THE JEROME PROJECT - preserving Jerome Caja's artistic legacy

JEROME'S HOME: Back in Cleveland

5/9/2026

JEROME’S HOME: A Show of Brotherly Love

This is a new exhibition on display at the Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center. It is a more forthright and sex-positive sequel to last year's exhibition, JEROME’S HOME: A Show of Motherly Love. Most of this artwork comes from the private collections of Jerome’s brothers, along with other collectors who knew Jerome well. It has never been displayed in Cleveland until now. The goal is to inspire heartfelt conversations around full acceptance (not just tolerance) of LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people.

Jewel-Box Exhibition

This collection of paintings, photos and reliquaries have rarely been seen since Jerome Caja’s death in 1995 from complications related to HIV/AIDS. These “Little Lovelies” (a term coined by Jerome himself) are exquisite miniatures painted with everything you would find in a drag queen's handbag (nail polish, lipstick, eye liner, glitter). His canvases include pistachio shells, lockets, bottle caps, and small scraps of paper. Hidden in these elaborate works are locks of hair, fingernails, and even the ashes of a beloved friend.

Within This Collection

"Brotherly Love" refers to a deep, affectionate, and selfless bond of friendship, kindness, and compassion toward others, that is, treating non-relatives with the same care and loyalty as one would a sibling. The phrase is rooted in the Greek word philadelphia (philos = love, adelphos = brother), which signifies this close-knit, familial, or fraternal affection.

Backyard Birdie BBQ Takes Center Stage

This family portrait captures Jerome’s terrible beauty. It’s a layered snapshot of an American summer-time tradition gone horribly wrong. Neighboring sunflowers line up along a white picket fence and peer into the backyard of a wholesome family of cannibalistic birds as they hungrily gather around a picnic table.

Jerome had a wry sense of humor, especially when it comes to the tiniest of details. Look closely to see what’s served up as a tasty appetizer before the main course. One can only imagine what the two youngest siblings at the table are squawking about.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

This exhibition is dedicated to all the LGBTQ+ people who have suffered some form of family alienation and/or outright exclusion from their families; all the families struggling with supporting and loving their LGBTQ+ family member; and most importantly, to Jerome, who devoted his entire life’s work to making a profound body of art.

Exhibition Details
Curated by: Anthony Cianciolo & Bernie Caja (Jerome's mother)
Produced by: The Jerome Project
Presented & Sponsored by: The Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center

Location
Cleveland LGBT Community Center
6705 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102
Phone: (216) 651-5428

Dates
Soft Opening: May 5, 2026
Run Time: May & June, 2026

Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday (10:00 AM - 8:00 PM)
Saturday & Sunday (Closed to the public)
Exception: Open on the 4th Saturday of every month from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Founded in 1975, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland serves as a hub for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies by offering programs, services, and support to advance inclusion, equity, and well-being.

For More Info

Please Note: This show is appropriate for all ages and is free to the general public. Parking is limited in the lot behind the building, which has two disabled parking spots. There is also plenty of street parking on Detroit Avenue right in front of the center. Feel free to call the center if you have further questions.

— Stay Tuned for Upcoming Special Events —

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME CAJA AT HAUSER & WIRTH

2/21/2026

Lovely Little Sinisterly Sweet Treats

Jerome is in the new group exhibition curated by Ingrid Schaffner, "Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection," which is on display at Hauser & Wirth in downtown Los Angeles. Come celebrate his work in the context of Harris Norton’s personal art collection.

“Renowned for her generosity to artists and institutions, Eileen Harris Norton has built a collection and philanthropy actively focused upon the work of women, artists of color and her native California.”

The opening reception is on Monday, February 23, 2026 (from 6:00 to 10:00 pm). The show will be up until August 16, 2026. It is free and open to the public. An exhibition catalogue is available for purchase. All five of Jerome's works will be included in the book.

Click Here to Pre-Order Your Catalogue

Jerome’s Art Drips with Contradiction and Insight

They’re designed to provoke. He wants you to think for yourself. Create your own narrative. Fill in the blanks. Form an opinion. There’s no one way to look and feel about these pieces. They’re filled with infinite possibilities of interpretation. Together, let's have fun trying to unpack Jerome’s wicked sense of humor and horror.

What Do You See in Jerome's Art?

Love Birds Having Breakfast: Cannibalistic birds perched on the rim of a hot skillet cannot wait to devour their sizzling sunny-side up offspring.

Eric: Beautiful metallic bronze boy stares deep into your soul from behind Windex-blue eyes.

Miss Tina: Tasty tarted up Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head Cupcake is served hot out of a kid’s Easy-Bake Oven.

Two-Faced Clown: Terrifying bouncy-ball Bozo is doing God knows what with a bloody butcher knife! Now if that doesn’t scare you and make you look away, take an even closer look.

The Blue Bird of Happiness is lifeless with a severed head at the clown's feet. Meanwhile the clown offers fresh-cut flowers to heaven. And to top it off, this playfulness is set on an iconic, Wonder Bread polka-dot background.

Things a Lady May Need: Fool’s game of “Pick-n-Choose” packed and loaded with multipurpose lady essentials. Lipstick for beauty and coverup. The obvious handbag for fashion and concealment. A high heel for style, which cleverly turns into a deadly spiked weapon in case her gun fails in an emergency.

And a cinematic drag favorite, a “Mommy Dearest" wire hanger to keep her garments tidy, children from misbehaving badly, and in the most dire case, when all “Pro-Choice” laws are irrevocably taken away, this lady will still have agency and choice at hand.

It's Incredible to See Jerome Included in this Exhibition

Harris Norton has an exquisite eye and taste for art. It’s impressive to see Jerome surface in her personal collection. This is very timely, especially when our current administration is targeting and attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the federal government, aiming to dismantle racial justice initiatives, reproductive rights, environmental justice protections and ALL things LGBTQ+.

I cannot wait to engage in conversation with others provoked by Jerome’s art within the context of her collection. It will be very interesting to say the least.

What's extraordinary about "Destiny Is a Rose" is that Jerome's rebellious gender-fuck art and visionary drag allows him to permeate all kinds of specific centric spaces and circles that most cannot. This group exhibition is another one of those rare examples where Jerome is not only welcomed but celebrated.

Jerome Said It Best

Years ago, Jerome was invited to be part of the famous 1994 "Bad Girls" exhibition in Los Angeles. He was one of the only men to be included in this show. Here’s a great quote regarding the “Bad Girls” group show from the transcript of Jerome Caja’s Oral History Interview with Paul J. Karlstrom in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Jerome gave it just months prior to his death on November 3, 1995 from complications related to HIV / AIDS.

Paul: "Now, did you feel that it was a good fit, that your work fit well into these women's art?"

Jerome: "I don't think I have ever really fit into any show that I have been in."

Love Birds Having Breakfast, 1992
Nail polish on found painting on wood in frame
5 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (13.3 × 15.9 cm)

Eric, 1990–91
Nail polish, enamel, Wite-Out, lipstick,
eyeliner, salt, and Windex on paper in frame
15 1/8 × 13 3/4 in. (38.4 × 34.9 cm)

Miss Tina, 1994
Nail polish on Easy-Bake Oven tray
4 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (11.4 × 14.0 cm)

Two-Faced Clown, 1994
Nail polish and Wonder Bread wrapper on paper
13 × 9 3/8 in. (33.0 × 23.8 cm), framed

Things a Lady May Need, 1993
Nail polish and acrylic on found fabric in frame
Five pieces, 5 × 4 1/2 in. (12.7 × 11.4 cm), each

Exhibition: Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection
Curated by: Ingrid Schaffner
Dates: 24 February – 16 August 2026
Opening Reception: Monday, 23 February, 6 – 10 pm

Location: Hauser & Wirth in Downtown Los Angeles
Address: 901 East 3rd Street Los Angeles CA 90013
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hauserwirth.com
Phone: (213) 943-1620

Click Here to Pre-Order Your Catalogue

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME'S ALLHALLOWTIDE: 30th Anniversary of His Death

11/3/2025

Jerome’s Allhallowtide

It is November 3, 2025 — the 30th anniversary of Jerome Caja’s death. Every year when this day creeps up, it feels auspicious and witchy. It is a day ripe for reflection. Because this is the time of year when the veil between the living and the dead is said to be at its thinnest, I summon Jerome from the other world and feel him nestle deep inside my bones. I find his restless (and relentless) spirit oddly comforting.

Reflecting Back

Exactly one year ago today I was in Cleveland, Ohio with Jerome’s mother, Bernardine Caja. We were sitting together at her kitchen table honoring her son’s death by reading aloud letters he had written to her. She has been doing this ritual for years alone on this special date. It was a blessing to be invited in and share that extremely intimate moment with her.

It’s an Omen

I find it uncanny how three consecutive holidays: All Hallows’ Eve, All Hallows’ Day, and All Souls’ Day fall on the cusp of Jerome’s death. It is no coincidence that Jerome lived through his last three beloved holidays and then died the day after.

October 31st: All Hallows’ Eve (also known as Halloween) is a shapeshifting prankster’s playground and has always been the largest public platform Jerome exploited. No matter how damp and cold it was, Jerome would still wear next-to-nothing lingerie, paint his face a drag fright, and pose for all the looky-loos wanting to snap pictures of his newest gangly, ghoulish creation. Everyone wanted a piece of his spirit.
November 1st: All Hallows’ Day (also known as All Saints Day) is a religious holiday that celebrates the saints Jerome loved. As a child, Jerome reveled in the gruesome martyrdom of saints. Buttler’s Lives of the Saints was one of his favorite books. He knew it well and used it as a constant source of artistic inspiration. It was like a bible that he kept close, within arm's reach of his palette. He painted beautiful and disturbing depictions of Saint Lucy’s bloody vacant stare and Saint Sebastian’s muscular, bare torso pierced with arrows.
November 2nd: All Souls’ Day (also known as Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos) has been rich fodder for Jerome’s art and gallows humor. Death is a theme that constantly surfaces in his work. Skulls litter and haunt his paintings. If you look closely, you’ll see he gave many of these skulls shiny, glittery makeovers. Blue eyeshadow sparkles above hollow eye sockets, ruby-red lipstick frames jawbones full of dangling loose teeth, and black beauty marks accent high cheekbones. Death was literally on Jerome’s palette. For two years he painted with human remains by mixing nail polish with the ashes of his best friend who had died from HIV/AIDS. Jerome exhibited these intimate works of art as precious reliquaries and then gave them to his dead friend’s family and loved ones. Death permeates Jerome’s art.

Now Let’s See What Jerome Conjures up Next

As I am sitting here looking back on this transformational year with The Jerome Project and my film, there is this one very strange memory that stands out and still sends a chill down my spine. It’s something I never really gave much thought to until now.

Again, like we always do, Bernie and I were sitting at her kitchen table chatting about her son Jerome and his art and reminiscing about his antics. Off the cuff I asked her if she thought Jerome was resting in peace. Under her breath, in a deadpan and dead-serious way, she simply stated — “My son does not want to rest in peace.”

The Witching Hour

I have to say, as the darkest part of the day approaches on this 30th anniversary of Jerome’s death, I completely and wholeheartedly agree with Bernie. I don’t believe Jerome ever wanted peace beyond the grave; on the contrary, I think he wanted to instigate, agitate, and disrupt forever. It is his power. It is his strength. Most importantly, it is how he infiltrates our subconscious and manages to get underneath our skin like no one else. Knowledge is dangerous (even terrifying) when wielded as beautifully as Jerome did. As I type these words, all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck are standing up.

