Sunday, July 18, 2010

Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is an American feminist author, cartoonist and artist. Her works include comics, illustrations, graphic novels and fine art. She is best known for the character Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist.

Today's Out Spotlight is Diane DiMassa

Born in New Haven CT in 1959, Diane DiMassa grew up in West Haven, Connecticut as a self taught artist claiming she got her artistic abilities from her mother. After high school she was accepted to Paier College of Art in Hamden, CT. Not completing her program she left after six months. Later wanting to go back to school for formal art training, she " submitted a drawing of herself with a wooden arm (which she does not have) for a self-portrait" along with some other drawings at Cooper Union in NYC. She was not accepted into the program. She did however take classes years in painting, life drawing, and sculpture all over the country, over the years and received a 2 year degree in visual communications. DiMassa also worked as a tattoo artist and for a few years was as an assistant at a theater scenery studio.

As part recovery from drug and alcohol addiction she began drawing in her journal 'as a form of therapy to vent and deal with her anger issues. "Hothead Paisan is a character who uses guns, grenades, guillotines and just about anything else that can be used as a weapon to avenge wrongs against women."

DiMassa never intended to publish her journal sketches of Hothead, but her then partner, Stacey Sheehan, suggested that DiMassa market HotHead in the form of a comic-zine.

Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist ' in 1991 was initially published by newly created Giant Ass Publishing that they formed together, four times a year. The first issue, was a mini-comic, twelve pages long and elicited a roaring response, giving rise to the ongoing series, and soon after, a line of merchandise called "Groovy Crapola". It was part of an underground 'zine explosion in the early 1990s, and quickly gained a loyal cult following. It was an instant best-seller and consistently sold out.

Hothead's brand of vigilante justice allows women to find strength, humor, and solace in the outrageous acts of a cartoon figure. In the comic-zine, Hothead begins as an ordinary, well-adjusted lesbian who explodes into rage one day while watching television. She decides to take the law into her own hands and act out her revenge fantasies against a heterosexist and patriarchal culture.

As an underground cartoon character, Hothead attracted an audience of lesbians, bisexuals, and straight women throughout North America, Australia, and England, as well as a full spectrum of gender, orientation, race and class of readers. Some call her the woman's answer to Robert Crumb.

"Hothead Paisan is rage therapy for the marginalized and disaffected, the fed up,and anyone sickened by society's ills." it features the eponymous title character wreaking violent vengeance on male oppressors. Recurring characters include Hothead's cat Chicken, best friend Roz, a talking lamp, and transgender love interest Daphne.

"Hothead has no filter and reacts viscerally and violently to the injustices of the world. Her acting out of the fantasies that "normal" people have but would never act on holds her appeal; she does it for us unapologetically and uproariously." Chicken brings the more spiritual, wise (and wise-cracking) element. BFF Hot Roz is an older psychic blind woman who is a pacifist and almost endlessly patient with Hothead. Lamp, is Hothead's own guiding light.

DiMassa's graphic depiction of violence (in one issue Hothead pulls a rapist's spine out of his ass) is often criticized as obscene. One issue was seized at the Canadian border and labeled "hate literature" by Canada Customs.

The series was published from 1991–1996; and has been collected into the anthology called The Complete Hothead Paisan, containing all 21 issues.

In response to the cult status of Hothead Paisan, candy manufacturer True Confections asked DiMassa to design a line of Hothead candy bars. Hothead's Homicical Lesbian Terrorist Booster Bar and The Femme Dyke Bitch Bar are bestsellers.

As an illustrator, DiMassa has worked on the Pussycat Fever chapbook by the late Kathy Acker, along with Freddie Baer; the My Gender Workbook by Kate Bornstein; and Sexing the Body by Anne-Fausto Sterling in addition to Jokes and the Unconscious, a graphic novel written by poet and writer Daphne Gottlieb.

She also contributed to Live Through This, which is a collection of prose and art by women describing the role that art has played in dealing with issues such as addiction.

