Sean Yseult Teams with Boyd Gallery and Art for Arts Sake to Present New Photography Series “They All Axed For You”

The Boyd Satellite Gallery in conjunction with Art for Arts Sake, is proud to present artist Sean Yseult’s new photography series They All Axed For You. The new photographs serve as both a love letter and birthday gift for the City of New Orleans on the anniversary of it’s Tricentennial. The inspiration for this show began with this love of Nola, and some very strong images Ms. Yseult saw in her dreams. The show is on display October 2nd – October 31st with an Artist’s Reception October 6th.

One image titled Procession depicts Audubon Zoo animals lined up in pairs on a path through the large Live Oaks. In a dream that came to the artist the day after her mother passed away, the two of them were walking through the animals in the park, as though guided by a light.

Another image, Elephants Storming the Mississippi was also dreamt first – elephants slowly and determinedly trudging through the river in a somewhat ominous manner. Once realizing that these images occurred in two of the Artist’s favorite and most iconic spots of New Orleans, this concept became the basis of the show: the beasts of the Audubon Zoo have a day pass and are hanging out in all of Ms. Yseult’s favorite iconic spots. The show is the perfect way to marry her tribute to the Tri Centennial, her favorite locations in New Orleans for settings, and some colorful local characters for models.

In addition, the Boyd Satellite Gallery will be home to some of Ms. Yseult’s colorful design work, through her new Wallpaper Series acting as backdrop to the photos.

Sean Yseult is best known as the bass player from the multi-platinum, twice Grammy-nominated band White Zombie. Sean spent her formative years at the North Carolina School of the Arts studying ballet and earned a BFA in Photography and Design at Parsons School of Design NYC.

Upon White Zombie’s breakup, she moved to New Orleans and began showing her photography. This is Ms. Yseult’s fourth solo art exhibition series. Her previous work has been shown in solo shows in New Orleans, New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and can be viewed by visiting www.seanyseult.com. In 2010 her autobiographical photo-book I’m In The Band was published (Soft Skull Press). Photos in the 2nd gallery continue the exhibition with Backstage: Rock Shots by Sean Yseult, including the Ramones, Pantera, and the Cramps.

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Filed Under: Art/Theatre, Headlines, Music, Music Headlines Tagged With: art, arts, axed, boyd, gallery, photography, ...

White Zombie’s Sean Yseult talks about her exhibit at Sacred Gallery in NYC, “Retrospective”

Sean Yseult is probably most recognized as the co-founder/bassist for the heavy metal band White Zombie, a group which dominated MTV with its hit song/video “Thunder kiss 65” in the early 90’s. Since the groups disbanding in 1998 Sean went on to play with several other acts such as The Famous Monsters and Rock City Morgue. In November of this year, Sean will showcase a different part of her artistic abilities in “Retrospective”- a love letter to her long-time muse, New Orleans which will be on display at Sacred Gallery in NYC through December 31st. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Sean recently about the exhibits creation and her return to New York City.

 Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about your upcoming exhibit “Retrospective” which opens in November?
Sean Yseult: The exhibit is going to have a little bit of everything. There are pieces from shows I did in New Orleans 10 years ago. Mostly I am going to be showing my large 4ft by 6ft pieces I did recently for a show in New Orleans titled “SQIREE D’EVOLUTION”. It’s kind of a tongue and cheek yet morbid setting of a party in New Orleans set in the 1870’s. It’s based around a secret societies party that has gone wrong. It’s a really fun show. The exhibit will also have some pieces from my “MISSISSIPPI MERMAIDS” show where I figured out how to put girls inside of bottles on the ocean which is a little different. (Laughs) I also have some pieces from way back that are old black and white Polaroid’s done in the style of Joel-Peter Witkin and Bellocq. There is a lot to look at as they gave me a tone of space so I am going to fill it out. (Laughs)

AL: Where did your influences come from for “SQIREE D’EVOLUTION” and “MISSISSIPPI MERMAIDS”?
SY: I really don’t know where I got the idea for “MISSISSIPPI MERMAIDS” and having girls in bottles. Maybe I watched too much “I Dream of Jeanie” when I was growing up. (Laughs) For “SQIREE D’EVOLUTION” I was hugely influenced by the Dutch Masters. I made an enormous black back drop and the photos have a serious light/darkness to them with an intensity of color. A lot of people walk up to them thinking they are paintings. I am very happy with how those turned out. I definitely draw from a few different areas.