In Veneration of Jerome

Together let’s take a moment to close our eyes, commune with the dead and contemplate — “What uneasiness lurks in the shadows and how can it alter our daily lives in a way that profoundly frees our spirit?”

‘Tis the season of the dead.

PLEASE NOTE: For those of you that would prefer listening to this article instead of reading it, feel free to access the MP3 audio file below. I narrated it.

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME SUNNY-SIDE UP: A Tasteful Family Celebration

3/8/2025

JEROME SUNNY-SIDE UP: A Tasteful Family Celebration

The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and The Jerome Project team up to bring you a tasteful celebration honoring the creative brilliance of the late Jerome Caja — JEROME SUNNY-SIDE UP. This is an evening of fun, food and frolic in tandem with the current art exhibition on display — JEROME'S HOME: A Show of Motherly Love.

Anthony Cianciolo (director of The Jerome Project) and Bernardine Caja (Jerome's mother) curated the exhibition, and together they will host this evening event. All are welcome (please RSVP and see details below).

Click Here to RSVP -- Thank you!

JEROME CAJA
(1958 -1995)

Painter, Prankster, Performer — Jerome was a radical queer artist who produced a profound body of work. He created exquisite miniatures painted with everything you would find in a drag queen's handbag (nail polish, lipstick, eyeliner, glitter). He was only 37 when he died from complications related to HIV/AIDS.

DESCRIPTION

JEROME SUNNY-SIDE UP is a joyful gathering of Clevelanders who are proud of their "Mistake on the Lake" roots. Come join us in a kitchen-table discussion and let's revel in Jerome's unique gallows humor. The spotlight will be on the Caja family's art collection, including several additional complimentary pieces that will be on display only for this one-off event. We will also have a public unveiling of Jerome's new AIDS Quilt panel, which will be donated to the Names Project when the show ends.

5:00 to 5:15 Meet-&-Greet (everyone gathers in front of the exhibition).
5:15 to 5:30 Opening (Anthony & Bernie give a brief intro and talk about their collaboration and curatorial vision).
5:30 to 5:45 Presentation (slide-show on Jerome Caja's art, life and legacy).
5:45 to 6:30 Kitchen-Table Discussion (family members share stories about growing up with Jerome in a devout Catholic household).
6:30 to 6:45 Q&A (opportunity to ask questions to the family).
6:45 to 7:00 Closing (Anthony & Bernie end the evening with parting thoughts and sweet treats for everyone).

JEROME'S HOME: A Show of Motherly Love is currently on display at the center and several of these paintings will be discussed throughout the event. The exhibition ends on Friday, March 28, 2025.

LOGISTICS

Location: LGBT Center Cleveland
6705 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH 44102
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Phone: (216) 651-5428

Food & Drink: Light snacks will be provided with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Parking: There is limited parking in the lot behind the building, which has two accessible parking spots. There is also plenty of street parking on Detroit Avenue right in front.

RSVP: Because this is a free event open to the public, we kindly ask that everyone fill out the form so we can plan ahead of time and be able to accommodate everyone — Thank you!

This is a new exhibition on display at the Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center. Most of this artwork comes from the private collection of Bernardine Caja and the late John Caja (Jerome’s parents). It has never been displayed in its entirety until now.

Online RSVP Form

RSVP

"Our goal is to inspire heartfelt conversations around full acceptance (not just tolerance) of LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people."

-- Anthony & Bernie --

by Anthony Cianciolo

TRANS + JEROME: An Evening of Mischief and Insight

2/2/2025

TRANS + JEROME: An Evening of Mischief and Insight

The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland teams up with The Jerome Project to bring you TRANS + JEROME: An Evening of Mischief and Insight. This is a community event in tandem with the Jerome Caja art exhibition that is currently on display, JEROME'S HOME: A Queer Show of Motherly Love.

Anthony Cianciolo (director of The Jerome Project) and Bernardine Caja (Jerome's mother) curated the exhibition, and together they will host this evening event.

The goal is to inspire heartfelt conversations around full acceptance (not just tolerance) of LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people.

JEROME CAJA
(1958 -1995)

Painter, Prankster, Performer -- Jerome was a radical queer artist who produced a profound body of work. He created exquisite miniatures painted with everything you would find in a drag queen's handbag (nail polish, lipstick, eyeliner, glitter). He was only 37 when he died from complications related to HIV/AIDS.

EVENT DESCRIPTION

TRANS + JEROME is an intergenerational community discussion on where Jerome Caja falls (or doesn’t fall) on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and the importance of both free speech and radical self expression in America during a hateful cultural war targeting trans people today.

5:00 to 5:15 Meet-&-Greet (everyone gathers in front of the exhibition).
5:15 to 5:30 Opening (Anthony & Bernie give a brief intro and talk about their collaboration and curatorial vision).
5:30 to 5:45 Presentation (slide-show on Jerome Caja's art, life and legacy).
5:45 to 6:30 Panel Discussion (guest speakers share their insightful stories about trans art, identity and rights).
6:30 to 6:45 Q&A (opportunity to ask questions to the guest panelists).
6:45 to 7:00 Closing (Anthony & Bernie end the evening with parting thoughts and sweet treats for everyone).

JEROME'S HOME is currently on display at the center and several of these paintings will be discussed throughout the event. The exhibition ends on Friday, March 28, 2025.

EVENT LOGISTICS

Location: LGBT Center Cleveland
6705 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH 44102
Date: Friday, February 7, 2025
Time: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Phone: (216) 651-5428

Food & Drink: Light snacks will be provided with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Parking: There is limited parking in the lot behind the building, which has two accessible parking spots. There is also plenty of street parking on Detroit Avenue right in front.

RSVP: Because this is a free event open to the public, we kindly ask that everyone fill out the online form so we can plan ahead of time and be able to accommodate everyone. You can either click on the button below or scan the QR code to the right — Thank you!

TRANS + JEROME - RSVP Event Form

Founded in 1975, the center serves as a hub for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies by offering programs, services, and support to advance inclusion, equity, and well-being.

By Anthony Cianciolo

New Exhibition in Cleveland: "JEROME'S HOME"

1/12/2025

JEROME’S HOME: A Show of Motherly Love

This is a new exhibition on display at the Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center. Most of this artwork comes from the private collection of Bernardine Caja and the late John Caja (Jerome’s parents). It has never been displayed in its entirety until now. The goal is to inspire heartfelt conversations around full acceptance (not just tolerance) of LGBTQ+ and HIV+ people.

Jewel-Box Exhibition

This collection of paintings, photos and reliquaries have rarely been seen since Jerome Caja’s death in 1995 from complications related to HIV/AIDS. These “Little Lovelies” (a term coined by Jerome himself) are exquisite miniatures painted with everything you would find in a drag queen's handbag (nail polish, lipstick, eye liner, glitter). His canvases include pistachio shells, lockets, bottle caps, and small scraps of paper. Hidden in these elaborate works are locks of hair, fingernails, and even the ashes of a beloved friend.

Within This Collection

The love a mother has for her child radiates. Saint Anne hands a rose to the young Virgin Mary. Touching Madonna and Child motifs abound. A fertile green pea pod gives birth to a wide assortment of smiley faced peas. Eggs in all forms imaginable pop up everywhere. And a gathering of bewitching beating hearts circulate the Divine Feminine throughout.

Eggs Having Turkey Dinner Take Center Stage

This family portrait captures Jerome’s terrible beauty. It’s a layered snapshot of a traditional American holiday gone horribly wrong. Cannibalistic eggs hungrily gather around the kitchen table to eat their maker. One sibling slips off its egg stand, splats all over the floor, and dies cracked wide open. All of this plays out while only one young family member raises its eyebrows in horror because they're the only one who can see what's really going on. Jerome had a wry sense of humor. Especially when it came to the tiniest details expressed in his work. Can you find the fried grandparents tastefully making their way to heaven sunny-side up?

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

This exhibition is dedicated to: all the LGBTQ+ people who have suffered some form of family alienation and/or outright exclusion from their families; all the families struggling with supporting and loving their LGBTQ+ family member; and most importantly, to Jerome, who dedicated his entire life’s work to making a profound body of art.

Exhibition Details
Curated by: Anthony Cianciolo & Bernie Caja
Produced by: The Jerome Project
Presented & Sponsored by: The Greater Cleveland LGBT Community Center

Location
Cleveland LGBT Community Center
6705 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102
Phone: (216) 651-5428

Dates
Soft Opening: Dec 1, 2024 (World AIDS Day)
Official Opening: Jan 1 to March 28, 2025

Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday (10:00 AM - 8:00 PM)
Saturday & Sunday (Closed to the public)
Exception: Open on the 4th Saturday of every month from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

For More Info

— Stay Tuned for Upcoming Special Events —

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

AN UPDATE ON ALL THINGS JEROME

10/9/2023

Dear Jerome Lovers . . .

Thank you all for your patience, especially over the last few years when we hunkered down behind closed doors during the worst of COVID. I have been really productive during this time. Not only have I been working intensely on the film, but I have also been working on various exhibitions, publications, presentations and fundraising opportunities that I am excited to share with you.

Jerome’s brilliant, long lasting contributions to the world came out of the AIDS pandemic in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Unsurprisingly, 28 years after his death in 1995, his challenging art has reemerged and now thrives stronger than ever in the wake of another pandemic.

Jerome Loves to Revel in the Messiness of Humanity

When the world first tried to open back up in June of 2021 and we were all trying to find some new sense of normalcy from COVID lockdown, shockingly we found ourselves quarantined again and watched as everyone retreated back into their homes. During this time I was working with Anglim/Trimble Gallery on a solo Jerome exhibition. Nothing stopped that exhibition from happening. Mask mandates were back in place and community gatherings were either abruptly canceled or heavily monitored and extremely pared down.

Regardless, the show went on. FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja was a success on many fronts. Even with limited and staggered accessibility for viewing and little public programming, the show significantly moved the needle forward for Jerome, especially the film. The show teased out the ending to my documentary. My patience has paid off over all these years. I cannot wait to share it with you in its completed form. It is heart-felt, uncompromising, enlightening and totally in alignment with Jerome.

Now with that said, I am currently in the production phase, building a rough assembly cut of the documentary. The following highlights (all of which have propelled the film forward and many of which will be included in the film) are what I have been up to over the last several years.

"FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja" at Anglim/Trimble Gallery
(paintngs by Jerome, photographs by Anna van der Meulen)
Curated by Anthony Cianciolo
June 2021

EXHIBITIONS

Currently Jerome is included in the new Blum & Poe group exhibition titled "Pictures Girls Make": Portraitures, curated by Alison Gingeras. It is open to the public from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday and ends on October 21, 2023. If you are in the LA area it is not to be missed. (view blog post)
In May & June of this year I worked closely with Visual AIDS in New York to include Jerome in their group show titled “No Bios”, curated by Isis Awad. It was a special Pride exhibition and was also extremely well received. The show got a lot of eyes on Jerome, and I am following up with some key contacts for future East Coast Jerome exhibitions. (view blog post)
In June 2021 I curated a solo exhibition, FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja at Anglim/Trimble Gallery. It included 80+ paintings (most of which had not been on public display since Jerome’s passing in 1995). This exhibition also had a panel discussion about Jerome led by the infamous Joan Jett Blakk with special guests Adam Klein, Gerard Koskovich, Jessica Tanzer, and myself. It was a magical event! This was filmed and documented extensively. (view blog post)
In October 2019 I curated a pop-up Jerome show at SFMOMA with Visual AIDS at a book-launch party. I had more than 30 paintings on display, along with drag ephemera and club flyers. I screened a 15 minute excerpt from the doc that was edited by Bill Weber. This event also had a panel discussion that I participated in with Cliff Hengst and Justin Vivian Bond. More than 250 people attended. This was filmed and documented extensively. (view blog post)
In May of 2019 I curated the Jerome portion of the ABOUT FACE: Stonewall Revolt & New Queer Art exhibition at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago. It included 117 paintings, one of the largest exhibitions of Jerome's work since his death in 1995. Bernardine Caja (Jerome’s mother), Ed Caja (Jerome’s brother) and Anna van der Meulen (Jerome’s best friend) attended. Again, this was also filmed and documented extensively. (view blog post)
I am currently working with Anglim/Trimble Gallery to do a follow-up exhibition that compliments the show FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja. Stay tuned for details.
I continue to work on getting a major museum retrospective on Jerome. It is my hope to include this in the documentary as well as in the film’s educational and distribution plan.

"ABOUT FACE: Stonewall Revolt and New Queer Art" at Wrightwood 659
(Jerome Caja portion of the exhibition, 117 paintings)
Curated by Anthony Cianciolo
May 2019

PUBLICATIONS

Graham Feyl at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is working on his PhD dissertation, which is Jerome-centric. I am working with him to get him access to whatever he needs from the Jerome archive and repository.
Robert Barrett received a PhD at the University of California, Irvine, and wrote his dissertation on Jerome Caja, Joan Jett Blakk, Robert Glück and Steve Abbot (who also wrote about Jerome). Stay tuned for a link to a special Jerome excerpt from Robert’s dissertation that will be published and made available shortly. Robert currently teaches at UC Berkeley in the Division of Arts & Humanities.
Candystore's book of poems “Hi Angels” is dedicated to Jerome and uses his art as visual companion pieces for several of the poems, including the cover. This was made possible through the Shannon Michael Cane Memorial Fund, a grant they received for first time exhibitors at Printed Matter’s Art Book Fair. The limited edition run sold out immediately and shortly after, a second-run special edition called “DELUX Hi Angels” also sold out quickly. (view first blog post & view second blog post)
I recently contributed and wrote a new essay for the catalog for the ABOUT FACE: Stonewall Revolt & New Queer Art exhibition that was at Wrightwood 659. This is a beautiful coffee-table art book with several essays from famous queer academics, and it is in the final stages of production. Stay tuned for its release date. (pre-order your copy now)
I have also been extensively photographing and documenting more than a hundred newly unearthed Jerome paintings from private collections. Some of these images will make their way into the documentary. I am archiving the photos in the repository and will use them in a book that will come out after the release of the documentary. It is an ongoing process.

"ABOUT FACE: Stonewall, Revolt, and New Queer Art"
Pre-order for $65.00 through Phaidon
(hardcover, size 11.5 × 9.5 in)
December 2023

REVIEWS

Hank Trout wrote a review in June of 2021 on the exhibition FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja in A&U America’s AIDS Magazine. He interviewed me for the article. This was an online and print magazine found in doctor’s offices around the country. It was a four-page spread with full-color plates of Jerome’s art and B&W photos of Jerome that were also in the exhibition. (read the A&U review on pages 24-27)
Arthur Lubow wrote a review in August of 2019 on the exhibition ABOUT FACE: Stonewall Revolt & New Queer Art in the New York Times. It covered the entire show with a special spotlight on Jerome. Eggs Having Turkey Dinner appeared above-the-fold on the front page of the Times’ art section. I was also credited in the article for having curated the Jerome portion of the show. (read the NYT review)

"Hey Honey Triptych" by Anna van der Meulen in A&U Magazine
(black and white photographs, 11 x 16 inches each)
Created in 1993 and published in June 2021

PRESENTATIONS

In early November 2023 I will host an educational film-development field trip at Ninth Street Independent Film Center (IFC) for Jason Jakitus’s film students from Saint Mary’s College. My documentary on Jerome will be the centerpiece discussion.
In late September 2023, I was a guest lecturer in Ryan White’s Advanced Editing class at Cal State Monterey Bay. It was an amazing experience that led to two students offering their skills and talent in editing the documentary. I am now crafting special internships for them.
In June 2023, I did a private showing for a special curated gallery visit for Jeff Parker’s alumni group from the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary, which is also an art investing group. For them it was an introduction to Jerome’s work and an incentive to invest in brilliance when you see it in an artist early on, as Jeff did with Jerome. More than 40 people, including the directors of the museum, attended.
I have also been doing film presentations in private homes for Jerome collectors and ambassadors.

"Ryan White's Advanced Editing Class" at Cal State Monterey Bay
(Jerome lecture on working with challenging content)
Fall semester September 2023

DOCUMENTARY FILM

When I ventured on this crazy journey back in 2010 I wanted to shine a light on Jerome's brilliance as a Painter, Prankster, Performer and spotlight the cultural impact he had on queer San Francisco in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Over the years as I became inundated with Jerome’s work and life story, I realized the documentary also needs to explore — Who is the man behind the scary drag mask? Where is his place in the larger contemporary art narrative? And why is he not a household name like Hieronymus Bosch, Oscar Wilde and Divine?

With this new, deeper trajectory, I found a bizarre and fascinating story with a wildly different end to the film. Discovering a unique ending is what every documentarian grapples with, and it is why most docs never make it out of development. It all comes down to a really good transformational story that lands on an unexpected ending, and it has to be told in an interesting way that is unlike any other film out there.

I completely rewrote my film treatment with a five-act story structure and powerful new ending. This is now the scaffolding for the doc. It is complex, theatrical and cinematic.
I started storyboarding hand-drawn 2/D animation sequences that will be peppered throughout the film. They have a traditional fine-art look that compliments Jerome’s weird, witchy warmth.
I am privately workshopping the film with art advisors, film producers, and Jerome collectors who have been extremely supportive. Some are new and many of them have been with me since the inception of this project. Their response has been extremely helpful and affirming.
I have a new office at Ninth Street Independent Film Center (IFC), which is in San Francisco’s Civic Center area and in an office building that used to be the old Film Arts Foundation. I am part of a filmmaker residency and incubator program that is under the same roof as independent film organizations like Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), Frameline (LGBTQ+ Film Festival), Jewish Film Institute (JFI & Jewish Film Festival) and Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). I could not be positioned better at this stage of production.
I am cataloging all of my archival footage. This media is the foundation of the documentary, and it changed the final form of the film, which is now a three-part docuseries. This is a huge turn of events. Originally I set out to make a short, which then quickly turned into a feature, and appropriately is now a docuseries. This new three-part format allows for a definitive, more complex story on Jerome, and most importantly it allows the viewer to take Jerome (and his life story) in digestible bites. Docuseries are now the preferred format for viewers and streaming platforms.
I have over 75% of my principal photography in the can. This footage illustrates where Jerome is today. It includes interviews with Adam Klein, Ana van der Meulen, Bernardine Caja (Jerome’s mother), and several other family members in Ohio. The bulk of it was shot in San Francisco (my home & various galleries) and Cleveland (several homes of friends & family). The Cleveland shoot was intense. It was done over 7 days, 12 hours per day, and I got pure gold on film!
I am also recording audio interviews for the film and repository. I commissioned Paul Karlstrom to do a two-day intensive oral history interview with Anna van der Meulen. After the doc comes out, I will donate Anna’s interview to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art as a companion piece to Paul’s original oral history interview with Jerome.
I have been collaborating with the composer Daniel De Togni. We met through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), and since then he has composed several beautiful classical piano pieces specifically for the film's score and soundtrack.
I have been filming and documenting all of the exhibitions I curated over the past years (including the most recent, FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja, and also the pop-up show I did at SFMOMA a while back), all of which will be highlights in the docuseries.
I am currently working with several couples who have significant collections of Jerome’s art that I had not seen before. They have been very generous with their time and allowed me to document their collections. They are also looking forward to having their art be a big part of the finished film.

"JEROME TRIPTYCH: Painter, Prankster & Performer"
(stills from VHS tapes in Jerome's estate)
circa 1985-1995

FUNDRAISING

I have been very fortunate to receive two early-on development grants from Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) that were funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This is how I digitized more than 100 hours of video. I have also been given several residencies that include below-market-rate rent for office space in San Francisco by SFFILM and Ninth Street Independent Film Center, where I am currently.

Aside from that, I have never asked for or borrowed money from anyone. Most documentary filmmakers do multiple fundraising campaigns (development, production & distribution) and end up taxing their supporters. I chose to not go this route. Instead, I personally bank-rolled the other 85% of development and pre-production costs, with the help from a handful of generous angel investors close to the project who supported the film shoots.

This combined support has allowed me to move at a strong, secure pace with the film.

Now that I am squarely in the production phase, I will eventually need financing to pay for an editor and VFX animator in the post-production phase. This is the most costly part of the filmmaking process. In 8-10 months I will be positioned perfectly for the launch of my online finishing-fund campaign. Stay tuned for details.

PLEASE NOTE: This entire list of accomplishments and works in progress is abridged, and I am happy to share more in person with anyone interested. My office is always open to you. I am also open to all kinds of fundraising suggestions (private & public) and am happy to bring The Jerome Project to you in the privacy of your home if you are in the Bay Area or Greater Los Angeles area.

Thank You for Your Support

In closing, I want to give a big, heartfelt thank-you to everyone who has shared their stories and art with me. I could not be doing this without your generosity and help.

If anybody else wants to participate, again feel free to contact me. The project just keeps getting stronger the more people who love Jerome get involved. I am happy to meet and discuss practical, doable collaborations, especially with museums interested in a Jerome Caja retrospective. Any museum contacts and leads are greatly appreciated in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Cleveland, New York, and Europe. You can contact me here through The Jerome Project website and schedule a visit.

I look forward to updating again soon.

Workshopping Jerome out of my SF office at Ninth Street Independent Film Center
(development boards and paintings from the repository on display)
October 2023

Contact Me & Schedule a Visit

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME in Los Angeles

9/17/2023

"Pictures Girls Make": Portraitures
Curated by Alison M. Gingeras

I am pleased to announce that Jerome Caja is included in the new Blum & Poe exhibition — "Pictures Girls Make": Portraitures. It is curated by Alison M. Gingeras and is on display from September 9 to October 21, 2023 in Culver City (Los Angeles). This show is impressive, disarming and powerful. It takes up the entire exhibition space, spanning multiple rooms on two floors and feels more like a museum than your typical white-walled art gallery.

This exhibition places Jerome back into the contemporary art narrative outside of San Francisco, and alongside more than 50 other artists from the early nineteenth century to the present, including Elaine de Kooning, Joan Brown, Somaya Critchlow, and many more.

If you are in the LA area, don’t miss this show. It has four of Jerome’s “Little Lovelies” beautifully peppered throughout.

