Dear Readers,

Film and art just go together. If you’re into art, you’re most likely a film buff (and film snob), and if you’re into film, well… maybe, actually, it doesn’t go the other way around. So let’s stick to the first theory. This is a contemporary art magazine after all.

We’ve had a film issue before, but this one is a bit different. We’re covering all types of moving pictures, including television and video art. Television is the newest addition to our always eclectic lineup. If you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of great TV these days, and most of it is not on the Network as we formerly knew it. The Internet is quickly outdating television; but as long as it’s still around, one of the most interesting and creative series today is Louie, by comedian Louis CK, on the FX network. Besides being howlingly hilarious and jaw-dropping DID I JUST SEE WHAT I JUST SAW?—it’s sobering, smart, dark and creative—and I mean creative in an artistic sense. His material feels uniquely personal and he is constantly innovative in the way he tells stories. When I watch Louie, I’m always amazed, and think to myself, this guy is truly an artist. He sees and thinks like an artist.

So when contributor Elwyn Palmerton pitched Louie as a topic to write about, I was delighted. In my opinion Louis CK is an artist. Which brings me back to film and art. When I was an undergrad, that’s when I got introduced to underground films—that’s what they used to call any “arty” type film back then. Every Friday night was underground film night at the University of Arkansas. I saw all the Warhol films, and that’s when I saw A Clockwork Orange, Rollerball and Inserts.

My next academic stop was Tulsa University, and there I was exposed to a plethora of underground films. Every spring they had the “Subversive Film Festival.” The main guy that ran the festival was pumped up on amphetamines for the entire 36-hour film run. They would start Friday night, maybe with a campy porn, like Deep Throat. (That’s the first time I saw a hairy vagina fill an entire movie screen: some of the audience members actually screamed! I distinctly recall the screams coming from the females, which I thought kind of weird as, well, that’s sort of like looking in the mirror isn’t it?). Then all the South American films would pile up, then perhaps the most rare of John Waters’ films like Eat Your Makeup or Multiple Maniacs.

Watching those movies—seeing those directors and actors push boundaries and follow their vision—felt like it was part of the process of becoming an artist. That’s what artists do when they’re not making art; they’re watching arty films or reading literature—or reading about art! So, my Dear Readers, we thought you’d enjoy this issue of arty film, TV and video. Louie just fits into the underground film category in my mind, even though it’s on television. But, hell, all the stuff that’s mainstream now was subversive in my day. That’s when men were men and vaginas had hair! Happy New Year!