AL: With the pieces that are coming from different exhibits how did you go about choosing those selections?
SY: I looked at everything I had done and it all has this sort of timeless quality to it. You can’t really tell which era the pieces are actually from. Even my new pieces which are in full color and set in the 1800’s have those elements. It’s very hard to tell the time as they are a bit ghostly and a lot of them are portraits of women in various states of dress or undress. It all sort of fits together somehow. (Laughs)

AL: What is it that draws you to this type of subject matter?
SY: I moved to New Orleans and became entranced with the people and the beauty of the city. The city is in this sort of state of decay and things are falling apart. In the summer especially girls are running around in slips and things so it’s hard to tell really what period you are in. It’s pretty amazing. To me it’s just so beautiful and there are so many lovely people. I just enjoy photographing it all.

AL: Coming back to New York for your first solo show is sort of a home coming for you. What do you think the experience is going to be like?
SY: I am really excited! I originally moved to the city to attend Parsons School of Design for photography. Its finally coming full circle that I get to come back there with my photo’s after all these years. Parsons is where I met Rob and we started White Zombie which sort of derailed my photography for awhile but after the band broke up I moved to New Orleans and started back up with my photography. I have shown off and on at different galleries but it’s going to be so great to show at Sacred Studios. I have been making visits up there ever since I was offered the show.

AL: How did the opportunity to show at Sacred Studio actually come about?
SY: I was at an opening last spring at a private gallery at the Chelsea Hotel for Dee Dee Ramone. My old A&R guy from Geffen Records was there and he pointed out this artist that he loved named Vincent Castiglia. We started talking and he had shown at Sacred Gallery and thought they might like my work. He put me in touch with them and I talked with Kevin Wilson the gallery director and from there things moved pretty quickly.

AL: With being so involved with your photography as of late do you feel your music has sort of taken a back seat?
SY: Not always. I sort of flip flop back and forth depending on my schedule. For the last year though I would have to say yes. I spent 2 years putting together “SQIREE D’EVOLUTION” which was a lot of very intense work. Now I am more curating and gathering things to put a show like this together. I do have a new band called Star and Dagger which will be recording with the amazing Chris Goss later this year. We have a lot of songs written but just haven’t had time to get everyone together.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: exhibit, gallery, nyc, retrospective, sacred, sean, ...

Kevin Sean Michaels talks about indie film “Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random”

Imagine an indie horror movie with a big Bollywood ending.  I thought I’d seen it all until I watched, Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random on Amazon Streaming, a web hit. The movie goes where few movies have gone before. It is no surprise, then, that it comes from the mind of a former Troma Studios alumni, director Kevin Sean Michaels, who worked with Troma President Lloyd Kaufman on Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.  He also directed two documentaries, Vampira: The Movie and The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels, which in fact was narrated by none other than John Waters himself. I caught up with the director to ask him why he made Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random.

Mike Gencarelli: What inspired Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random? Seems pretty bizarre!
Kevin Sean Michaels: It is! I grew up watching a lot of sitcoms, where for no reason there would be a serious episode.  Then back to comedy. The worst was Family Ties, where Alex Keaton (Michael J. Fox) actually lost his virginity at 17 and has to talk to his Dad about it.  Anyway, I thought it would be entertaining to mix horror and comedy like that.  But we decided not to put a laugh track.  As a result, no one is cued to laugh, they just do.

MG: What has been the reception?
KSM: Very intense because the movie plays like a practical joke, similar to the movie, “The Room” by Tommy Wiseau.  It’s like—how can this be a real movie? Are they serious? But the movie is like one of Ed Wood’s—it reads like a stage play gone wrong, but in this case the train-wreck is part of its charm. And totally planned out.  People seem to really connect with it on its level. And on its terms.

MG: I know you directed “Vampira: The Movie”.  Are you a fan of Ed Wood?
KSM: Of course! When I did Vampira: The Movie I was able to talk to some of the original actors like Conrad Brooks. He said Ed really put heart and soul into his films and that they were supposed to be funny.  Like the imperfections was the perfection. That’s why I look up to Ed Wood, too.  I read recently that Bobcat Goldthwait got a tattoo from Kat Von D, stating just that—Ed Wood was inspiration to filmmaking independence.

MG: What was the inspiration for the characters in Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random?
KSM: The Garter Snakes gang was funny.  I love the idea of a gang of girls, like in the biker movies.  Basically, for them to act like old Bowery Boys, Three Stooges with a dash of Happy Days.  There is love in the group, even if they all insult each other.  If Fonzie tells Potsie to “sit on it” he doesn’t mean “fuck you. “  And when the characters start dying in Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random, it comes down to how the gang reacts.  But it is goofy cartoon fun in the end.