Make sure not to miss the wonderful secret room that has its own separate entrance from the patio area. It is marvelous! One of my favorite Jerome pieces — “Virgin and Her Cock” — is tucked away there. Even though the piece is the smallest work of art on the wall, it stands out next to the larger-than-life works in the room. When I was there for the opening reception, it was the most photographed piece in the room, and thanks to the new Barbie movie, you will understand why.

Lastly, The Jerome Project wants to give a very special thank you to Jeff Poe and Alison Gingeras. Jeff has been a huge champion of Jerome’s work since the 1990s. He was the one who introduced Jerome to Alison. She understands Jerome, and it is an honor to have her be a part of this ever-growing, strange Jerome family.

"X Studies the work of Pythagoras"
by Somaya Critchlow
circa 2022

EXHIBITION LOGISTICS:
Location: Blum & Poe (Los Angeles)
Phone: (310) 836-2062
Address: 2727 S La Cienega Blvd
Dates: Sep 9th - Oct 21st
Hours: Tue - Sat (10:00 to 6:00)
(Closed Sun & Mon)

PLEASE NOTE: All images here are from Blum & Poe's website and photographed by Hannah Mjølsnes.

"Aquarius"
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

"Madonna and Child"
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

"Oops"
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

"Virgin with Her Cock"
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

Excerpt From Alison Gingeras’ Curatorial Exhibition Statement

“Pictures girls make” is a quip attributed to Willem de Kooning who purportedly dismissed the inferior status of his wife Elaine’s portrait practice. Inverting the original dismissal into an affirmation, “Pictures Girls Make” is a rallying cry for this exhibition, which examines how different forms of portraitures defy old aesthetic, social, and ideological norms.

Both historically and contemporarily speaking, the portrait has always been far more than a rendering of a specific person’s likeness. Portraiture engages with ideas of identity, subjectivity, and agency. Moving beyond binary thinking, the exhibition strives to emphasize the diversity of subjects, complexities of biography, and array of individual characters that artists have been able to capture through various modes of portrait making.

For Full Description Click Here

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME in Manhattan

5/11/2023

If you are in the NYC area from May 11th to June 24th, be sure to see the new summer exhibition by Visual AIDS —“NO BIOS”. It is a group art show curated by Isis Awad with drawings, paintings, sculptures, and video from three generations of artists. It features artwork (including never-before-exhibited pieces) by Jerome Caja (1958–1995), Chloe Dzubilo (1960–2011), Stevie Cisneros Hanley, Reverend Joyce McDonald, Sofia Moreno, Pamela Sneed, Tabboo!, and D’Angelo Lovell Williams.

See logistics and programing below.

Big thanks to Isis Awad and Visual AIDS for including Jerome in this really special exhibition. This type of East Coast visibility for Jerome is so important, especially now, 28 years after Jerome’s death, when he was just on the cusp of national recognition.

Over the years, The Jerome Project and the estate have been working closely with Visual AIDS to insert Jerome back into the contemporary art narrative, give Jerome’s art the visibility it deserves, and reach the widest possible audience —“NO BIOS” does this!

Lastly, if you want to support both Jerome and Visual AIDS, then treat yourself to this lovely chapbook DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond In Conversation on Jerome Caja that Visual AIDS produced a few years back. There are still a few left in stock and it is a real gem.

DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond In Conversation on Jerome Caja

“Operation”
by Chloe Dzubilo
circa 2008–2011

“Have a Bearry Nice Day” [sic]
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

"Pantyhose Cowboy"
by Stevie Cisneros Hanley
circa 2021

NO BIOS:
CURATED BY ISIS AWAD FOR VISUAL AIDS
EFA PROJECT SPACE
MAY 11–JUNE 24, 2023

LOCATION:
EFA Project Space
323 W 39th St, 2nd Floor
New York, NY , 10018
United States

Featuring artwork by Jerome Caja (1958–1995), Chloe Dzubilo (1960–2011), Stevie Cisneros Hanley, Reverend Joyce McDonald, Sofia Moreno, Pamela Sneed, Tabboo!, and D’Angelo Lovell Williams

GALLERY HOURS: Wed–Sat, 12–6PM
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 11, 5–8PM

No Bios showcases artists whose practice is deeply personal and biographical in nature, while resisting the art world’s tendency to reduce marginalized artists to their identity markers. Drawing in part from the Visual AIDS archive and artist registry, curator Isis Awad brings together a group of queer and trans artists of color, some of whom are living and thriving with HIV, alongside artists who have been lost to AIDS-related illnesses. In contrast to the somber, tragic, and alarmist overtones that often accompany representations of HIV and AIDS, No Bios presents mischievously playful and beautifully mundane artworks that speak to a determination to live beyond mere survival. A publication designed by Isai Soto will accompany the exhibition.

“This exhibition has nothing and everything to do with HIV. Some of the artists in the show live with HIV, some of them don’t. Some of them are still with us, and some of them aren’t. This is not an attempt to make sense of anything, or theorize a human’s relationship with a virus. What ties the artists in this show together is an unrelenting desire to make art against all odds; art that does not capitalize on its makers’ marginalized identities.” — Isis Awad

No Bios is presented as part of Visual AIDS’ annual exhibition program, which centers the organization’s expansive and living archive of artwork by HIV-positive artists. Each summer, Visual AIDS invites guest curators to organize thematic exhibitions that bring works represented in the archive into conversation with other contemporary artists.

Visual AIDS exhibitions are supported by a multiyear grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, as well as general operating grants from the Lambent Foundation, the Marta Heflin Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

EXHIBITION PROGRAMING:

Opening Reception
Thursday May 11th at 6:00 PM

Catalog Launch & Reading with Pamela Sneed
Thursday May 25th at 6:00 PM

Artist & Curator Walk Through
Saturday June 17th at 2:00 PM

Visual AIDS Website

by Anthony Cianciolo

My Date with Joan Jett Blakk — by Jo Owens

6/16/2021

“People Who Are Proud Of Who They Are Challenge The Rest Of Us To Be Greater.”
— Helen Owens, hair, makeup and wardrobe specialist for “Jerome and Joan”

PRIDE has special meaning for me this year.

Alongside my sister Helen Owens, I'm excited to join Joan Jett Blakk as one-half of her hair, makeup and wardrobe design team as she launches her one-night-only revival of the award-winning 90’s-LGBTQ-San-Francisco talk show “Late Night with Joan Jett Blakk.”

Jo Owens (left) and her sister Helen Owens (far right) pose with team member Matt Riutta (center) and the fabulous Terence Smith aka Joan Jett Blakk.

Titled “Jerome and Joan,” and running in conjunction with the "Found: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja" art exhibition, the event celebrates Ms. Blakk’s friend and fellow activist Jerome Caja’s powerful, avant-garde contributions to the 20th-century art world as a voice for LGBTQ people. Ms. Blakk is a celebrated legend in the LGBTQ community, and I am looking forward to embracing the love and light she’ll bring to this event.

Of equal significance is that we’re honoring these two luminaries on a date which holds special meaning for me.

“Jerome and Joan” takes place on June 19, also known to many as Juneteenth. This day of celebration originated in the African-American community and commemorates President Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the decree granting enslaved people their freedom. (Fittingly, as I write this, the US Senate has just passed a bill that would establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday). As a cisgender Black female and LBGTQ family member who grew up on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, I’m moved by the opportunity to celebrate Mr. Caja and Ms. Blakk on a day that represents power and pride.

“Understand Your Brilliance. Know Your Power. Believe You Can Do Anything.”
— SheCompass

The day I met Ms. Blakk at our hair and makeup test date I felt an instant connection. The moment Ms. Blakk’s alter ego Mr. Terence Smith climbed out of the car to greet me and my sister I saw past his signature 3-piece suit-and-hat wardrobe into the eyes of a black woman I instantly recognized.

Later, as I helped Mr. Smith slip into his Chanel-inspired jacket and elegant jewelry while he transformed into Ms. Blakk, a feeling of comfort came over me: I was with one of my own.

At that moment Ms. Blakk became a visual representation of the community of refined, forward-thinking African-American women that helped raise me into the woman I am today. These beautiful Black women were the leaders of the community and the glue that held Black families together. They were our Big Mammas in every way, helping to teach us Black children that we mattered, even when the world taught us we were invisible.

As I played in my mind Ms. Blakk’s historic 1991 mayoral run against Chicago’s Richard Daley, then her later 1992 and 1996 Presidential bids for the White House, I equated the thought with the pride I first felt as a child learning about Shirely Chisolm, the first black woman to make a run for the White House. Black women like these made me believe that I could do anything, even when the world at large considered my Black skin of zero value and purpose.

And here was one of my very own Big Mammas, looking chic and collected in her skirt and heels in my living room, reminding me that we Black girls are powerful and can be anything we choose.

Pride, indeed.

“In Knowing Our Power We Live As the Greatest Versions of Ourselves”
— from “Finding Our She-Compass”

What I love most about being a part of this project is its commitment to visibility for underrepresented communities.

Like Jerome and Joan, my sister Helen and I have spent decades using our art to uplift people who feel defeated and unseen. As a custom wig/prosthesis maker to women suffering from hair loss due to illness or disfigurement, my sister makes it possible for her clients to be fully themselves, regaining their hair, reviving their self-worth and ultimately repowering their self-esteem. And as podcast hosts and authors of the 7-time award-winning book “Finding Our She-Compass,” Helen and I remain dedicated to elevating, uplifting, and empowering people through love and inspiration.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this historic project! “FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja” runs through Saturday June 26, 2021 at the Anglim/Trimble gallery, part of the Minnesota Street Project and featuring items donated for exhibit by the GLBT Historical Society.

Jo Owens

Jo Owens is a 25-plus-year writer/communicator/storyteller, focusing on projects that uplift and inspire. She is co-author of the 7-time-award-winning book Finding Our She-Compass, and co-host/producer/editor of its corresponding podcast The She-Compass Show. She’s also partnered with her sister Helen Owens to empower others through art and provides hair/makeup/wardrobe assistance on set.

Owens has received awards for excellence in service and administration; she is also the winner of the Justin McCarthy Oratory Award, the Charles Lampkin Award for excellence in vocal performance, and was nominated by The Douglas Morrison Theatre in Hayward, CA for Best Actress in a Musical. She can be reached via email at [email protected] and on Instagram at @joalwaysatwork.

Finding Our She-Compass: 15 Life Lessons For Women Voyaging toward Restoration, Reconstruction, and Renewal (paperback)

by Jo Owens

JEROME & JOAN: Late Night With Joan Jett Blakk

6/11/2021

EVENTBRITE RSVP: Please Register Here to Guarantee Entry

JEROME & JOAN: Late Night With Joan Jett Blakk — Anglim/Trimble Gallery presents a live talk show hosted by the legendary, award-winning drag queen Joan Jett Blakk. In honor of 2021 Pride and the new exhibition FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja, Jerome’s infamous drag performances and fine art paintings will be the topic of discussion.

SPECIAL GUESTS: Adam Klein (AKA: Miss Rena McDonald, musician, educator and co-author of Jerome After the Pageant), Gerard Koskovich (activist and founding member of the GLBT Historical Society), Jessica Tanzer (photographer and documentarian of SF’s lesbian/queer underground), and Anthony Cianciolo (filmmaker and founder of The Jerome Project).

