ME: Hello my name is Flynn Morris-Clarke. I'm an artist from Dunedin. im currently finishing my master of visual arts project called the candy darling project. I work within the area of painting, mainly with oils and generally on canvas.I'm twenty six years old and male (although I don't really trust that word).
At this stage I don't want to write anything two deliberate or revealing about myself, I think the project will reveal enough about my interests, political view points and all that jazz. What I will say is that with my work and especially this project is, nothing is at as it seems. Furthermore there are multiple ways to read this work and me, so knock yourself out!
Flynn
Note: this project will be written as a diary I'll post small bits of information as I go and website addresses for those who want more information.
THE PROJECT: short overview on candy. Candy Darling was born James Slattery in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, November 24th, 1944. Although there is some conflicting information as to whether her date of birth is correct. Candy grew up in Long Island and spent much of her childhood watching television. She was rather inapt at impersonating Television and Movie personalities, in particular her favourites Kim Novak and Joan Bennet.
Candy's inclination towards cross-dressing was revealed while still out in the island, although she moved quickly into Manhattan in the mid-1960s. She met Andy Warhol in 1967 starred in his films Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971) in which Candy stars alongside Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn as a Long Island Socialite, pulled into a women’s liberation group called PIGS (Politically Involved Girls).
Candy died of Leukaemia on March 21, 1974, aged 29, at the Columbus Hospital division of the Cabrini Health Centre. On her deathbed she wrote a letter intended for Andy Warhol and his followers, Darling said "unfortunately before my death i had no desire left for life... i am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death. Did you know I couldn't last. I always knew it. I wish I could meet you all again"
On the front cover was the above picture. The love affair with this image was instant. It probably helped as I was going through a real gothic/ rock and roll animal phase, I had dyed my hair black and had resorted to trying to impersonate Lou Reed, speech and all. Candy on her death bed was for me the perfect muse, the one I’d always been looking for. Although at that stage I thought she was female, a misconception which when learned would provide me with a series pranks, in which I got my homophobic friends to comment on and admire Candy’s beauty, then only to later reveal she was a transsexual.
Today my ambitions are a lot less crude than the childish shit I was pulling six years ago. Candy’s image still continues to haunt me today. Her identity so hard earned was tragically taken before her time. I suspect she still had ambitions of becoming a Hollywood star just like her hero Kim Novak. Still it was not to be destroyed by her own identity, one may argue.
So I’m ranting now... and i guess one or two of you will be like "how does this relate to what you do"? So now without further interruptions (and I will extend on this more throughout the year) the work. This project will document my transformation from Flynn Morris-Clarke into 'Candy Darling on her death bed". Using a series of blog/Skype inspired photographs to document the process over the year, I will make a series of paintings showing the transformation or to borrow Antony’s term "turning". The final painting being a large redo of "Candy Darling on her death bed" except with my figure instead of hers.
At this stage with the project only 8weeks in, the implications are not completely known to me. I apologise in advance to anybody seriously offended by what I’m doing, and in the manner I’m doing it. But I consider this to be the most mature and honest thing I’ve engaged in to date.
Ok so now you know a little about Candy and a little about myself. So onto the project itself, I first discovered the image of "Candy Darling on her Death Bed" by photographer Peter Hujar in 2005 when sourcing the old Real Groove (god I miss you) for the new Antony and the Johnsons album "I’m a bird Now".
On the front cover was the above picture. The love affair with this image was instant. It probably helped as I was going through a real gothic/ rock and roll animal phase, I had dyed my hair black and had resorted to trying to impersonate Lou Reed, speech and all. Candy on her death bed was for me the perfect muse, the one I’d always been looking for. Although at that stage I thought she was female, a misconception which when learned would provide me with a series pranks, in which I got my homophobic friends to comment on and admire Candy’s beauty, then only to later reveal she was a transsexual.
Today my ambitions are a lot less crude than the childish shit I was pulling six years ago. Candy’s image still continues to haunt me today. Her identity so hard earned was tragically taken before her time. I suspect she still had ambitions of becoming a Hollywood star just like her hero Kim Novak. Still it was not to be destroyed by her own identity, one may argue.
Although I don't think Candy’s ambitions were superficial, her image is only a part of who she was. Like a final farewell of sorts Hujars image captures a part of the process which she went through even at death to construct a visual message. Which I understand as one of hope. I think as young person living in the twenty first century one can see even relate in some way to the struggle that Candy went through to be a women.
The reality and I’m taking certain liberties say this is a lot different to the image one presents. But as we live in a world of mass production where the social construct owes a lot more to the image than to the reality behind the image (if there is any), one must consider the consequences of our constructions, their implications and are perceptions of how we configure and reconfigure ourselves.
So I’m ranting now... and i guess one or two of you will be like "how does this relate to what you do"? So now without further interruptions (and I will extend on this more throughout the year) the work. This project will document my transformation from Flynn Morris-Clarke into 'Candy Darling on her death bed". Using a series of blog/Skype inspired photographs to document the process over the year, I will make a series of paintings showing the transformation or to borrow Antony’s term "turning". The final painting being a large redo of "Candy Darling on her death bed" except with my figure instead of hers.
My posts will show both the paintings and working photos/ drawings made drawing the project. As well as this the relevant theories and social implications that apply to my work, these will be delivered in the diary based format, with the relevant links posted at the bottom.
At this stage with the project only 8weeks in, the implications are not completely known to me. I apologise in advance to anybody seriously offended by what I’m doing, and in the manner I’m doing it. But I consider this to be the most mature and honest thing I’ve engaged in to date.
Flynn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Darling
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| "Candy Darling on her Deathbed" by Peter hujar 1974 |
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