MG: Some pretty harsh things happen to the gang…
KSM: (laughs) That’s the point.  It’s got an unreality to it.  It’s like the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.  Freddy can laugh at all of it and the audience is with him somehow.  Our villain is also our main character.  She goes through changes, but it’s the force of evil that is the real villain.  I’ve seen a few audience members jump out of their seats at some parts of the movie.

MG: Any advice for filmmakers doing their own special effects on a budget?
KSM: Yes, never put soap in your mixture for fake blood.  People slip on it.  That’s why I have never done it.

MG: What about the nudity in Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random? Especially the snake scene…
KSM: Yes, the snake scene is a stand-out.  I was always amazed by reading about the stir caused by the snake scene in The Devil in Miss Jones.  They cut the scene out so many times that it’s now legend.  Our scene is a homage to that.  The other thing is to play with nudity where it’s sexy but yet scary or weird at the same time.

MG: And the Paris Hilton scene?
KSM: Well, it’s not really Paris Hilton (laughs).  I like the idea that someone would be cruel enough to steal someone’s clothes as well as their car just to humiliate them, but also to follow their sexual fantasy.  In this case, Patti’s fantasy.  To strip the rich is sexy.  Our gang member Patti is a shoplifter and can’t seem to stop herself from going too far.  So our Paris Hilton-character is stranded like in Castaway, talking to her fuzzy handbag instead of a little dog.  People seem to really like the scene.

MG: Why the strong emphasis on Indian mythology and Bollywood dancers?
KSM: Something I haven’t seen in a movie like this and people don’t expect it. It really challenged us, too.  It’s very panoramic on the screen.  Indian mythology is very interesting and there is so much to it.   Even our character, The Mighty Sardar, isn’t mighty enough to handle it all.  He has to rely on his assistant.  The phallic symbols are a part of Hindu temples, so we have that as well. When you see the movie, we really made it twisted, so I hope there is no bad mojo because of it (laughs).

MG: Is horror and comedy a trend?
KSM: It’s always been there.  Comedy is always part of horror.  You can’t have dark without light.  I’d rather be in the light.

Like the movie on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supernaturalzthemovie

Website: http://www.supernaturalzthemovie.com/

Check it out on Amazon Streaming or DVD: http://tinyurl.com/mtwsagv

 

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Sean Stone talks about his new film “Greystone Park”

Sean Stone is the son of well-known director Oliver Stone. Sean is not only directing but also writing and starring in his film “Greystone Park”, read our review here. Media Mikes had a chance to find out what it was like working on the film, with his father and what we can expect next?

Mike Gencarelli: How did the concept for “Greystone Park” come about?
Sean Stone: Well, it was about the same way that you see in the movie. I met Alex Wraith in October 2009 with my father, since he worked on “Wall Street 2”. We all had dinner one night and found that that Alex had been breaking into Greystone for like three years prior to meeting me. He would bring a camera to record his experiences; otherwise he said no one would believe him. He had an idea for a movie based on these experiences. The whole idea was based around that location itself, which was just so perfect. When he told me about it, I thought it sounded cool and had always wanted to have a ghost hunting experience, so I checked it out. When we went the first time, wee did get end up getting lost for real like in the movie but luckily we got out after an hour or so, once we found a door that wasn’t locked. But we said what would happen if we got lost inside and couldn’t get out. Then we kept writing the rest of the story based on that. That became the basis for about 80% of the film.

MG: How was it not only directing but also writing and starring?
SS: Challenging [laughs]. It is a big challenge to really immerse yourself into that world. In one sense it is easier if you are doing a documentary. But if you are operating the camera, giving lines and acting at the same time, it starts getting complicated. The hardest part was that there were certain things that we had to have staged. We had to make sure the camera was in certain places to hit right at a specific moment. That was really the tricky part from the directing point-of-view. Luckily, I was able to trust my actors to use the camera as their eye, for example. Then I would be able to be in a scene acting and still be able to cue, let’s say, a footstep or a door closing. I would have to be able to be conscious in and out of the scene. It is like a magician, having a  hand out and trying to setup a distraction for the reveal.

MG:What do you feel that the film brings new to the found footage genre?
SS: Well, ours is based on a true story. We actually broke in, went to these places and had these experiences. I have never been a big fan of the found footage genre. It is one thing to tell a story based on real events. It is another thing to just concoct a story and pretend it is real. I feel that “The Blair Witch Project” was the worst offender is that regard. Even the “Blair Witch” itself, I thought there was a real witch myself [laughs]. That was the age before internet, you didn’t know that stuff. But with “Greystone”, I don’t think we belong bunched in with films like those. We broke in, actually had these experiences and this is our story.