In recent years DiMassa has focused mainly on oil painting and street art pieces often based on her characters Hothead Paisan and Chicken. Finding a connection to abstract art in 2007, her work has received great reception by critics and an almost immediate draw of collectors. While the emphasis on the abstract, she enjoys working in many styles and mediums, from collage to portraits

Her illustrations and artwork have been featured in group and solo shows across North America. Recent shows have included "Picturing the Modern Amazon" at the New Museum of Contemporary Art (SoHo, March 30-July 2, 2000); "Fashion Magazine" at the See Gallery (Springfield, Mass., February-March, 1998); "Hothead Rising" at the Rising Cafe (Brooklyn, May 1997); and "Hothead L. Terrorist and Friends" at the SAW Contemporary Arts Centre (Ottawa, Canada, January 10-February 22, 1997).

DiMassa is also regularly invited to give guest lectures at colleges and art institutes across North America. She currently lives and works in Connecticut.


And I will get to continue being sand in the cracks of the people who ruin everything. Without you there is no me. Without each other, there is depression. Let's get through this. Hothead Paisan; comics for the fed-up. From me to you, as always, straight from the aorta.
-Diane DiMassa

43 comments:

destiny said...

No time to read the Spotlight, just posting the comment I tried to leave in the previous thread.

The M impostor is spelling the name differently, counting on people to not notice.

Thanks for the links to the CNN story PG and M and M. Will try to watch it tonight or later this week.

Special K said...

Thanks for the heads up from Stubborn and Destiny catching the impostor M.

The post that they are referring to was made on the last thread at 1:11pm. It has been removed.

I appreciate everyone helping out and keeping their eyes open for stuff like this.

m said...

Thanks everyone

prairiegirl said...

**shakes head**

Wow. That's unbelievable. I'm so confused now. I guess I'll have to email you my question, m. So I'll know for sure which one is really you.


Check out the new avatar!! Enrique!! What a hot, hot blooded Spaniard.

Special K said...

New pic from Austin via Twitter.

http://twitpic.com/26jm4w

Fivehead? Ummmm... it looks more like you it passed six somewhere in the spring. (Like they say "We kid because we love".)

Tip: No shots heading into the wind. And when biking, a helmet for safety and fashion.

Lady Gaga rules said...

Lady Gaga talkes on Westboro Church

Lady Gaga isn't afraid of some gay-bashing protestors. On Saturday evening, the goddess Gaga posted a note entitled "At the risk of drawing attention to a hateful organization" to her "little monster fans" via her Facebook page addressing the protest by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church. The church has protested a litany of events – veterans' funerals, football games, political events, and even Michael Jackson's funeral. They waved their signs outside Lady Gaga's concert Saturday night at St. Louis' Scottrade Center.
She wrote that "this group of protesters are hate criminals and preach using lewd and violent language and imagery that I wish I protect you all from. Their message is of hatred and divisiveness, but inside at the Monsterball we preach love and unity."

Ha! said...

I love it - thanks for another great Out Spotlight.

Gotta love Lady GaGa too. :)

Florida Tom said...
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Florida Tom said...
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Florida Tom said...

Top this one PG. This is Thyago.
Brazilian born. Thyago starred in one of the movies I saw yesterday at AQfest the 16th annual Phila. Gay Film Festival. Thyago starred in a movie call "David's Birthday". This movie was so hot and Thyago is so gorgeous in it

Definite eye candy PG. Wow!
There is a trailer on IMBD.

Florida Tom said...
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Florida Tom said...

The original title of David's Birthday was Il compleanno.

There are also several trailers on You Tube for Il compleano.

prairiegirl said...

Ooooh, yowsah, Tom!! Not bad, not bad...

