Steven Arnold

Anjelica Huston narrates this exploration of the spectacularly dreamlike world of Salvador Dali’s protégé, Steven Arnold, and his strikingly creative and influential body of work filled with occult rituals, Hollywood camp, and surrealist art nouveau whimsy. Taken from more than 70 hours of original and archival footage, including rare scenes of Holly Woodlawn, director Vishnu Dass digs deeply into the decadent countercultural and inspiring life of this unheralded multimedia artist of the queer community.

A series of erotic vignettes and sexual imagery (mostly of the gay variety) are presented courtesy of The Cockettes (a gay/drag performance art ensemble of late 60s/early 70s San Francisco).

A series of erotic vignettes and sexual imagery (mostly of the gay variety) are presented courtesy of The Cockettes (a gay/drag performance art ensemble of late 60s/early 70s San Francisco).

Originally, it was to be a serious look at Westerner's influenced by Eastern trends. As it developed, however it became much more humorous with characters in yoga positions with high heels and smoking cigarettes at the same time.

A journey of the psyche into the world of the unconscious. Made when Wiese and Arnold were students at the San Francisco Art Institute, the surrealistic film is influenced by Dalí, Buñuel and the German expressionists. The film was premiered at the St. Regis Hotel in New York by Salvador Dalí and invited to Director's Fortnight at Cannes.

Although best known for his photography, Steven Arnold also wrote, designed, and directed several groundbreaking visionary films, The Liberation of Mannique Mechanique being the first. Stuart Comer of the Tate Modern (London) said of Mannique: “a macabre, decadent work presenting mannequins and models that travel through strange universes toward possible self-discovery.” Brooklyn-based artist and writer Kate Wadkins in a recent online article observed: “Arnold’s films are dream-like visions of androgynous beings. Their narratives are modern-day fairy tales and reveries about gender — all through the lens of an acid trip.”

Earth, air, fire and water personified. Made at the San Francisco Art Institute by Michael Wiese and Steven Arnold, their first collaboration. “THE ELEMENTS depicts personifications of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, in metaphor. The bodies of each blending in movement.” –Lenny Lipton, BERKELEY BARB