Thoughts and Happenings

  • Saturate this, mofo! Color as Rebellion

    Saturate this, mofo! Color as Rebellion

    Color has been the object of extreme prejudice in Western culture. For the most part, this prejudice has remained unchecked and passed unnoticed. And yet it is a prejudice that is so all-embracing and generalized that, at one time or another, it has enrolled just about every other prejudice in its service. Read more

  • Fascinating

    Fascinating

    In the on-going excavations of Pompeii, finds like cool frescoes in a dining room garner coverage in major outlets. But rarely does anyone discuss the amazing number of erotic works uncovered. Uncovered and then—prudery triumphant—hidden away again. Read more

  • Shameless and perverse flaunting

    Shameless and perverse flaunting

    Reflections on the allure of flowers upon a visit to the sensual delight that is the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show. From their visual allure to their cultural symbolism, the fascination with flowers runs deep. Read more

  • Worth a thousand words

    Worth a thousand words

    While a fully-sighted person might not ever notice–or need–alt text, they make a huge difference to a lot of people who would totally miss out on the image otherwise. They may experience it differently, but why deny them any experience at all? Read more

  • An angel has no memory

    An angel has no memory

    I find myself suddenly drawn to the angel as a presentation of male beauty that is sensual and celebratory, rather than violent or coercive. Yes, there’s a bow and arrow. But it’s the revelation of hidden desires he’s aiming at his unseen target, not a threat of subjugation. Read more

  • What Men Want and What Men Look Like

    What Men Want and What Men Look Like

    reading this book, and sharing in the experiences and reminiscences, I wondered: is representation also the freedom to present your desire, unedited, uncoded, uninhibited for those that share the desire? We bond over not being the same, but wanting the same. Read more

  • Engaged Buddhism

    Engaged Buddhism

    Making art is my path of engaged Buddhism–the radical act of creating beauty and using imagination to point the way to a better world. Read more

  • Buddhism and the Erotic

    Buddhism and the Erotic

    Why is the erotic, something so fundamental, powerful, and pleasurable criminalized, censored, and shamed? Because, if let loose it threatens to tear down the house which whiteness built. Read more

  • Spartacus, queer hero

    Spartacus, queer hero

    I can’t capture the entirety of queer experience in any single work or art. But, I can strive, one step at a time, one canvas at a time, to tell better stories than what I had in my formative years. Read more

  • The Path of Least Respectability

    The Path of Least Respectability

    My art is a celebration of the erotic not just for pleasure alone, but pleasure as activism, pleasure as pathway to liberation. Read more