A DALLAS JFK EVENT THAT’S ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR TIME
Daniel Kusner presents 214 Trans4m + JFK50
BY JAMIE LAUGHLIN
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Local photographer and general view-alterer Daniel Kusner brings a multimedia talk to the Dallas Public Library on Thursday, November 21. That’s where he’ll charmingly punch through his unconventional thesis: “Can drag artists lift the veil of shame surrounding a presidential murder scene?” (Obviously, I fall into the “Yes, they can” camp.)
You may have seen his take on that iconic Jackie image, poised in front of DMN at last year’s Art Con seed auction. It featured a transgender Jackie, wired up with an audio recording from the authentic First Lady. It was stunning. So good, in fact, that it sparked a helluva bidding war. (Things got “wings out,” as the kids say.) Kusner’s series has also shown at CentralTrak and the Kessler, and was recently turned into a photobook, designed to re-mythologize the Kennedy-Oswald Affair, starring all-transgender models. For this program you’ll hear the artist’s thoughts on how the assassination affected the gay community, both locally and beyond. How it piped through John Water’s early "Eat Your Makeup," inspiring the director to cast Divine as America’s favorite pink-suited gal. And how the queer threads got knotted up in all things Oswald. Don’t worry, Kusner will pick through those frayed ends. (6:30 to 8 p.m. at Oak Lawn Branch Library, 4100 Cedar Springs Road on Thursday, November 21. Free.) DALLAS OBSERVER | Nov. 20, 2013. |