Is that really him, Special? It sure doesn't look like him. And look how skinny he's gotten! That hairline looks like him, though. But wow. He's not been eating for the past month, then. Lookit how the crew socks are stretched out up the calf. LOL. On second thought, that's how the socks were in the gym picture. Like Sam's grandpa wears his in Sixteen Candles. lol. Boy, the rest sure doesn't look like him, though.

aaaah, nothing like a good Sunday nap, you know? I'll be back in a bit. My beta has been busy today and I need to go see how many red marks I have on Ch 2. **worries**.

Special K said...

Well people said PoP was a flop but not compared to Sorcerer's Apprentice.

PoP's opening weekend (4 days Fri-Mon Memorial Day Weekend)
Box office:$37,813,075
Number of screens: 3,646
Production cost:$200 million

Sorcerer's Apprentice (5 days Wed - Sun July 14-18)
Box Office:$24,461,000
Number of Screens: 3,504
Production cost:$150 million

prairiegirl said...

Wow, look at the production costs of Sorcerer's Apprentice. What on earth made them so high, I wonder? I had absolutely no interest in that movie. And look at the number of screens - almost as many as PoP. Wow.

And one more day - 5 days. ouch.

I wish I was more into movies. There was something on JustJared that said the Leo DiCap movie did very well - better than expected, I think. It would be interesting to see how it looks like movie tastes are running right now. Sometimes it seems the public's tastes go in trends. Maybe that's not really accurate and it really just depends on alot of other factors; I really have no idea.

But it would be interesting to see what type of movies seem to be popular lately.

Special K said...

Yup that's him PG. Those long limbs don't lie. ; )

Sure it was the great slim down for the gratuitous shirtless scenes they've written for the first few episodes. Then he can go on and really enjoy his hub's TLC (Toothy Loving Cooking) ways.

Those socks are just so him.

prairiegirl said...

New chap just went up. LJ drives me NUTSSSSS!!

aaaargh. I'm so frustrated & wiped out. I must have tried doing that LJ cut at least 10 times. Not to mention then close to 10 edits. Then (and thennnnn, and thennnnn...) over to Slash and I had to edit over there, too. LOL! Now that I look at the time, it's been over an hour since I started all that. Geez.


See that? Over an hour. You guys, Special goes through that daily. Daily. As in every day. 30-31 days per month. 12 months a year. She puts up a new post every day. Every day. And she will not take a day off. She'll swipe at me for saying this but I have told her at least twice to let it go. Go a day and don't put up a new one. Won't do it.

If some people knew, had any idea how much work it is to do these things. It's one thing to come up with the idea and write it all out. It's the searching and adding of pictures. It's getting Blogger to put it up. For the links and pictures to take. It's not always just point & click. Copy & paste. Computers and Blogger or LJ just don't always work like a charm. I'm not just blowing her trumpet. This is the gosh honest truth.
She knocks herself out doing this blog every day.

The Little Blog that Could.

destiny said...

Loving all the new avatars. And always glad to hear about a good gay movie Tom.

I've never heard of DiMassa. I suspect her comics wouldn't be my cup of tea, but it's always nice to hear about people who are doing different things and working outside of the mainstream.

prairiegirl said...

LOL. I'm up to ITunes Library 24 plays on I Like It by Enrique and it was just downloaded this morning. That's not counting on the IPod while showering. In the car to & from church this morning. Oh! And watching several video versions on YouTube.

LOLLLLLL!!! I bet I've listened to this thing 50+ times today. And not tired of it yet.

Snicker. That one deserves a capitol S.


Boy, that sure doesn't look like Austin. And look at that bike. LOL. It looks like it's way too small for him. Good thing he has such long arms. Look at the length of those arms.

Anonymous said...

HI guys. Did someone try to use a similar name to my livejournal name? The thanks guys was not me. There can only be one spelling as you have to logged in lj to use it. I do surf from multiple computers depending on which room in the house I am in. Sometimes Firefox, sometimes not. No clue if that makes a difference.

We saw Inception today. I could never explain the story to anyone, but enjoyed it immensely. It needs to be seen more than once because it is so complex.

