On this special evening, SFMOMA partners with Visual AIDS to honor collection artist Jerome Caja (1958–1995).

Join artists Justin Vivian Bond and Cliff Hengst, as well as Anthony Cianciolo, founder of The Jerome Project, for a conversation with Visual AIDS staff about Caja’s life, work, and legacy.

A San Francisco Art Institute alum, Caja was a powerful visual artist, drag performer, and provocateur who transgressed the supposed boundaries of gender, performance, and art in the nightclub and art-world scenes of San Francisco during the late 1980s and early ‘90s. In his visual art practice, Caja was known for using unconventional materials — ranging from nail polish and eyeliner to human ashes — to express themes of spirituality, mortality, and sexuality.

​This evening will include a presentation of rare archival video clips and ephemera from the artist, and is also the West Coast launch for the Visual AIDS book, DUETS: Nayland Blake and Justin Vivian Bond on Jerome Caja, which will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served.

​Candystore’s Blue Devil & Blond Venus

Several months back Nayland Blake put me in contact with his friend Jarett Earnest, an art writer. Jarrett was looking to secure permission to use Jerome’s painting​ The Ascension of the Fruit Bowl on the cover of a new chapbook titled Hi Angels. The book is a collection of short poems written by Candystore. Each poem begins with the phrase “Hi angel” and then takes you on an unexpected journey.

It was a delight reading the elegant mock-up Jarett sent. I could easily see Jerome’s art paired with these poems. I was also intrigued by the name Candystore. Once I landed on Candystore’s website, I had a blast looking at provocative images of her in various outrageous, colorful, skimpy, flamboyant drag outfits (www.hicandy.store).

The similarity between Jerome and Candystore is uncanny. Both sexualize fruit and flowers while wearing little more than bits of lace. Candystore reminds me of Jerome in Ric Warren’s infamous San Francisco photo shoots!

I quickly learned that Candystore is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, and performer from San Jose who now lives in New York City. I loved the creative use of “She-he” as a gender-fuck pronoun on Candystore’s about page. It cleverly and powerfully flips the derogatory “He-she” phrase used in the early 80’s & 90’s to dismissively describe transvestites, transexuals and crossdressers.

Eventually Candystore and I talked on the phone. Within a matter of days we worked together to get permission from SFMOMA to allow us to use their high-resolution image of The Ascension of the Fruit Bowl. Claudia La Rocco and David Rozelle at SFMOMA helped expedite this process while under a tight deadline. Once the cover design was established, Candystore surprised me at the last minute by deciding to dedicate Hi Angels to Jerome. She asked me for six or seven more images of works by Jerome to use as illustrations throughout the book. How could I say no to that!

Clearly, Candystore gets Jerome and wants to introduce him to a whole new audience!

Candystore and I then sifted through a stack of images of Jerome’s art until she picked some beautiful pieces that have never been published before. The painting Hot Coffee To Go was one of them, along with a personal favorite of mine, a marvelous untitled metal container painting with a blond, nude Venus on one side, and a blue, nude devil on the other (see images attached). If you look closely at the Venus/Devil piece you will see Venus has a phallus and is standing on her half shell while riding the waves and holding a runny egg over her head. On the flip side of the piece, a smirking devil, standing on a pile of burning human skulls, holds a heated cast-iron skillet over his head, ready to fry an egg. Both of these images are painted on the outside of a metal clam-shell business-card case. Jerome’s lovely works of art are a beautiful complement to Candystore’s writing!

I know if Jerome were around today, he would be tickled pink to see his paintings published in this beautiful art book, Hi Angels, and I have no doubt the two of them would have been drag sisters.

Thank you, Candystore, it has been an honor to collaborate with you!

Candystore's book of poems, HI Angels, was made possible through the Shannon Michael Cane Memorial Fund, a grant awarded to first time exhibitors at Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair. As the previous organizer of Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair, Shannon Michael Cane (1974 - 2017) championed queer artists, DIY bookmakers, and freaks of all stripes.