LIVE MUSIC: San Francisco’s beloved Hipsteria — swingers and bringers of Swing, Latin Jazz and R&B — will be performing in the Hipsteriac Lounge on the ground floor.

LOGISTICS: This hour-long show is free and will start promptly at 5:30 PM. Please arrive early because space is limited. There is bleacher style seating on the main floor and standing room in-the-round on both floors. The event will take place in San Francisco’s Dogpatch at Minnesota Street Project (1275 Minnesota Street). Parking is available around the building and on nearby alleyways. Due to current COVID regulations and the uncertainty of state restrictions to be announced on June 15th, we ask that you be patient with us. Masks might be required. Please register your tickets here with Eventbrite, print them out and bring them to the event with you to expedite and guarantee your entry.

Please Note: We apologize in advance if we are not able to accommodate everyone’s needs and wishes.

Presented by: KFAG “Your Legs in the Airwaves”

Event Details
Title: Late Nigth with Joan Jett Blakk
Date: Saturday June 19, 2021
Time: 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Event Location
Minnesota Street Project
1275 Minnesota Street
San Francisco CA, 94107

Regular Exhibition Hours
Gallery: Anglim/Trimble Gallery
Open: Tue to Sat (11:00 am to 5:00 pm)
Closed: Sun to Mon

Contact Info
Phone: (415) 433-2710
Email: [email protected]

Special Thanks To:

Anglim/Trimble Gallery
Minnesota Street Project
GLBT Historical Society
Verasphere
Hipsteria
City Picture Frame
Hanson Digital Fine Art Printing & Art Scanning
Liza Wintersteller (Jerome Caja sugar cookies)
Helen Owens & Jo Owens (hair, makeup & wardrobe for Miss Joan Jett Blakk)
and most importantly, all the Jerome collectors who worked closely with The Jerome Project on this exhibition and shared their art with the world!

Joan Jett Blakk for President, 1992
Photo by Marc Geller

Jerome Caja was a master American painter and skag-drag performer. He was at the center of San Francisco late 80’s and early 90’s queer counter culture movement of art, AIDS and activism. He used trash, found objects, and anything you might find in a drag queen’s hand bag (lipstick, eye liner, makeup, nail polish, etc.) as his medium of choice in his paintings and his apocalyptic drag. Jerome died in 1995 from complications related to HIV & AIDS. Twenty-five years after his death, our culture is only just now starting to catch up with his vision.

Jerome Caja
Video still, circa 1990
by Electric City

by Anthony Cianciolo

JEROME CAJA: Toasters, Vaginas & Eggs

5/2/2021

On May 1st, my new exhibition, FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja, had a soft opening at ANGLIM/TRIMBLE gallery. It was part of what’s called “First Saturday,” a monthly San Francisco gallery-crawl at Minnesota Street Project. The show is nestled inside a free-standing alcove in the main gallery. Shannon Trimble, the owner and director of the gallery, said that this intimate, walled-off space is what inspired him to include Jerome in this group show.

As the gallery started filling up on opening day, a family with a little boy came strolling around the corner. When they first saw the Jerome portion of the show, they had a delightful, wide-eyed look of excitement. They were fully engaged and intent on not missing a single piece of the 80+ works of Jerome’s art (paintings, photos, drag ephemera, etc.).

It was beautiful to watch this family take in Jerome’s art as a playful exploration together. I snapped a lovely photo of them huddled around the central display case enjoying everything. Just then, the boy who was about eight years old, asked his mother — “Mommy, why does this woman have a toaster plugged into her vagina?” The mother said she didn’t know, and told the boy to ask me. I told him that while I didn’t know exactly what the artist had in mind when he painted it, I encouraged him to look at the toaster in relation to the other objects in the painting. We then examined all the sunny-side-up eggs that were also popping out of the toaster and raining down on the woman, who stands naked in a shower. This led to a lovely conversation about fertility, ovulation, and women having eggs inside them for reproduction. The little boy took in everything I said, and, with a smile, shifted his gaze to the adjacent paintings. He had a blast discovering all the other eggs in numerous paintings and joyfully pointed them out to everyone else in the gallery.

I love that this boy intuitively understood Jerome. His playful curiosity was beautiful to observe. I also love that his parents were so comfortable exposing him to challenging art. Once the family was done looking at the exhibition, I pulled the mother aside and told her how moved I was by my interaction with her family and how my parents would have been very hesitant for me to see such provocative art at such a young age. Without missing a beat, she replied — “Oh yeah, we have a gynecologist in our household, and we have these kinds of conversation all the time.”

It is moments like this that confirm why I am doing what I am doing with Jerome Caja’s art and artistic legacy. I believe that Jerome wanted people to enjoy talking about uncomfortable, complex subjects that can easily be misunderstood or, even worse, dismissed.

Visitors at central vitrine
(opening at Anglim/Trimble)
May 1, 2021

FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja
(panorama shot of exhibition)
May 1, 2021

Untitled (nude woman in shower with toaster and eggs)
by Jerome Caja, 10 x 7 x .5 inches, circa 1995
(private collection)

FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja

The show is up until June 26th and is by appointment only. You can use the link located at the bottom of the homepage on the ANGLIM/TIMBLE website to schedule a half hour time slot between noon and 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you would like a personal walkthrough of the exhibit, just contact me through The Jerome Project website and I am happy to accompany you.

Lastly, please stay tuned for an announcement regarding a special Jerome Caja event for this exhibition — THANK YOU!

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

New Exhibition "FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja"

3/15/2021

This is a jewel-box exhibition of paintings, sculptures, photos, and reliquaries rarely seen since Jerome’s death in 1995. These “Little Lovelies” (a term coined by Jerome himself) are exquisite miniatures painted with everything you would find in a drag queen's handbag (nail polish, lipstick, eye liner, glitter).

Humor and horror vie for center stage as Jerome’s imaginary cast of characters perform the Danse Macabre. Bozo the Clown feeds fruit pies to an emaciated Christ. Venuses with penises seduce fiery devils in the underworld. Eggs ascend to heaven sunny-side-up.

Jerome’s canvases include pistachio shells, lockets, discarded bottle caps, and small scraps of paper. Hidden within these elaborate works you will find human ash, locks of hair, fingernails, and even the artist's own HIV+ blood.

Also on exhibit are unfinished paintings discovered on Jerome’s palette when he died, various handmade accessories from famous performances, and wild drag photos of Jerome taken by loved ones.

Step into this vivid snapshot of San Francisco’s radical queer past and see for yourself the remains of a modern-day saint!

"The Virgin Bozo"
by Jerome Caja
circa 1995

“The vision for the gallery is simple. We intend to position artists and their work at the forefront of our attention and effort. We will maintain a vibrant exhibition schedule and grow educational outreach with broad, new initiatives and programs.” — Shannon Trimble

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE: Limited edition framed prints of Jerome by his dear friend Anna van der Meulen (B&W 35mm film and color slides from the 80’s and 90’s).

Exhibition Details
Title: FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja
Curator: Anthony Cianciolo
Dates: May 1st — June 26th (2021)

Exhibition Location
Minnesota Street Project
1275 Minnesota Street
San Francisco CA, 94107
Website: minnesotastreetproject.com

Exhibition Space
Gallery: Anglim/Trimble Gallery
Open: Wednesday to Saturday (Noon to 4:00 PM)
Closed: Sunday to Tuesday
Phone: (415) 433-2710
Contact: [email protected]
Website: anglimtrimble.com

Please Note: Because of COVID regulations, we will know more about viewing options when we get closer to the opening date. Appointments may be necessary. Stay tuned for updates.

SF/Arts Curator Mark Taylor Offers Insight
“Outrageous is a woefully inadequate term to describe SF artist Jerome Caja's practice as a painter and drag performer. He often appeared (at any time of day) to be arriving from a wild night out, his tall, pale frame barely covered by ragged black lace and torn fishnets; the gentlest challenge smirking across intentionally smeared red lips.”

Excerpted From: SF/Arts Gallery Highlight

LEFT TOP IMAGE (B&W Photo)
Title & Date: Connie Krishna, c. 1983
Materials: laser ink-jet print on aluminum
Dimensions: 18 x 12 inches
Photographer: Anna van der Meulen

RIGHT TOP IMAGE (Painting)
Title & Date: Connie Krishna, c. 1994
Materials: nail polish on wood plaque
Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches
Artist: Jerome Caja

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

New Jerome Caja Film Shoot on Sunday, June 28th

6/26/2020

FILMING: People’s March & Rally, Pride is a Riot, and “Pride is a Protest” Jerome Poster

San Francisco’s Gay Pride parade was cancelled this year because of COVID-19. In its wake, and on the exact same day, two marches (People’s March & Rally & Pride is a Riot) are appropriately taking its place this Sunday, June 28, 2020.

In support of today’s Black Lives Matter movement, in celebration of 50 years of Gay Liberation, and in appreciation of Win Mixter’s new, fabulous “Pride is a Protest” Jerome poster — we are taking to the streets to film these historic moments (see filming logistics below).

We will also show our love and support to three of San Francisco’s drag legends — Joan Jett Blakk, Juanita More, and Jerome Caja by marching with protest posters honoring their fierce political contributions to radical social change!

All are welcome! You can join our contingent at any time.

PLEASE NOTE: Because of COVID-19 and California’s current state guidelines, we ask that you wear a face covering and maintain physical distancing when participating in our outdoor film shoot.

Four Part Film Shoot Logistics

Please wear your best Freedom Day togs and feel free to bring your own homemade protest signs as well. If you are willing to share your cell phone video footage with The Jerome Project, we will consider it for the feature film on Jerome Caja. You can contact us through our website here.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: This is a protest and because multiple marches are happening at the same time, this schedule may change. We are headed to where the demonstrations are. The following is a tentative schedule of what we think will happen on Sunday.

I: Filming at 10:30 AM — "People's March"

Spearheaded by Juanita More and Alex U. Inn and led by an all-black and brown committee of trans and queer activists, community leaders, artists, and performers.
Scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM.
Location is at the intersection of Polk & Washington (1800 Polk Street).
We recommend you get there earlier (10:30 AM) so we can be up close and have time to gather properly.
Historically this is the exact place where the first San Francisco “Gay-In” began in June 1970.

II: Filming at 12:00 PM (estimated time) — "People's Rally"

Also spearheaded by Juanita More and Alex U. Inn.
Location is on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco’s Civic Center.
This is where the People’s March ends and also where the Pride is a Riot March may arrive.
We will film the speakers and happenings.

III: Filming at 2:00 PM (Estimated time) — “Pride is a Riot”

Announced by an autonomous multiracial trans and queer group.
Scheduled to start at 12:00 PM on the corner of 19th & Dolores and the march is at 2:00 PM.
It is unknown where this march will head, but perhaps it will head toward City Hall.

IV: Filming TBD — "Pride is a Protest" Jerome Poster

Our final film shoot for the day will take place just a few blocks away from Civic Center, in Mid-Market.
Location is on the northeast corner of 7th & Market at the MUNI bus shelter.
Win Mixter’s fabulous Jerome Caja “Pride is a Protest” poster is part of the San Francisco Arts Commission’s “Art on Market Street” poster series.
If all goes as planned, we will take still photos of all of us gathered around Win Mixter & Joan Jett Blakk, bookending and spotlighting Jerome’s poster. We will also film several short “people-on-the-street” interviews in front of the bus shelter.
If this doesn’t happen on Sunday, we’ll schedule a shoot before the posters come down in August.