The troll really has it out for me. Glad to know that I bother them that much.

Methodical Muser said...

Be careful now, PG. You may get ticketed for a moving violation if you keep dancing around like that! Particularly if you're moving those hips around like Jake did in his "Hedgehog Doing Karate" routine.

Given your new avatar, I thought you might enjoy this headline from Salsa.com:

Enrique Iglesias Ready to Water-Ski Nude?16 July 2010 08:35, S.Short, 290 views

Latin superstar and 'Lady-killer' Enrique Iglesias says he is ready to honor his bet to water-ski nude if Spain would win the FIFA World Soccer Championships, but the pop star is reluctant in setting a date and said he will only do it on a night without the moon's rays showing his nudity. Enrique Iglesias added these restrictions to his promise between the songs he performed live last Friday, July 9, 2010; he was performing for TODAY fans on Rockefeller Plaza in New York at that moment.

Iglesias promised to water-ski in the nude on Miami's Biscayne Bay if Spain should win the competition.

He made this vow after Spain's national soccer team had lost its first match and was generally considered to be a long shot for winning the World Cup. But Spain won eventually, and all his fans are expecting him to keep his promise.

Anonymous said...

I suppose I have to make a note of the time I make each comment. Since I usually come on only once or twice a day, I don't always remember what I said or when I said it.

I see on the web some debate about how Inception ended. Christopher Nolan is no dummy. There is so much to take in, you have to see the movie more than once to make sense of it.

prairiegirl said...

Okay, now the PlayCount has reached a number that is totally embarrassing. Not saying what it is. lol. <-- that's an embarrassed crimson lol!

Have I said how much I love writing??? I love writing !!! Love the little make believe land that's been created.

That is totally weird about someone hijacking m's LJ name. But I do see that this one has a little "lj" beside it, like the Blogger "B". I can't remember if I saw that on the impersonation post.

That is really, really ridiculous, though. Someone needs to get a life.

Someone is truly bothered and full of mischief and is doing nothing but clue-ing the rest of us in that there are things being said here that they would like to see stopped.

prairiegirl said...

M&M!!!!! There you are!!

LOL, I saw that in my internet search of him. Come on, he needs to do it under the moonlight!

That guy is hot. No other word for it. And he looks so much like his dad. He is a Spaniard, too. I didn't know that. That is totally hot. Hot blooded.

Just a little side discovery to my two new music downloads this morning.

Methodical Muser said...

clue-ing the rest of us in that there are things being said here that they would like to see stopped.

*Wipes tear from eye* It almost makes we want to...naaaaw. Never mind! Yes, here I am. And, I ain't goin' anywhere, trolly. Neither is m, or pg, or Tom, or Destiny, et al. Actually, I'm feeling a bit like Aus10 these days. I am enjoying being bad, as well as annoying.

Anonymous said...

Good point PG. I replied to your email and left you a comment on LJ. This proves for sure that we are bothering the hell out of the Jake is straight crowd. If we had no impact as they claim, there would be no need for such drastic action. I think its because of Baby Tile, not so much Jake being gay. More evidence that there is a Baby Tile(s).

Methodical Muser said...

^Yep. That always gets their knickers in a twist!

spirlowirlo said...
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tweet said...

@AUS10NICHOLS, my grandma also wants you to visit because, I quote, you have a nice firm ass. Classy lady. about 2 hours ago via web

@AUS10NICHOLS, my 80 yr old grandma told me today that they fixed the oil spill by putting a wedding ring on it and it quit putting out! about 4 hours ago via web

EllisonW90

lawl said...

LOL The loonies circlejerk. Keep raving.

lol said...
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prairiegirl said...

Jack, you might want to head to Walgreens a little early this morning. I hear they're having a fire sale on something called "class". And you better drive the Expedition because you're going to need to stock up.

