What makes some of these local or global creatives tick? In this weekly column, multi-disciplinary artist Masuri Mazlan shares his favourite things.
1. Lady Gaga: I am in love with Lady Gaga so much. She’s a risk-taker, unconforming, and a true visionary. The meat dress was such a beautiful piece and I don’t understand why people were revolted by it.
Personally, I think it is a great political fashion statement of the century.
2. Plato Atlantis by Alexander Mcqueen: Alexander McQueen’s innovative and theatrical runway shows have been something that I looked forward to when I was in my teenage years. All of his runway shows are my favourite but Plato Atlantis is a standout.
3. Queer Phenomenology by Sara Ahmed: I have been reading this book for quite some time. I love it but it is not a casual read. Sara Ahmed shows us how phenomenology may be used productively in queer studies in this groundbreaking study. Ahmed investigates what it means for bodies to be placed in space and time, focusing on the “orient” part of “sexual orientation” and the “orient” in “orientalism”.
4. ARTPOP by Lady Gaga: ARTPOP by Lady Gaga is my favourite album! I was too anti-bandwagonist to get into the first couple of albums before this one. They’re great but this is insane.
5. KICK ii by Arca: Arca refuses to paint with a standard palette, even when she is at her most accessible. Despite her chaotic tangents and experimentation, it is obvious in KICK ii that – she is well aware of the balance required to construct a bop. Her music and visual aesthetics are ahead of their time.
6. Ride the Lightning by Metallica: This is my all-time favourite record, Ride the Lightning by Metallica. I always knew that if I had a bad day at school, a difficult day at work, or just a bad day in general, I could come home, put on some headphones, crank up the volume, and listen to it for 45 minutes and forget about my issues.
7. Untitled (Perfect Lovers) (1991) by Felix Torres Gonzalez: Untitled (Perfect Lovers) (1991) is a well-known piece by Felix Torres Gonzalez. It is composed of two synchronised clocks. They gradually and predictably go out of time. This is due to the fact that the batteries have run out. The work is a heartfelt examination of his private life.
It is a metaphor for the artist’s HIV-positive spouse Ross Laycock and his slow deterioration and untimely death from AIDS. The two clocks signify two mechanical heartbeats that are symbolic of two lives that are destined to drift apart and include compelling poetry about personal loss and the transitory aspect of existence.
8. Abstract Bodies by David Getsy: The reason why I am obsessed with this book is because it’s the first one to apply the multidisciplinary area of transgender studies to the study of art history. It is both innovative and conceptually sophisticated. It recasts 1960s art’s disputes abstraction and figuration via an examination of gender’s mutability and plurality.
9. Hellraiser: There was something about the first Hellraiser that the sequels were unable to replicate. When I was eight years old, I witnessed this, and the image was beyond horrifying. To bring these characters to life, it needs a distinct and creative imagination.
10. Losing My Religion by R.E.M: This song is a work of art. I usually return to this song whenever I’m feeling down because, strangely, while being a sad song at its heart, it’s also somewhat soothing.
Once you’re done with Masuri Mazlan’s obsessions, click here to catch up with our April 2022 issue!
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