Entering the Asclepeion: Manly P. Hall to Ron Athey

Deep in the bowels of lockdown, Dirty Looks commissioned an artwork by Ron Athey + Hermes Pittakos and oversaw production at the Philosophical Research Society with Cassils and Moe Noza. Pasiphäe, the Witch Queen of Crete: A Glory Hole Origin Story is a retelling of the bestial myth, in which the wife of King Minos commands Daedalus to construct a wooden structure so that she might copulate with Poseidon’s white bull, thus spawning a lovechild: The Minotaur. ENTERING THE ASCLEPEION is an expansive afternoon happening at the site of our own Pasiphäen conception. Founded in 1934 by scholar, Manly P. Hall, PRS is a research facility dedicated to promoting the study of the world’s wisdom literature. The event will probe the intersections between Hall’s scholarship with Athey’s own interplay of post porn aesthetics and mythological paradigms across cultures.

PROJECTION
Pasiphäe, The Witch Queen of Crete: A Glory Hole Origin Story
premiering a new video by Ron Athey + Hermes Pittakos

PERFORMANCE
Pageant for the Pantheon, featuring Ron Athey, Cassils, Carmina Escobar, Divinity P. Fudge, Karen Lofgren, PonyLee, Hermes Pittakos + Yunen Rhi

PANEL
California Counter Cultures, Magick + Myth-play
featuring panelists Adamxvi, Scott Hobbs (Cameron Parsons Foundation), Bradford Nordeen

Part of a new initiative, funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and The Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, The commission expands Dirty Looks; role as the chronicler of Los Angeles’ queer histories through our ability to commission new art and exhibitions that ensure these trajectories are understood within our thriving contemporary moment.

The 2020 curatorial committee responsible for the commission was comprised of: Jackie Clay, Chris Cruse, Nikki Darling, Paul Gellman, Micah Gottlieb, Arshia Fatima Haq Frank Jaffe, PonyLee Musgrave, Bradford Nordeen, Andres Payan Estrada + Wendy Yao, with collaborative duo Mariah Garnett + Aimee Goguen, and Transgress Fest.

Ron Athey is an artist, self-taught in the LA underground music and queer art scenes of the late 1970s. He has exhibited work internationally like the 1992 performance Martyrs & Saints at LACE, 4 Scenes In A Harsh Life (1994) and The Solar Anus (1998). In 2005, he returned to Los Angeles after some years abroad and mounted The Judas Cradle, an opera created in collaboration with soprano/musicologist Juliana Snapper. His automatic writing performances and workshops Automatism: Gifts of the Spirit have been staged internationally and Acephalous Monster, his 2018 PSNY commission recently completed a 7-city UK tour and will fill a sold-out run at REDCAT later this summer. Queer Communion, a touring retrospective of his performances objects, props and ephemera opened in February 2021 at Participant Inc, before traveling to ICA Los Angeles where it is currently on view.

The Philosophical Research Society was founded in 1934 by Manly Hall to aid all those seeking wisdom in that troubled time, and beyond. Free from sectarian concerns, we have worked to help people of all faiths and philosophies connect with the timeless roots of their beliefs and apply them to the challenges they face in an ever-changing world. Our mission is to facilitate practical and profound wisdom for the twenty-first century all who seek it with compassion and in community. As a nonprofit, on-campus, and online institution dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom, our vision is a community of seekers who are continually discovering, applying, cultivating, and rediscovering practical and profound wisdom in the 21st century.