Pioneering Political Drag Sisters

Joan Jett Blakk is a fabulous drag persona created by Terence Alan Smith. She is most famously known for her Democratic presidential campaign against George W. Bush in 1992 — "Joan Jett Blakk for President." Her political aspirations were inspired by activist groups like ACT-UP and Queer Nation and their fight for visibility during the AIDS crisis.

Joan Jett Blakk was also a dear friend of Jerome, and she used her Oprah Winfrey-style platform as a way to help promote him and his art. Jerome was a special guest on the infamous Joan Jett Blakk Show, at Josie’s Juice Joint, along with other radical queers like Rena McDonald (aka Adam Klein) and Lynn Breedlove & Leslie Mah’s fierce SF LGBTQ+ punk band, Tribe-8.

LINK: Official Joan Jett Blakk Website

Juanita MORE! is a denizen of the limelight. For almost three decades the tireless hostess has blitzed San Francisco with high glamour, drag irreverence, danceable beats, culinary delectables, political activism and a philanthropic heart that has illuminated the entire city. Juanita remains a creation of fashion and glamour, generosity and nerve, inspiring those around her to make a positive difference in their lives and in their communities, doing it all with a timeless elegance and an innovative spirit.

LINK: Official Juanita MORE! Website

Jerome Caja was a master American painter and skag-drag performer. He was at the center of San Francisco late 80’s and early 90’s queer counter culture movement of art, AIDS and activism. He used trash, found objects, and anything you might find in a drag queen’s hand bag (lipstick, eye liner, makeup, nail polish, etc.) as his medium of choice in his paintings and his apocalyptic drag. Jerome died in 1995 from complications related to HIV & AIDS. Twenty-five years after his death, our culture is only just now starting to catch up with his vision.

LINK: Official Jerome Caja Website

To this day, these three drag sisters, Joan Jett Blakk, Juanita Moore & Jerome Caja, are pioneers. They challenge us in different ways with their own provocative political drag art.

Marching for Gay Freedom as opposed to passively “Celebrating” “Pride” is a necessary return to the event’s origins as a protest (see Win Mixter’s Pride is a Protest website here). It is also a well-needed shift away from the toothless rainbow capitalism we have grown accustomed to for 20+ years.

If Jerome were alive today, he would have joined in this march. He would have scrounged up his Sunday best skimpy lingerie, slathered on some cheap makeup, and marched behind Joan Jett Blakk and Juanita Moore as their freaky white sister-caboose. The Jerome Project actually has vintage VHS footage of Jerome doing this. In the late 80’s and early 90’s Jerome marched with the Chaos & Uranus contingent in Gay Pride, and instead of joining everyone on the float, Jerome chose to walk alone, behind the truck, as his own freaky individual float. Like always he stole the show.

All of this is in direct alignment with everything Jerome believed in and painted — radical social change!

Suggested Poster Themes

Black Lives Matter
Black Trans Lives Matter
Pride is a Protest
Jerome Caja as a beloved gender terrorist
Joan Jett Blakk for President
Any and all messaging regarding re-claiming and celebrating “Gay Freedom Day” as opposed to the innocuous and ubiquitous Pride

We Hope to See You There

If for whatever reason you are unable to join us on Sunday June 28th, but would still like to contribute, you can also make a financial donation to the GoFundMe page for the People’s March & Rally here — THANK YOU & STAY SAFE!

FRONT & BACK: Jerome Caja "Pride is a Protest" Poster
by Win Mixter

FRONT & BACK: Gay Freedom Day "Pride is a Protest" Poster
by Win Mixter

Joan Jett Blakk for President, 1992
Photo by Marc Geller

Juanita MORE!
Photo excerpted from
Loverboy Magazine

Jerome Caja
Video still, circa 1990
by Electric City

"Pride is a Protest"
Poster Logo Design
by Win Mixter

Black Lives Matter
Protest Poster

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

Jerome & The Supreme Court Victory for LGBTQ+ Rights

6/15/2020

It Is Moments Like This When I Miss Jerome the Most

Today I woke up and read the top news story of the day in the New York Times — “Civil Rights Law Protects L.G.B.T. Workers, Supreme Court Rules.” This is something so basic and fundamental that it’s shocking it even needed to be discussed in 2020. These are essential human rights we all deserve.

The first thought that crossed my mind after reading the Times headline was — “I cannot wait to see who is going to take to the streets today and celebrate!”

Politics Jerome's Way

Back in the 90’s Jerome Caja was always one of the first to dress up in drag and take to the streets of San Francisco in celebration of major LGBTQ+ victories. He would create a fabulous, scary, creature-of-the-night drag persona and proudly strut like a mangy peacock through the streets and alleyways in broad daylight. He was also a fixture at all the queer street fairs and holiday celebrations (Folsom Street Fair, Dore Alley Fair, Castro Street Fair, Gay Freedom Day / Gay Pride Parade, etc).

Daniel Nicoletta’s 1990 photo is an iconic and famous picture that captures Jerome in skag-drag on Halloween night in front of the Castro Theater. What you might not know is that Jerome handmade his spongy jewelry, Flintstone-style hair comb, and the perky, ruby-red fruity nipples that spring forth from his little girly bra.

Jim James’s 1990 photo is also another iconic image of Jerome. Here he is in San Francisco’s Civic Center dressed as Konnie Krishna with her leopard skin lingerie, rubber bald cap and plastic food jewelry accessories (glazed doughnut earring & kielbasa chain-link necklace).

Jerome was well informed when it came to politics and valued the importance of the voting process — especially with regards to California and local issues. In true Jerome fashion, he did it his own way. Jerome would get the local papers and gay rags (Sentinel, B.A.R., Bay Guardian, Chronicle, Examiner), read up on politicians, and discuss politics with his friends.

Activism Jerome's Way

Another lovely, little-known fact about Jerome is that he was an activist at heart, and he used his art as both a weapon and an educational tool. Jerome’s painting — The Happy Solders [sic], addressed 90’s politics about gays in the military and the heated controversy surrounding Senator Sam Nunn.

Nunn was a conservative Democratic politician who strongly supported the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy and actively worked to prevent gays and lesbians from serving in the military.

This painting illustrates how Jerome resisted and protested through his art. He knew he had a platform and a medium that reached people. He powerfully shared his views and insights with his community and, ultimately, the world.

If you look closely at this painting, you will see how Jerome used symbolism and satire to tell a complex political story. Humor and horror, along with clever, contradictory images are all part of Jerome’s provocative, artistic arsenal. He painted Nunn as a demonic nun with blood on one hand and a fiery crucifix in the other. To make this piece even creepier, Nunn’s flesh was painted with glow-in-the-dark nail polish. To contrast Nunn’s evil, Jerome painted an interracial gay couple tenderly holding each other arm-in-arm. The yellow smiley face wearing an army helmet and war paint is a perfect expression of Jerome’s subversive, kitschy humor.

2020 Foresight

The longer I study The Happy Solders, the more I realize Jerome was painting the future. Religious hypocrisy exposed; gays openly serving in the military; broad acceptance of interracial relationships — Jerome served up all of this with his signature black humor. It’s a political fuck you that says, “I told you so!”

Today was an extraordinary, historical decision by the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ+ rights. I know that if Jerome were still alive today, he would have taken to the streets. We would have laughed together in celebration, and he surely would have painted about it too.

"The Happy Solders" [sic] — by Jerome Caja
(nail polish on wood plaque)
10 1/2 in. x 6 1/2 in. x 1 in.
circa 1985-1995

PLEASE NOTE: All images and photos in this blog post (except for Jerome Caja's painting "The Happy Solders") have been excerpted from other websites and the copyright belongs to the respective owners.

NYT Link: Civil Rights Law Protects L.G.B.T. Workers, Supreme Court Rules
Wikipedia Link: Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr.
Wikipedia Link: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Website Link: Daniel Nicoletta
Website Link: Jim James

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

Justices of the United States Supreme Court

Jerome Caja on Castro Street, Halloween
October 31, 1990
by Daniel Nicoletta

Jerome Caja as Konnie Krishna, circa 1990
by Jim James

The Happy Solders [sic]
circa 1985-1995
by Jerome Caja

DETAIL: Sam Nunn
in a nun's habit
by Jerome Caja

DETAIL: gay couple
holding each other
by Jerome Caja

United States Senator
from Georgia
Sam Nunn

PRIDE IS A PROTEST: Jerome Poster at 7th & Market

6/9/2020

Jerome Caja is Honored and Remembered for His Radical Self-Expression in San Francisco's “Art on Market Street Poster Series” — June through August 2020

Check out Win Mixter’s new “JEROME CAJA: Pride is a Protest” poster on the Muni bus shelter at the northeast corner of 7th & Market in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. It is part of the “Art on Market Street Poster Series” from the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC), in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Gay Freedom Day.

It is a fabulous, large, double-sided, B&W poster. If you look closely, Win Mixter incorporates all of Jerome’s iconic imagery from his paintings and drag performances (nailpolish bottles, crucifixes, scary clowns, eggs, birds, worms, cocks, lingerie, smiley faces, frowning faces, and angel wings). In the center is a powerful portrait inspired by Catherine Opie’s famous 1993 cibachrome print of Jerome. I love that Win chose to have Jerome’s eyes closed. It perfectly captures Jerome’s centrality and centeredness during the explosive years of AIDS, activism, and art in San Francisco during the late 80’s and early 90’s.

Thank you Win Mixter and SFAC for including Jerome Caja in your 2020 Art on Market Street Series.

I also want to do a very special shout-out to Craig Corpora (Public Art Programming Associate at SFAC) for constantly keeping Jerome’s spirit alive in San Francisco — THANK YOU CRAIG!

Jerome Caja (detail) 2020
by Win Mixter

Jerome Caja (detail) 1993
by Catherine Opie

Jerome Caja "Pride is a Protest" poster located at 7th & Market street bus shelter, 2020
by Win Mixter & the San Francisco Arts Commission

2020 Art on Market Street Poster Series by SFAC

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) explores and calls attention to the diverse people, places and events of San Francisco’s queer culture. Win Mixter presents his 2020 project “Pride is a Protest,” a series of 36 unique black-and-white posters, covering 18 different subjects that re-center the narrative of our annual Pride celebrations away from rainbow capitalism to its original principles of resistance and rebellion.

Win Mixter (Designer & Illustrator)

“Over the decades, Pride in San Francisco as around the world has evolved into something vastly different than the original organizers envisioned. By centering on stories of resistance and radical self-expression, the project tries to recapture some of the brave and defiant ways in which queers have liberated themselves and demanded their own freedoms over the last 50+ years.”

Rebekah Krell (Acting Director of Cultural Affairs)

“The Arts Commission is thrilled to showcase the richness of San Francisco’s queer history through Win Mixter’s poster series. Our city has a legacy of activism and we are a world leader in advancing LGBTQ civil rights. Every year we honor the struggles and celebrate the achievements of our diverse queer community during Pride Month. Mixter’s tribute does both beautifully.”