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​Sneak Peak of the Jerome Caja Exhibit

​This is a panoramic video illustrating the 118 pieces of Jerome Caja's artwork displayed on the 4th floor gallery of Wrightwood 659. The show is installed in five sections: Transgress, Transfigure, Transpose, Transform, and Transcend. Jerome is showcased on the top floor, in the Transcend section.

Jerome at Royal Nonesuch Gallery in Oakland

​Matt Sussman kindly invited me to speak about Jerome Caja on a panel that he organized titled Real Fictional Depth. This is in conjunction with the current exhibition, Objects of Mutual Affection, that features art from various New Narrative writers' homes, including a painting by Jerome on loan from Bruce Boone.

​Matt wanted to open up a discussion about Jerome’s legendary, rule-breaking, San Francisco underground queer performances.

​Thank You Steven Wolf, Meg Shiffler & Maysoun Wazwaz
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Last month I was thrilled to get a call from Steven Wolf (independent curator & gallerist) asking if I could help locate some of Jerome’s art. Steven has long been a champion and lover of Jerome’s work. He was looking for a wide range of Jerome’s art — tip trays, crinkle paintings, container paintings, reliquaries, etc. — from San Francisco collectors. It was important for Steven to have Jerome in this show.

In addition, I want to give a very special shout out and thank you to both Meg Shiffler (Director of SFAC Galleries) and Maysoun Wazwaz (Manager of Education and Public Programs at SFAC Galleries) for making all the thankless, logistical work that goes into creating a show like Tiny Bubbles.

Powerful new group exhibition: "Art AIDS America"

​Last year I was contacted by Jonathan David Katz and Rock Hushka, the curators of the "Art AIDS America" exhibition. They were having a terrible time trying to locate a specific Jerome Caja painting (Bozo Fucks Death). They spent almost two years searching with no luck. Well, with a little help from Paule Anglim and myself, we were able to locate this painting and help get it into the "Art AIDS America" exhibition. This is the largest exhibition of its kind. After a preview in West Hollywood, it opens at the Tacoma Art Museum on October 3, 2015, before traveling to Georgia, the Bronx, and Chicago (see details below).

I am also pleased to announce that Jonathan Katz is one of The Jerome Project's key art advisors. Jonathan is a veteran queer academic who rounds out our board. He is the Director of the Visual Studies Doctoral Program at the University at Buffalo (The State University of New York), and is the president of the board of directors of the Leslie + Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City. He has done great work nationwide keeping Jerome's spirit alive. Jonathan curated several group shows over the years, many of which have included Jerome's work. Thank you Jonathan!

"Art AIDS America"

"This groundbreaking exhibition underscores the deep and unforgettable presence of HIV in American art. It introduces and explores the whole spectrum of artistic responses to AIDS, from the politically outspoken to the quietly mournful, surveying works from the early 1980s to the present."

"Art AIDS America" is organized by The Tacoma Art Museum in partnership with The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and co-curated by Jonathan David Katz, Director, Visual Studies Doctoral Program at the University at Buffalo (The State University of New York), and Rock Hushka, Chief Curator at Tacoma Art Museum. Generous support provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. The presentation of the preview exhibition Art AIDS America was made possible by the City of West Hollywood and The David Geffen Foundation."


TOUR SCHEDULE:

Tacoma Art Museum, Washington
October 3, 2015 − January 10, 2016
Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, Georgia
February 20, 2016 – May 22, 2016
Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York
June 23, 2016 – September 11, 2016
To Be Determined, Chicago
Winter of 2016 – 2017

RELATED LINKS:

Website: Art AIDS America
Media Release: Art AIDS America
LOOP Magazine: AIDS' Impact On American Art Is Apparently Still Taboo -- by Christopher Treacy

by Anthony Cianciolo

Distinguished panel of advisors helps guide The Jerome Project.

I am so proud to announce our advisory board and their unique relationship to Jerome Caja. Large art history projects like ours rely heavily on veteran filmmakers, art historians, and curators in the contemporary art world to help guide and shape them for success.

I could not be doing this without their help, and the support of the Jerome Caja Estate. I also want to give a special shout-out and thank you to Paul Karlstrom who was instrumental in putting this board together.

Thank you everyone!

Anglim Gilbert Gallery donates "Little Black Portrait" from Jerome's estate.