Better yet: check out Sam's Club if Walgreens happens to be out. They might have it in the Industrial Size. That'd be more like it.

lol said...
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Dr. Freud said...

Jack should pick up his meds while he is at it.

m said...
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ted said...

Dear Ted:
I wanted to share the following wise words from my favorite sex advice columnist, Dan Savage. On the topic of coming out, he says: "Coming out is the single most important thing you can do to advance the cause of gay civil equality. Period. The more of us who are out to friends and family, the smaller the electoral return on the GOP's gay-bashing investment. So get out there and be honest about who you are, where you are, and who you love. Because when you do that...you leave the extreme right with fewer and fewer suckers willing to buy the hate-spiked snake oil they're selling." He also says in his podcast that if you're not out, you're not ready for a relationship or sex, and you shouldn't feel entitled to either. What do you think Toothy Tile would have to say to that?
—Pam

Dear Politically Erect:
Nothing. Which is why I absolutely agree with Savage.

Dear Ted:
I know that you can sometimes be playfully coy and cagey in some of your answers, but here is hoping for a straightforward answer to my one simple question: Are Toothy Tile and Grey Goose still together as a couple?
—Isobel

Dear Bashful Betty:
Yes.See, that wasn't so painful, was it?

Bitch Back

Anonymous said...

Thank you Ted for the straightforward answer re Toothy and Goose. We knew it all along. Did someone here ask that question?

So true that columnist's advice. Harvey Milk said something similar as well in that if everyone came out, so many people would realize that they knew a gay person and that they were no different from them, it would change things.

With joy in my heart that Toothy and Goose are still a couple, I'm off to work.

destiny said...

I love Dan Savage, read him all the time.

I've seen that statement before from Dan Savage, but that is not my letter, I'm glad someone thought to send that to Ted. Dan Savage would not out anyone, but he is pretty disdainful of closeted celebrtiies I recently read something in which he made reference to spoiled rich performers who stay in the closet just so they can continue to make lots of money. It might have been in reaction to Ricky Martin, i.e, it was good he came out, but it should have been sooner, and others should do it too.

Florida Tom said...

It wasn't me who sent the letter either. Sure is good though to hear Ted being so sure. Hard not to believe him. I just can't understand how these two guy are pulling this off. How much longer can it go on? I am sure Jake has made more money than he could ever want at this point but I guess Austin has not.

Doesn't sound like J and A will listen to anyone who tells them it would be such a great thing if they came out. I am sure they must say why us? We are not the most famous closeted stars in HW. But wow what a great start it would be.

Florida Tom said...
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Florida Tom said...

Personally I think the two most famous closeted stars in HW are Clooney and DiCaprio

Methodical Muser said...

Savage and Milk are right. It's much harder to fear and condemn actual people you have grown to love and respect just because you find out, one day, who they really love. Whether they be friends and family, neighbors and mentors, or artists and professionals. Given the social, cultural and political impact it would have, I definitely would like to see more Hollywood actors come out. And, not just Jake and Austin either. But, a whole bunch of A-list Hollywood male heartthrobs who have been spared the blogosphere spotlight that Toothy and Goose have had focused on their relationship for years.

In the interim, these so-called artists who stress how important it is to manifest fearless authenticity in their performances, need to muster up some courage in real life by steering clear of stupid fauxmances, which I agree are homophobic at their core and infinitely insulting to the senses as well as intelligent sensibilities.

And, I've never sent in any questions or letters to Ted, either. I guess the trollies have a problem, don't they? They would love people to think that only those "looney" OMGers find the Toothy/Grey Goose saga of interest. Apparently not.

destiny said...

In the interim, these so-called artists who stress how important it is to manifest fearless authenticity in their performances, need to muster up some courage in real life by steering clear of stupid fauxmances, which I agree are homophobic at their core and infinitely insulting to the senses as well as intelligent sensibilities.

Ditto. I'd love to see J&A come out, but if they feel they can't the least they can do is stop the bearding and lying.