GET HUBBIED

Whoa, the details. This is harkening back to CoTour 08 where every detail had 100 details to it. Both Tif and I are on the computer too much for our own good these days, but its rewarding as all the artists bios and images, the research, the marriage poll, and all the aspects of the website we're building are solidifying the whole picture-ness of this project. One more month to get it all sorted, as well as organizing a three-day show at The Company (gallery in Chinatown), a collaboration between me and Abel Baker Gutierrez which takes place on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of October.

Its a little nerve wracking to have put this brave undertaking into the hands of the universe, but it feels good too. The Ad has been sent to Artforum and will hit the stands on October 1st, thereabouts. The mystery couple will hopefully connect with the deeply good intentions of this project and have faith that HubbyCo, and all our collaborators will see to it that this wedding experience is meaningful and dynamic beyond imagining. Knight Landesman at Artforum, where I worked as the receptionist and then circulation director so many years ago, has given us a glorious discount on the ad, and has faith in our project. The artists are sending in good information and ideas, and its gradual (strong and sure) info and image gathering is a sight for sore eyes.

Tif and I interviewed this wonderful couple, Xochitl Oliva and Marissa Bell (Mabell). Their home itself was a testament to the strength of their relationship. They were incredibly forthcoming about the challenges and victories of being a lesbian couple, and they got married during that brief window in California when it was appropriately legal. Their cats were running and playing around in their abundant garden as we talked. Check out their video on this site.

All the artist's have committed to the project, and the advertisement has been scrutinized word by word, and will be sent to Artforum tomorrow morning. Its nice to have that behind us. I'm sure Mike Slack (artist and the designer of the Ad) will sleep better knowing I can't change or argue semantics any longer. Now its time to buckle into the month of making everything ready for that Ad coming out. I have to make sure that every question is answered before anyone asks them, as much as this is possible. My bulletin board is tired.

Brothers, in a relationship more deeply involved than any romance they've ever had. This is why they wanted to be interviewed together.

Here are the lyrics to the song they chose to represent their relationship:

For the Life That Will Be

If we remain together we can even fly - We can cross this sea - If we remain together in our diversity - Together we can discover our unity - If we can put ourselves together we'll have continuity - If we stay together it will be true freedom - For the life that will be, for the life that will be - You will never be alone - If we stay together and we tell each other everything - If together we plant the seeds together we can gather the fruit - If we stay together it will be a miracle - If we stay together we will be a family - For the life that will be. For the life that will be. - You will never be alone under this sky - We will stay together if we understand each other- If we pardon each other, what mistakes can we make? - We will stay together if we have the will - And succeed together to give ourselves freedom - To the life that will be. For the life that will be - You will never be alone, I will never be alone, we will never be alone.

Orson Welles' audacious biography of newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane, which, in essence, was a thinly veiled portrait of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. Welles's complex and technically stunning film chronicles Kane's rise from poverty to become one of America's most influential men -- and it's considered one of the best movies ever made. Notable to this topic is the famous 'breakfast' montage scene succinctly illustrating the disintegration of Kane's marriage in a brief time. 1941

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Life is Sweet - Mike Leigh, 1991. The plot is simple enough. A couple of days in the life of a working class London family. A couple of fairly deep issues are dealt with, such as eating disorders and depression, but other than a few moments, all we are doing is watching a family live their life: a strong hard-working mother; a weaker easily-led by his mates father; and their twin daughters: Natalie - resourceful and kind-hearted but with a strange tendency to wear men's shirts and down pints - and Nicola - screwed up, rude, irrational and painfully insecure in both her looks and her intelligence. Notable to this topic is the resounding sweetness between husband and wife, at the end of the day - there is love there.

Tif and I went to Jon's house to interview him about his project about couples. He had taken portraits of couples in his circle of LA acquaintances and friends. He was struck by the uncanny pairings that had shared people in common over time within this group. He is such a well-spoken person, succinct in his thinking. There won't be much editing needed here. A romantic at heart.

Here are a few couples he photographed (and not all of them are still together):