a fellow CIA grad, a friend of Kasner’s and an enthusiastic fan of his work, I was a few clicks beyond miffed. The incredible thoughtfulness and complexity of the man was and is vividly evident in his canvasses, simultaneously gloomy and luminous, and to caricature him as a typical art-school goth dipshit was unthinkable. After having been a gallery fixture here for a decade, Kasner made a move to Northern California in 2004, which brought his work the attention a Cleveland artist can rarely hope for. He’s now the subject of a monograph from Baltimore’s Scapegoat Publishing (scapegoatpublishing.com), a beautifully printed book that shows Kasner’s damn-near irreproduceable work in the best light possible – would that newsprint could do it such justice. With introductions by Integrity vocalist Dwid Helion, Free Times art writer Douglas Max Utter (who clearly should have been the one to write about that show 10 years ago), and Kasner himself (excerpted below), Stephen Kasner: Works 1993-2006 is the must-have Cleveland art book – at least until someone finally honors Derek Hess thusly. -Ron Kretsch

Jack Malebranche was certainly not looking to make friends within the worldwide and ever expanding “Gay Community” when he set about writing Androphilia. Much like the massive upheaval of Lutheranism, Androphilia threatens to collapse the “Gay Identity” in upon itself revealing a new ideal by which to lead the homosexual community forward. Jack has come to liberate homosexual men from the trappings of sissydom by revealing the inherent but largely shunned masculinity in many homosexual males.

Written like a man impassioned to rescue his people who have been led astray to wander a barren and desolate domain divorced from their very nature Jack rains down blow after blow on “Gay Culture” breaking away the definitions and inhibitions of social and political agendas revealing the raw and undiscovered force of the true homosexual male identity. It comes as no surprise that such an ambitious declaration would find a home with Scapegoat Publishing whose motto reads “Blame Us.” No doubt with a title like roots. Androphilia – A Manifesto “Rejecting The Gay Identity, Reclaiming Masculinity most of the magazines and publishers within the “Queer Press” would find Jack’s revolutionary ideas to be a threat to their investment in “Gay Culture.”

So what is Jack really attempting with Androphilia and is he successful? With so many books attempting to hand homosexual men theories on identity, community, sexuality, etc. is Androphilia a revealing or relevant voice in the din of self help books and feel good declarations of homosexual elitism? Testifying as a man loving homosexual I am compelled to declare this as one of the most relevant books on the subject of homosexuality that I have ever read.

The full review can be found here:Heathen Harvest reviews Androphilia by Jack Malebranche