DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET / IT'S YOU WHO IS FREAKING OUT
Wading in the mushy green bong waters of magic mushrooms was something I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed. There were bog monsters beneath the fetid green or sharp emerald birds just above the tree line. Then this came along and I’m right back there, monging out and thinking my eyes are dribbling down my face. It’s called Butoh and it is a collective name for the Japanese dance form. Beyond this, the definition slips off the word like the pizza delivery boy’s face (why is pizza always ordered in drug ingestion??).
It’s this unclassifiable aspect that makes it resound with such horror in a Lovecraftian sense (I don’t use that word lightly; the second video looks like they are embracing some Cthulic sex ritual). I’ve never seen anything like the myriad scenes of Butoh and unless it’s late October and I’m looking to piss myself, I’d be happy never seeing them again.
For more, I’d suggest Hal Hartley’s Flirt and the Japanese horror flick, Kairo which used elements of Butoh (don’t try and follow the narrative; it’s an absolutely ridiculous account of computers and people bursting into black stains). Also, the influence is notable with the classical-music world destroyers KTL's dance performance by the same name (Kindertotenlieder); a piece that actually made my friend Giles have a mental powerdown.
"STILL LIFE"
From Top-Bottom:
Robert Doisneau 1950
Paul Outerbridge
Paul Outerbridge Woman with Claws 1937
Paul Outerbridge 1936
Otto Steinert 1959
Aubrey Bodine 1950
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