Portrait of a Cowboy. 2022. USA. Directed by KT Burns. 3 min. 16mm
Razor Head. 1984. USA. Directed by Tom Chomont. 5 min. 16mm
The Sex Garage. 1972. USA. Directed by Fred Halsted. 35 min. DCP
Where Evil Dwells. 1985. USA. Directed by David Wojnarowicz. 28 min. Digital
Program run time: 72 min
Exploring themes of identity, desire, and societal boundaries, the films in this program offer a raw and unsettling examination of the complexities of self-expression, sexuality, and societal critique. Grittily shot in B&W, Fred Halsted’s The Sex Garage follows a progression from heterosexual sex to homosexual sex to fetishization, culminating with a leather biker memorably coupling with the exhaust pipe of his motorcycle. In Tom Chomont’s Razor Head “the seemingly mundane act of a man getting his head and body shaved is reframed as a mystical…queer performance of intimacy.” KT Burns describes Portrait of a Cowboy as “a love letter to my partner cowboy filmed in their child/family home…all double exposure and edits done in the camera.” Finally, David Wojnarowicz’s anarchic Where Evil Dwells blends elements of Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures (1963), stunt performance, and low-budget horror with appearances by Rockets Redglare and Joe Coleman.