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Richard Kern

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Richard Kern
Born1954 (age 67–68)
Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, United States
OccupationFilmmaker, writer, photographer
Years active1979–present
Spouse(s)Martynka Wawrzyniak (2007–2015)
For the police officer, see Prospect Park alleged police sodomy incident.

Richard Kern (born 1954) is an American underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to prominence as part of the cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films like The Right Side of My Brain and Fingered, which featured personalities of the time such as Lydia Lunch, David Wojnarowicz, Sonic Youth, Kembra Pfahler, Karen Finley and Henry Rollins. Like many of the musicians around him, Kern had a deep interest in the aesthetics of extreme sex, violence and perversion and was involved in the Cinema of Transgression movement, a term coined by Nick Zedd.

Discover more about Richard Kern related topics

Underground film

Underground film

An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.

East Village, Manhattan

East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City, in reference to the single-letter-named avenues that are located to the east of First Avenue; Little Ukraine, near Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets; and the Bowery, located around the street of the same name.

Experimental film

Experimental film

Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, particularly early ones, relate to arts in other disciplines: painting, dance, literature and poetry, or arise from research and development of new technical resources.

Lydia Lunch

Lydia Lunch

Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no wave scene as the singer and guitarist of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks.

David Wojnarowicz

David Wojnarowicz

David Michael Wojnarowicz ( VOY-nə-ROH-vitch was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorporated personal narratives influenced by his struggle with AIDS as well as his political activism in his art until his death from the disease in 1992.

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.

Kembra Pfahler

Kembra Pfahler

Kembra Pfahler is an American filmmaker, performance artist, visual artist, adjunct professor, rock musician, and film actress.

Karen Finley

Karen Finley

Karen Finley is an American performance artist, musician and poet. Her performance art, recordings, and books are used as forms of activism. Her work frequently uses nudity and profanity. Finley incorporates depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement in her work She is currently a professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins

Henry Lawrence Garfield, known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986. Following the band's breakup, he established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, and formed the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 to 2003 and in 2006.

Cinema of Transgression

Cinema of Transgression

The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City-based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using shock value and black humor in their films. Key players in this movement were Zedd, Kembra Pfahler, Tessa Hughes-Freeland, Casandra Stark, Beth B, Tommy Turner, Jon Moritsugu, Manuel DeLanda, David Wojnarowicz, Richard Kern, and Lydia Lunch, who in the late 1970s and mid-1980s began to make very low-budget films using cheap 8 mm cameras.

Nick Zedd

Nick Zedd

Nick Zedd was an American filmmaker, author, and painter based in Mexico City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minded filmmakers and artists using shock value and black humor in their work. These filmmakers and artistic collaborators included Richard Kern, Tessa Hughes Freeland, Lung Leg, Kembra Pfahler, and Lydia Lunch. Under numerous pen names, Zedd edited and wrote the Underground Film Bulletin (1984–1990) which publicized the work of these filmmakers. The Cinema of Transgression was explored in Jack Sargeant's book Deathtripping.

Career

Kern's first dabbling in the arts was a series of self-produced magazines that featured art, poetry, photography and fiction by himself and several friends. These hand-stapled and photocopied zines expressed the bleakness of New York City's East Village in the early 1980s. Kern's first zine was the bi-monthly The Heroin Addict, which was later renamed The Valium Addict. About 12 issues of these two zines were produced, along with the occasional special issue. This phase of Kern's career lasted from late 1979 to around 1983.

In 1985, he directed a video for the Sonic Youth song "Death Valley '69"; this led to more music video work, including videos for King Missile ("Detachable Penis") and Marilyn Manson ("Lunchbox").

Lung Leg starred in several Kern films and was the cover model for Sonic Youth's EVOL album (the sleeve design shows a still shot from the film Submit to Me). Along with other Cinema of Transgression filmmakers, he was a subject of Jack Sargeant's book Deathtripping.

Kern, whose father was a North Carolina newspaper photographer and editor,[1] turned in the 1990s almost exclusively to still photography. Although mainly known in recent years for his photographs of naked women, he frequently shoots celebrity portraits for international publications.

His book Action, edited by Dian Hanson, was released in 2007 by Taschen, featuring more than 200 full-color photographs of young nude women. Accompanying the volume was Extra Action, Kern's DVD of models featured in the book.

Since February 2007, Kern has directed Shot By Kern on VBS.tv, stills of which are published monthly in Vice.[2]

He was interviewed in 2011, as part of the documentary The Advocate for Fagdom by Angélique Bosio about queercore filmmaker Bruce La Bruce,[3][4]

After meeting young photographer Petra Collins, Kern purportedly became her mentor.[5] Collins also serves as Kern's casting agent in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Kern is a regular contributor to Vice, Purple, GQ and Playboy.

Discover more about Career related topics

East Village, Manhattan

East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City, in reference to the single-letter-named avenues that are located to the east of First Avenue; Little Ukraine, near Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets; and the Bowery, located around the street of the same name.

Death Valley '69

Death Valley '69

"Death Valley '69" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and featuring Lydia Lunch. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records. A re-recorded version was released in EP format with different artwork in June 1985; this version was featured on their second studio album, Bad Moon Rising.

King Missile

King Missile

King Missile is an American avant-garde art rock band best known for its 1992 single "Detachable Penis". Vocalist John S. Hall has fronted several disparate incarnations of the group since founding it in 1986.

Detachable Penis

Detachable Penis

"Detachable Penis" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It was the first single from the band's 1992 album Happy Hour, and became a modest hit, reaching number 25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Marilyn Manson (band)

Marilyn Manson (band)

Marilyn Manson is an American rock band formed by namesake lead singer Marilyn Manson and guitarist Daisy Berkowitz in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1989. Originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids, they gained a local cult following in South Florida in the early 1990s with their theatrical live performances. In 1993, they were the first act signed to Trent Reznor's Nothing Records label. Until 1996, the name of each member was created by combining the first name of a female sex symbol and the last name of a serial killer, for example Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Their lineup has changed between many of their album releases; the eponymous lead singer is the only remaining original member.