LOGISTICS & DETAILS
WHO: Win Mixter & SFAC
WHAT: Jerome Caja's "Pride is a Protest" Poster
WHEN: On display in June, July & August of 2020
WHERE: Northeast corner bus shelter at 7th & Market Street
WHY: Celebrating SF's 50th Anniversary of Gay Freedom Day (Pride)

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

Ric Warren’s “Venus with a Penis” Finds a New Home

5/25/2020

Preserving, Protecting and Promoting Jerome Caja’s Artistic Legacy

This is at the core of our mission here at The Jerome Project. The removal of Ric Warren’s Jerome video from YouTube underscores the importance of our goal.

Several weeks back I got an email from my friend Ric, who was frustrated and annoyed with YouTube for pulling his Jerome Caja video “Venus with a Penis” off their website. Ric had first posted the video long before I even created The Jerome Project back in 2010. His video was key in keeping Jerome’s spirit alive for many, many years, and it was also instrumental in illustrating the need for a feature-length documentary film on Jerome.

Like many of us queers from the late 80’s and early 90’s in San Francisco, we are activists at heart and do not take No for an answer. Ric kept re-publishing “Venus with a Penis” many times, but it was always getting taken down for supposedly violating YouTube’s adult-content policies. It had been public for over 10+ years without any red flags or inappropriate-content problems.

Is it porn? Is it art? Is it pornographic art? Do we know it when we see it? It seems that Ric’s video is mistakenly getting flagged as inappropriate content or pornography based on the name alone, “Venus with a Penis.”

Or did Ric’s video get taken down because Jerome…

poses like a 50’s pin-up model on his back with his legs spread wide open?
attempts to seduces a goat outside while slinking around in women’s lingerie?
wields a Michael Myers-sized kitchen knife for our viewing pleasure?
fake pukes in a toilet and then attempts to fellate his own fist?
takes a bubble bath and enjoys himself orgasmically while Mr. Rubber Duckie is perched on the back of the toilet and watches voyeuristically?
performs ancient erotic theater in a bathtub and re-enacts un-consensual sex scenes between a troll doll and an innocent child doll?
has Mickey Mouse and Mini Mouse dolls talk dirty to each other while they frolic in the bathtub with him?

I am very curious to know which of the YouTube categories Ric’s film violates. Is it their “Nudity & Sexual Content Policies” or is it the new “Child Safety Policies”? After reading YouTube’s fine print, my hunch is that Jerome’s silly filthy “Mouseketeer” talk is what flagged Venus with a Penis as inappropriate.

Needless to say, I told Ric it would be an honor to permanently house his lovely Jerome video on The Jerome Project’s website.

— Thank you, Ric Waren!

CONTENT NOT ALLOWED ON YOUTUBE:
Hate speech, predatory behavior, graphic violence, malicious attacks, and content that promotes harmful or dangerous behavior isn't allowed on YouTube.

NUDITY & SEXUAL CONTENT:
Don’t post content on YouTube if it has any of the items below.

Depiction of genitals, breasts, or buttocks (clothed or unclothed) for the purpose of sexual gratification
Pornography depicting sexual acts, genitals, or fetishes for the purpose of sexual gratification

CHILD SAFETY ON YOUTUBE:
Misleading family content that targets young minors and families, but contains:

Sexual themes
Violence
Obscenity or other mature themes not suitable for young audiences
Family friendly cartoons that target young minors and contain adult or age-inappropriate themes such as violence, sex, death, drugs etc.

Other Jerome Caja Content by Ric Warren that is still up on YouTube:
PLEASE NOTE: Both of these videos are animated slideshows

Jerome Caja 1958 – 1995
Length: 00:06:56

Jerome Caja Paintings / Performance
Length: 00:01:02

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

THE JEROME PROJECT: 2020 Lewis Walden Vinyl Drive

5/17/2020

ATTENTION: Jerome Caja Lovers, DJ Lovers, Vinyl Lovers & most importantly Lewis Walden Lovers — As many of you have heard, our friend Lewis recently lost his entire record collection (5000+ albums). This music was integral to San Francisco’s queer counterculture nightlife in the late 80’s & early 90’s (Club Screw, Club Chaos & Club Uranus). Lewis Walden and Michael Blue created these clubs that set the stage for Jerome to perform his signature spastic go-go dancing and infamous skag-drag performances.

Jerome’s close friend, Adam Klein (AKA Miss Rena McDonald), said it best in his book Jerome After the Pageant — “Thanks to Chaos and Club Uranus for allowing the lunatics to take over the asylum.”

Let’s help build Lewis’s vinyl collection back up again. We all know that these types of personal art collections are way more than just stuff in the end. They are our archives, our history, and a lifeline in times of need. It is our intent to help out a friend right now, and with your help, let’s rebuild and create something new for Lewis!

THE JEROME PROJECT: 2020 Lewis Walden Vinyl Drive

PART I: If you have any vintage vinyl (especially club music from the late 80’s & early 90’s) that you want to donate, please fill out this GoogleDrive subbmission form and we can coordinate a local SF drop-off/hand-off. We will house your gifts and with the help of other Lewis Lovers (Don Baird, Stevyn Polk, Derek Boyle) we will transport all this newly gifted music to Lewis personally. It is our hope to be bringing him thousands of albums in a month.

PART II: Make sure to double-check your contact info (name, phone, email) and don’t forget to hit the submit button at the bottom of the form so we can get back to you ASAP and coordinate a SF drop-off. It will be in the Mission District near the intersection of 22nd & Dolores. If you cannot drop them off, please let us know so we can arrange a pick-up.

PART III: Your gift can be either anonymous or personal. If you want, please feel free to use yellow stickies on your album covers and write your name and add anything else personal that you want to say directly to Lewis. We know he would love to hear from you.

PART IV: Spread the word. If you know of anybody that would like to participate in helping Lewis out, please share this link on your FaceBook page or kindly ask your friends and family if they would like to contribute. This is not about replacing what was, but is about building a new collection.

Lewis was a lifeline for so many of us here in SF back in the late 80’s & early 90’s. He was very generous to us all as a DJ and inspired many of us to build our own music collections. This is our way of thanking him. It is our hope that we as a community can pull together a couple thousand (or more) priceless vinyl gems so that Lewis has a new collection for his new home!

Lewis — WE ALL LOVE YOU!

JEROME CAJA
Go-go dancing at Club Uranus

JEROME CAJA
Crucifixion at Club Screw

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is a gift, we kindly ask that you not just dump a bunch of old vinyl to off-load it. Please select meaningful stuff with intent. Again any club music from the 80’s & 90’s is most appreciated (Rock, Industrial, Electronic-Dance, Techno, etc). We are also NOT limiting this gift to just vinyl; CD’s are also welcome. If you are not able to drop music off, you can also send it through the US post office via “Media Mail.” It is quite inexpensive. Contact us directly for the address.

ALTERNATIVELY: For all those Lewis Lovers out there that do not live in the Bay Area and would like to help, you can also order an online AMOEBA Music Store Gift Certificate here. If you decide to go this route you would not only be helping Lewis but also helping a local small business that has been shut down since mid March. Make sure to select “Ship to New Address” on AMOEBA’S form and insert this address info — P.O. Box 14842, San Francisco CA 94114.

LASTLY: To help Lewis track gift certificates, please make sure to also fill out the GoogleDrive submission form with your contact info — THANK YOU!

VINYL DRIVE: Online GoogleDrive Submission Form

VINYL DRIVE: Amoeba Store Gift Certificate

GOOGLE LINK: 2020 Lewis Walden Vinyl Drive Form
AMOEBA LINK: Purchase Music Store Gift Certificate
LEWIS WALDEN'S FB LINK: www.facebook.com/Dj.Lewis.SF
THE JEROME PROJECT'S FB LINK: www.facebook.com/thejeromeproject
THE JEROME PROJECT'S WEBSITE LINK: www.thejeromeproject.com

* All Jerome photos are excerpted from Lewis Walden's FaceBook Page

Post by Anthony Cianciolo, Derek Boyle, Don Baird & Stevyn Polk

NITZER EBB
That Total Age

REVOLTING COCKS
Beers, Steers & Queers

FRONT 242
Front by Front

SFMOMA: A Celebration of Jerome Caja

10/13/2019

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.

A Celebration of Jerome Caja:

Thursday, Oct 17, 2019

7:00 p.m. in the Koret Education Center, Floor 2

PLEASE NOTE: This event is part of SFMOMA's Local Affairs. It is free and open to the public; museum admission is not required.

IMAGE CAPTION: Jerome Caja, Portrait, ca. 1990; collection SFMOMA, gift of the artist; © Estate of Jerome Caja; photo: Katherine Du Tie.

Participants:

Justin Vivian Bond, trans-genre artist living in New York City; writer, visual artist, and performer on- and off-Broadway, in film, and on television.

Cliff Hengst, San Francisco–based artist and performer.

Anthony Cianciolo, founder of The Jerome Project, a multi-platform art history project created to preserve, protect, and further the artistic legacy of Jerome Caja.

Esther McGowan, executive director of Visual AIDS.

Kyle Croft, programs manager of Visual AIDS.

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

Candystore’s Blue Devil & Blond Venus

9/19/2019

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!

ANGEL of DEATH FANTASIES

Hi angel
I’m wet
I’m smelly
Yes it’s August and raining
But you notice what I’m wearing
I notice when you’re staring
I think I look hot
Like a wet model waist deep in the ocean
The Amazon rainforest is on fire
And still I think everybody loves me
In this floral pink raincoat
In this rising sea
On this melting planet
I feel hot, too
My raincoat is pure plastic
Cute sweaty plastic
You know that I can take it
To the next level, baby
I want to die in this rain coat
So it fuses to my skin
When the world ends
When we all liquify
Become atmosphere
Or whatever is left of it
A child smiled at me
They know we don’t have much longer
I might feel honorable
And crouch over them like at Pompeii
Incinerate together
Triple layer of pink goo
If you feel it
Let it happen

by Candystore

Special Thanks to the Shannon Michael Cane Memorial Fund

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.

Candystore at the 2019 New York Art Book Fair

All images of Candystore are subject to copyright and were taken by Jonathan Grassi. Candystore will be autographing and selling them at her booth at the 2019 NY Art Book Fair. For more info please contact either of them directly — THANK YOU!

COPYRIGHT: ©️Jonathan Grassi, 2018-2019
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: http://www.jonathangrassi.com

EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: https://www.hicandy.store

Post by Anthony Cianciolo

Photo: Jerome Caja
by Ric Warren

Photo: Candystore
by Jonathan Grassi

Photo: Jerome Caja
by Ric Warren

Untitled (outside): Devil & Venus
by Jerome Caja

Untitled (inside): Devil & Venus
by Jerome Caja

Photo: Jerome Caja
by Ric Warren

Candystore’s New Book Includes Jerome Caja’s Artwork

9/9/2019

Candystore & Jerome at the 2019 New York Art Book Fair

If you are in New York this week, check out the New York Art Book Fair at MOMA PS1. Candystore will be there to promote her new book with Jerome’s art and will be signing copies at her booth in the zine tent.