MG: How did you get your father, Oliver Stone, involved in this project as well?
SS: That grew organically out of the fact that I was going to play myself. Originally when we wrote it, I was going to have my friend play my character and just focusing on directing. But then the producers, Alex and a few other people I trust pushed me to play myself in the film. They said it would be more interesting. What happened next was that I called my father, their already was a character written for the father, and just asked him. At first he was hesitant, since he was thinking that people would say its nepotism or be extra critical about it due to that. But we decided just to do it anyway and he went with it. I think that there is a reality TV quality to that and I find it very interesting.

MG: Having worked with your father directing on numerous projects, tell us about your director style?
SS: What is interesting that before we even started shooting and just had the script, one of the investors said he told this project felt like “Natural Born Killers” meets “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. At first I didn’t understand that until we shot it and cut it. It does look like “Natural Born Killers”.  It is uses a lot of cuts, a lot of edits and even some stock footage. We used a couple different cameras on the shoot also to get a different feel. The overall effect has this hallucinogenic quality. It was not intended that way. The one thing that I learned from my father would be to shift styles depending on what kind of movie you are trying to tell. He has always been able to do that by telling one story in a classical shooting fashion and then tell another with a different avant-garde post-modern way.

MG: What do you have planned next?
SS: I am working on a martial arts comedy. It will be an homage to 70/80’s action hero cinema. It is called “Enter The Fist”. We have a website (http://www.fistthemovie.com/) up currently, you can check it out.

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Interview with Sean Patrick Flanery

Sean Patrick Flanery is known best for his role of Connor MacManus in “The Boondock Saints” series.  Sean starred last year in “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” and also the recently released “InSight”.  Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Sean about his new film “insight” and his reflection the “The Boondock Saints” craze.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how you became involved with your latest film “InSight”?
Sean Patrick Flanery: Richard Gabai, the director sent me the script. I liked it and that was pretty much all she wrote. I mean it was good script. I liked him and we decided to go forward with it.

MG: How do you prepare for a role once you come on board a film?
SPF: It depends on the film really. Somethings are so perfectly written that all your preparation is set for you. I am the least method cat you will ever meet. My preparation takes place between the title page and fade out. I am not one of those cats that believe that I have to go live in gutter for a week to play a homeless man. I do not believe that, nope. Unless you are in a situation where you are playing an equestrian, then obviously you will need to be able to ride a horse…so specific things like that. For character works, I think all the information is provided in the script itself.

MG: You seemed to have good chemistry on screen with Natalie Zea, how was it working with her?
SPF: It was cool. She is a real sweetheart. She is a professional and very talented. I had a good time.

MG: Tell us about the production, where was it shot?
SPF: We shot it in L.A. but it was in some weird parts man. We shot in part of L.A. that literally you have no idea that you are in L.A. Some places I didn’t even know existed man [laughs]. It was cool as far as that goes.

MG: I hear it was shot in only 16 days was that rushed at all for you?
SPF: Yeah it was 16 day shoot. If everyone comes to work prepared than that is ample time to shoot a film. Barring any weird special effects shots or crowd scenes of a thousand, that is plenty of time to shoot a material character driven film.

MG: You recently went back to “The Young and the Restless”, do you enjoy working on soaps and switching it up?
SPF: I enjoy switching it up like that. It was a medium I had never explored before. It is a different kind of break.

MG: Can you reflect on the fans reactions and supports to “The Boondock Saints” series?
SPF: I’m truly in awe of their support. Having said that, I would be a fan myself
had I not been it the film as it suits my sensibilities.

MG: How was it returning to play Connor MacManus in “The Boondock Saints II: All
Saints Day”? Any plans for a another installment?
SPF: We didn’t miss a beat & it was great to be back filming with good friends. I hope so. They are a ball to make.

MG: How did you get involved with working on “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” and was it a difficult shoot?
SPF: I read the script and really liked the character. It was no more so than any other stunts I have done. It went fairly smoothly.

MG: Tell us about working with director on “Scavengers” and “Mission Park”?
SPF: Working with Travis Zariwny was killer man…really killer. I had a great time working with that guy on that film. “Mission Park” just wrapped this week. My part was already completed. It was killer, I really had a wonderful time on that film also.

http://www.hollywoodbjj.com
http://www.seanflanery.com

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: flannery, interview, patrick, sean
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