Lunchbox (song)

Lunchbox (song)

"Lunchbox" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the second single from their debut album, Portrait of an American Family (1994). A heavy metal song that features elements of death metal, industrial music and punk rock, "Lunchbox" was written by the band's eponymous vocalist, Daisy Berkowitz, and Gidget Gein, and produced by Manson with Trent Reznor. According to Berkowitz, the track was written as the frontman's plea to be left alone; it was also inspired by a time where Manson defended himself from bullies with a Kiss lunchbox. The track features elements of "Fire" (1968) performed by Arthur Brown, a musician who influenced the band.

Lung Leg

Lung Leg

Lung Leg is an American pin-up girl and actress perhaps best known for appearing on the cover of the Sonic Youth album EVOL. During the 1980s, she gained fame as a model and star of films made by the transgressive movement.

Evol (Sonic Youth album)

Evol (Sonic Youth album)

EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert.

Jack Sargeant (writer)

Jack Sargeant (writer)

Jack Sargeant is a British writer specializing in cult film, underground film, and independent film, as well as subcultures, true crime, and other aspects of the unusual. In addition he is a film programmer, curator, academic and photographer. He has appeared in underground films and performances. He currently lives in Australia.

Deathtripping

Deathtripping

First published as Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression by Creation Books in 1995 and subsequently republished as Deathtripping: The Extreme Underground by Soft Skull Press, Deathtripping is a book by Jack Sargeant which examines the New York based, post-punk underground film movement known as the Cinema of Transgression that formed around the manifesto written by underground filmmaker Nick Zedd. The loose-knit group of underground filmmakers included Richard Kern, Tommy Turner, Lydia Lunch, Beth B, Cassandra Stark, Joe Coleman and David Wojnarowicz, amongst others.

North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and South Carolina to the south, and Tennessee to the west. In the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with a population of 2,595,027 in 2020, is the most-populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 21st-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state and 32nd-most populous in the United States, with a population of 2,043,867 in 2020, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

Dian Hanson

Dian Hanson

Dian Hanson is an American magazine and book editor.

Influence

The UK band Manhattan Love Suicides took their name from one of Kern's short films.[6]

Personal life

Kern was married to artist Martynka Wawrzyniak from 2007 to 2015.[7]

Filmography

  • You Killed Me First (1985)
  • Woman at the Wheel (1985)
  • Thrust in Me (1985)
  • Submit to Me (1985)
  • Stray Dogs (1985)
  • The Right Side of My Brain (1985)
  • Manhattan Love Suicides (1985)
  • I Hate You Now (1985)
  • "Death Valley '69" music video (1985)
  • King of Sex (1986)
  • Goodbye 42nd Street (1986)
  • Fingered (1986)
  • Submit to Me Now (1987)
  • X is Y (1990)
  • Pierce (1990)
  • Money Love (1990)
  • The Evil Cameraman (1990)
  • Tumble (1991)
  • Nazi (1991)
  • Horoscope (1991)
  • Sewing Circle (1992)
  • The Bitches (1992)
  • "Detachable Penis" music video (1992)
  • My Nightmare (1993)
  • "Lunchbox" music video (1995)
  • Extra Action (2007)
  • Face to Panty Ratio (2011)

Books

  • Richard Kern: New York Girls (1995, Purr Books)
  • XXGIRLS (1996, Fiction Inc. Books)
  • New York Girls (1997, Taschen)
  • Richard Kern (1998, Charta)
  • Model Release (2000, Taschen Books)
  • XXModels (2001, Ficton Inc Books)
  • Kern Noir (2002, Charta)
  • Soft (2004, Universe Publishing)
  • Digital Kern (2007, Charta)
  • Action (2007, Taschen)
  • Looker (2008, Abrams Books)
  • 10:41 (2011, The Oversea Books)
  • Contact High (2013, PictureBox)
  • Shot By Kern (2013, Taschen)
  • Girlfriend Boyfriend (2014, The Oversea Books)
  • Bed Bath and Beyond (2015, Innen Books)
  • New York Girls (20th Anniversary Edition) (2016, Taschen)
  • Polarized (2017, Victoria Press)
  • 1980 (2019, Off One's Rocker Publishing Ltd)
  • Who's Your Death Hero?: Supervert + Richard Kern on Death (2020, Supervert 32C Inc.)
  • Medicated (2020, Art Paper Editions)
  • Extra High (2020, Innen Books)
  • Cars (2021, Hassla Books)
  • Baron (2022, Baron Books)

Source: "Richard Kern", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, August 21st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kern.

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Further Reading

Vaginal Davis

Lydia Lunch

Nick Zedd

Harmony Korine

Lung Leg

Steve Barron

Kembra Pfahler

Lunchbox (song)

Daniel Nicoletta
References
  1. ^ "Dossier Journal » in Conversation with Richard Kern". dossierjournal.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  2. ^ VBS.tv celebrates Mexico Quality Peoples. July 18, 2008
  3. ^ Felperin, Leslie (February 23, 2011). "The Advocate for Fagdom". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Klág, Dávid Klág (October 25, 2011). "Bruce LaBruce: 'The Advocate For Fagdom'". Dazed. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Elianna Lev goes back to school with teenage photography phenom Petra Collins | Life".
  6. ^ "The Manhattan Love Suicides Band Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  7. ^ Misheff, Johnny (May 31, 2011). "Visiting Artists | Martynka Wawrzyniak". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
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