BOOK FAIR DATES:
September 20 - 22, 2019

BOOK FAIR HOURS:
Friday, September 20, 2019 (1:00 pm – 7:00 pm)
Saturday, September 21, 2019 (11:00 am – 8:00 pm)
Sunday, September 22, 2019 (11:00 am – 7:00 pm)

BOOK FAIR ADDRESS & LOCATION:
MoMA PS1 — Booth A79
22-25 Jackson Avenue
Long Island City, NY 11101

CONTACT INFO:
LINK: Candystore's Email
LINK: Candystore's Website
LINK: Candystore's Booth
LINK: Pre-order Hi Angeles
LINK: Printed Matter's Website

Special Thanks to the Shannon Michael Cane Memorial Fund

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.

**Pre-order books will NOT be shipped**

PLEASE NOTE: At the moment, the NY Art Book Fair is the only place where you can purchase Hi Angels. You can also pre-order the book on Candystore’s website for delivery at the fair. We will keep you posted on other options for those of you who are not in the NYC area. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Candystore.

**All Candystore photos by Jonathan Grassi ©2018**

by Anthony Cianciolo

Poetry Chapbook: Hi Angels
by Candystore

2019 Poster: NY Art Book Fair
by Printed Matter

New Jerome Caja Show at Sonoma State University

9/9/2019

Over 50 pieces of Jerome's art & ephemera is now on display!

The Sonoma State University Library is showing Queeries: Queer Artists & Identity from August 19 to December 13, 2019. The multimedia exhibit commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and the following decades of LGBTQ+ liberation, and features Bay Area artists Jerome Caja (The Jerome Project), Jeffrey Cheung, Seth Eisen, Jeremy Novy, the Queer Ancestors Project, and Silky Shoemaker.

Information about the artists and other resources can be found in the LGBTQ+ Resource Guide.

Originally showcased at the 2018 Sonoma County Pride Celebration, LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1950s-1999 is also on display. The show is located in the Library Gallery on the second floor of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center.

Jerome Caja Lecture & Reception

Save the date: Thursday October 3, 2019, for a free public lecture on Jerome Caja and his artistic process. This is part of the Fall 2019 Visiting Artist Lecture Series, in Schroeder Hall at the Green Music Center on the beautiful Sonoma State University campus.

The lecture will be from noon to 12:55 pm, followed by a reception in the library gallery from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (see logistics below). Please stay tuned. We will post more details about these events soon.

We hope to see you there!

RSVP: Email [email protected] or call 707.664.2397 for a reception parking pass. Parking $5 all other times.

DATES:
Opening Date: Monday, August 19, 2019
Closing Date: Friday, December 13, 2019
Lecture Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019 (12:00 pm to 12:55 pm)
Reception Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019 (4:00 pm to 5:30 pm)

LIBRARY GALLERY HOURS:
7:00 AM to Midnight (Monday to Thursday)
7:30 AM to 5:00 PM (Friday)
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Saturday)
Noon to 9:00 PM (Sunday)

CAMPUS LOCATION:
1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928

CONTACT: [email protected]

by Anthony Cianciolo

New Jerome Caja Show in Chicago at Wrightwood 659

5/26/2019

ABOUT FACE: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art

ABOUT FACE: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art is the latest exhibition to include Jerome Caja’s work. This is one of the largest group showings of queer artwork in North America and naturally a perfect place to introduce Jerome to new audiences. The show opens May 22nd and will be on display until July 20th (see details below).

One hundred eighteen pieces of Jerome’s art are hung in his signature salon style, much like the way he displayed his own work. This is an extraordinary collection of pieces, with everything from nail-polish container paintings, tip trays, assemblages, ink drawings, to a rare ceramic wall piece that is still intact. More than half of this Jerome collection has not been displayed since his death in 1995. The exhibition also includes Jerome pieces from two local Chicago collectors, one of whom was friends with him in Cleveland before he left for San Francisco. This is one of the largest groupings of Jerome’s art on display in over 20 years.

The curator of ABOUT FACE is Jonathan David Katz, PhD, Visiting Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the doctoral program in Visual Studies at the University at Buffalo.

The show is spread out over four floors in the Alphawood Foundation’s new Wrightwood 659 exhibition space. ABOUT FACE includes over 45 artists and spotlights over 500 works of art that range from photography, pantings, letterpress and silk-screen prints, sculptures, hand-made sculpted dolls, video and film installations, and much more.

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.

ADDRESS: 659 W. Wrightwood, Chicago, IL 60614
PHONE: 773.437.6601
EMAIL: [email protected]

LINK: Wrightwood 659 Website
LINK: Exhibition Description
LINK: Make Reservations

PLEASE NOTE: Reservations are needed to view the exhibition. Use the reservation link listed above to select a date and time.

About Face: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art is made possible by the Alphawood Foundation Chicago.

by Anthony Cianciolo

SFMOMA Acquires Jerome Caja’s Shroud of Buddha

12/16/2018

Written by Jeff Parker & Craig Corpora

The Shroud of Buddha (1992) is the first addition to Jerome Caja’s other artworks in the SFMOMA collection since the the artist’s death in 1995.

Jerome faced his own mortality from AIDS by tailoring three life-sized shrouds: The Shroud of Bozo, The Shroud of Glam-O-Rama, and The Shroud of Buddha, each one a perfect fit for his public personas: the clown, a drag queen, an enigmatic muse. The shrouds started out as rubbings of his made-up face, his living flesh forming the facial features. Ghostly smudges from mascara, eye shadow, foundation, blush, lipstick on his face were transferred to textile, stretched, embedded with his own “DNA,” then gloriously and elaborately embellished, and marketed as “genuine.”

Jerome described The Shroud of Bozo, “as wide as bed sheet, with hair out to here,” gesturing with arms spread. The Shroud of Glam-O-Rama was on a cheesecloth-type material, “wispy, sparkly, and delicate, so you could see through it in places.” The shrouds all included shadowy imprints of hands or fingers clutching the textile, supporting it in place; the artist taking creative control, shaping his own final arrangements. “You can tell it’s me in The Shroud of Buddha by my nail polish,” he laughed, flickering his red fingernails before his eyes.

Today it appears that only The Shroud of Buddha survives. Jeff Parker and James Collins purchased it from the artist in 1992 with the understanding that it would eventually be donated to the SFMOMA, and this unrestricted gift fulfills that promise.

The Shroud of Buddha was created for and premiered at The Remains of the Day exhibition at Southern Exposure Gallery in 1992. The Remains of the Day, guest curated by City Lights Books editor Amy Scholder and artist/designer Rex Ray, was a powerful testimony and elegy to the effects of AIDS on an artist’s career. Jerome Caja used a friend and mentor’s ashes, the cremains of Charles Sexton, who had died from AIDS the year before at age 34, to create works of art for this groundbreaking and challenging show. This exhibit was installed in San Francisco well before the ACT UP Ashes to Action protest where activists staged a “political funeral” to express grief and rage at President George H.W. Bush’s inaction, by dumping the ashes of loved ones who died from AIDS on the White House lawn in Washington, DC.

The Shrouds are ghosts and reliquaries of the vanished artist; as clown, as drag queen, and as a joyful participant in the sorrows of the world: “It really is me behind there, and I am watching you.”

Special thanks to Anthony Cianciolo of The Jerome Project and the Estate of Jerome Caja for their work in preserving and promoting Jerome’s legacy.

Collection SFMOMA – Gift of Jeff Parker &
James Collins, 2018

New Jerome Caja Book & Panel Discussion by Visual AIDS

9/9/2018

DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond in Conversation on Jerome Caja

Come celebrate Jerome at the New York Art Book Fair on Saturday September 22nd at MoMA PS1. There will be a panel discussion from 3:00-4:00 PM between Nayland Blake, Anna van der Meulen, and myself, moderated by Visual AIDS Programs Director Alex Fialho. This is an hourlong event launching the new DUETS Jerome Caja book, which features an insightful conversation between Nayland Blake and Justin Vivian Bond. There will also be 10 minutes of never-before seen vintage film footage of Jerome from the upcoming new documentary currently in production about Jerome Caja and his art.

Purchase Your Book Now From Visual AIDS for only $10.00

LOGISTICS
NY Art Book Fair
Sept. 21-23, 2018
Website: www.nyartbookfair.com
Website: http://visualaids.org/events/detail/visual-aids-at-the-ny-art-book-fair-2018

ART BOOK FAIR HOURS
Thursday (Preview), Sept. 20, 6-9pm (Ticketed)
Friday, Sept. 21, 1-7pm
Saturday, Sept. 22, 11am-9pm
Sunday, Sept. 23, 11am-7pm

LOCATION
MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens
(MoMA PS1 is located at 22-25 Jackson Avenue on 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY)

DUETS JEROME PANEL DISCUSSION
Saturday, Sept. 22nd from 3:00-4:00 PM
(Hosted by Visual AIDS, moderated by Alex Fialho, and the panel includes Nayland Blake, Anna van der Meulen & Anthony Cianciolo)

VISUAL AIDS PANEL EVENT PAGE
Website: Jerome Caja DUETS Book Launch with Nayland Blake, Anthony Cianciolo and Anna van der Meulen

ONLINE BOOK PURCHASE ORDERS
Website: DUETS: Nayland Blake & Justin Vivian Bond In Conversation on Jerome Caja

Image Copyrights: Jerome Caja photo courtesy Jim James (www.photojimsf.com) & the painting Venus in Cleveland courtesy of The Jerome Project & Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art.

by Anthony Cianciolo

<<Previous

JEROME'S HOME: Back in Cleveland

JEROME CAJA AT HAUSER & WIRTH

JEROME'S ALLHALLOWTIDE: 30th Anniversary of His Death

JEROME SUNNY-SIDE UP: A Tasteful Family Celebration

TRANS + JEROME: An Evening of Mischief and Insight

New Exhibition in Cleveland: "JEROME'S HOME"

AN UPDATE ON ALL THINGS JEROME

JEROME in Los Angeles

"Pictures Girls Make": Portraitures
Curated by Alison M. Gingeras

JEROME in Manhattan

My Date with Joan Jett Blakk — by Jo Owens

JEROME & JOAN: Late Night With Joan Jett Blakk

JEROME CAJA: Toasters, Vaginas & Eggs

New Exhibition "FOUND: The Lost Art of Jerome Caja"

New Jerome Caja Film Shoot on Sunday, June 28th

Four Part Film Shoot Logistics

Pioneering Political Drag Sisters

Jerome & The Supreme Court Victory for LGBTQ+ Rights

PRIDE IS A PROTEST: Jerome Poster at 7th & Market

Ric Warren’s “Venus with a Penis” Finds a New Home

THE JEROME PROJECT: 2020 Lewis Walden Vinyl Drive

SFMOMA: A Celebration of Jerome Caja

Candystore’s Blue Devil & Blond Venus

Candystore’s New Book Includes Jerome Caja’s Artwork

New Jerome Caja Show at Sonoma State University

New Jerome Caja Show in Chicago at Wrightwood 659

SFMOMA Acquires Jerome Caja’s Shroud of Buddha

New Jerome Caja Book & Panel Discussion by Visual AIDS

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​"Pictures Girls Make": PortraituresCurated by Alison M. Gingeras

Four Part Film Shoot Logistics

​Pioneering Political Drag Sisters

Categories

Archives

Thank you to our Supporters!

"Pictures Girls Make": Portraitures
Curated by Alison M. Gingeras

Pioneering Political Drag Sisters