Now is your chance! If you ever wanted to own an original painting by Jerome Caja and support one of San Francisco's great independent arts organizations, then join in the online bidding (Paddle8: "Little Black Portrait" by Jerome Caja). This is a recent addition to the San Francisco Cinematheque's art auction and can be found on the Paddle8 website, which is currently accepting bids. The final sale will close during a silent auction this Saturday night, September 26th, at the Center for New Music in San Francisco.

Description, History, and Provenance

"Little Black Portrait" is a small black and white portrait of a man painted on a torn scrap of paper. The man appears in profile with his index finger pointing up. The piece was mounted  by Jerome himself under glass in a simple wood frame. It was part of Jerome's personal art collection that he kept in his home. After his death in November 1995, the Jerome Caja Estate consigned it to Gallery Paule Anglim, which is now called the Anglim Gilbert Gallery. The starting bid is set at $1,000, with an estimated value at $2,500. The beauty of this piece is in its tenderness. Jerome painted hundreds of tiny intimate portraits on paper or bottle-caps, some which were family and friends, and many were simply interesting faces. Rarely did he frame them like this one. The subject of this piece is unknown.

Lastly, Shannon Trimble, Manager of Anglim Gilbert Gallery, personally selected this piece for the auction. As he so eloquently puts it, "The man in this piece -- another of Jerome's many saints -- appears to be pointing towards heaven."


Paddle8 Online Bidding Now:
Jerome Caja painting "Little Black Portrait"

SILENT AUCTION SHOW & RECEPTION
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Starts at 7:00 pm

CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC
55 Taylor Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

TICKET INFORMATION
$20 general admission
$15 for Cinematheque members
Advance tickets available here.
Join our Facebook event.

by Anthony Cianciolo

Lewis Walden & Michael Blue set the stage for Jerome Caja!

During the late 80's and early 90's, Lewis and Michael were the hottest San Francisco DJ's and club promoters (Crystal Pistol & The EndUp). They were the creators of the infamous Club Chaos and Club Uranus.

Uranus happened every Sunday night at the End-Up and would attract a crowd that religiously lined up out the door and around the corner. It was church for the freaks: punks, activists, artists, trans-genders, and queers all reveling in an evening of misfit debauchery. This was the place to dance, cruise, hang out, and celebrate life. It was also the birthplace of the "Miss Uranus Pageant" and other performance spectacles. Jerome was its reigning queen. He would perform outrageous drag numbers in his signature spastic go-go style. Club Uranus was the epicenter of San Francisco’s underground counter-culture art at that time.

Back in December of 2014, shortly after publicly launching The Jerome Project website at a fundraiser art show at Gallery Paule Anglim, Lewis posted a lovely collection of his club flyers on Facebook. His posts inspired others to do the same. Here is a sample of those flyers. If you get a chance, scroll through his Facebook feed (FB: Lewis Walden). It is a trip down memory lane of 90’s San Francisco.

Thank you Lewis and everybody else for posting these historic queer club gems!

Thank you Mark Bowes & Michael Johnstone

Here is a fabulous slice of San Francisco queer counterculture history at its finest -- American High Heeled Wrestling between Rena McDonald (Adam Klein) and Jerome Caja! This infamous drag event was an ACT-UP benefit for Prevention Point at 1015 Folsom on Wednesday, January 24th, 1990. This event was also shot on VHS. I have a digitized copy of the taped event that is unfortunately not in great condition, but it might be the only record we have of it.

As far as I know, this is the only printed documentation of the event. If anybody knows of other coverage or has pictures from this event, please contact us. We would like to document what you have and add it to the digital catalogue raisonné. This is the type of rare documentation that we want to try to include in the documentary film.

Again, thank you Mark Bowes for saving and scanning this fabulous flyer, and a very special thank you to Michael Johnstone (Verasphere) for posting and sharing these INCREDIBLE B&W photos of the event. These are extremely rare images and we are thrilled that you were able to salvage your negatives and get good digital images of them.


Special Thank You Credits

Facebook: Mark Bowes
Facebook: Michael Stone
Facebook: Jerome Caja Shrine

by Anthony Cianciolo