Scott Treleaven
Encyclopedia
Scott Treleaven is a Canadian artist whose work employs a variety of media including collage
, film, video, drawing, photography and installation.
, William S. Burroughs
, Jack Pierson
and Nan Goldin
, in describing Treleaven's place in "a lineage of obdurate misfits". Treleaven's work has also been used as album art by a number of bands, including experimental music/drone rock band Locrian
, and photographs for the interior of Broken Social Scene
's Kevin Drew
's "Spirit If" (both attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts
).
In 2007, Some Boys Wander By Mistake, a catalog of Treleaven's collages, photos, sculptures and films emerged, featuring a conversation with artist Jack Pierson
, an essay by Terence Hannum of folk band Unlucky Atlas and Locrian
, and five new poems by Dennis Cooper
based on the work.
scene in the 1990s.
In 2002 Treleaven presented an overview of his independent publishing experiences in a film entitled The Salivation Army which has been screened at MOMA
and Art Basel
, Switzerland.
In 2005 photographer/director Carter Smith
approached Treleaven about adapting his published horror story, Bugcrush, into Smith's Sundance Film Festival
award-winning short film. Director Steven Spielberg
has openly lauded the film.
In 2008, he appeared in the feature film, The Lollipop Generation
by G.B. Jones, alongside Jena von Brücker, Mark Ewert
, Vaginal Davis
, Calvin Johnson and Joel Gibb
.
In March 2011, The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA
) featured a program of Treleaven's films as part of the Queer Cinema from the Collection: Today and Yesterday program, curated by artist AA Bronson
and Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film, at The Museum of Modern Art.
project called This Is The Salivation Army (1996–1999): a mix of punk
, goth
, occult
, and industrial music
aesthetics, alongside homages to iconoclasts like William S. Burroughs
, Brion Gysin
, William Blake
, and Derek Jarman
. The zine was a seeding ground for a variety of concepts and styles that would continue to appear in Treleaven's visual art. Books, zines and independently produced publications continue to be a recurring motif throughout his work.
In 2006 a book marking the 10th anniversary of the This Is The Salivation Army project was published by Printed Matter
(NY) and Art Metropole
(Toronto), containing an entire reprint of the zines alongside more recent drawings and collages.
Treleaven's contribution to artist publications was most recently acknowledged in the book, In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1955
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
, film, video, drawing, photography and installation.
Artwork
Critical writings have invoked references to Jean GenetJean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, Jack Pierson
Jack Pierson
Jack Pierson is a photographer and an artist. He studied at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Pierson has made a name for himself with a body of work that includes photographs, collages, word sculptures, installations, drawings and artists books...
and Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin
Nancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer.-Life and work:Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Lexington, to middle class Jewish parents whose ideas, moderately liberal and progressive, were put to the test when on April 12, 1965 their eldest...
, in describing Treleaven's place in "a lineage of obdurate misfits". Treleaven's work has also been used as album art by a number of bands, including experimental music/drone rock band Locrian
Locrian (band)
Locrian is an experimental music/drone rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States formed in late 2005.-History:Locrian was formed in late 2005 by André Foisy and Terence Hannum, who had previously played together in Unlucky Atlas. Foisy is originally from Northern New York, while Hannum is...
, and photographs for the interior of Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. Most of its members currently play in various other groups and solo projects, mainly based around the city of Toronto...
's Kevin Drew
Kevin Drew
Kevin Drew is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene...
's "Spirit If" (both attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts
Etobicoke School of the Arts
The Etobicoke School of the Arts is a specialized public arts-academic high school located in Etobicoke area of Toronto, Canada. Founded on September 8, 1981, the Etobicoke School of the Arts has the distinction of being the oldest, free standing arts focused high school in Canada...
).
In 2007, Some Boys Wander By Mistake, a catalog of Treleaven's collages, photos, sculptures and films emerged, featuring a conversation with artist Jack Pierson
Jack Pierson
Jack Pierson is a photographer and an artist. He studied at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Pierson has made a name for himself with a body of work that includes photographs, collages, word sculptures, installations, drawings and artists books...
, an essay by Terence Hannum of folk band Unlucky Atlas and Locrian
Locrian (band)
Locrian is an experimental music/drone rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States formed in late 2005.-History:Locrian was formed in late 2005 by André Foisy and Terence Hannum, who had previously played together in Unlucky Atlas. Foisy is originally from Northern New York, while Hannum is...
, and five new poems by Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
based on the work.
Films
Treleaven's first film Queercore: A Punk-u-mentary was produced in 1996, a documentary on the queercoreQueercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
scene in the 1990s.
In 2002 Treleaven presented an overview of his independent publishing experiences in a film entitled The Salivation Army which has been screened at MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
and Art Basel
Art Basel
Art Basel is an international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland. Similar to the Venice Biennale, it has been called "the Olympics of the art world". Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa...
, Switzerland.
In 2005 photographer/director Carter Smith
Carter Smith
Carter Smith, is an American film director and fashion photographer.-Life and career:A native of Topsham, Maine, Smith moved to New York City after graduating from Mt. Ararat High School in 1989. He enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology but later dropped out to pursue a career in...
approached Treleaven about adapting his published horror story, Bugcrush, into Smith's Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
award-winning short film. Director Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
has openly lauded the film.
In 2008, he appeared in the feature film, The Lollipop Generation
The Lollipop Generation
The Lollipop Generation is the first feature film by G.B. Jones.The Lollipop Generation premiered as the Gala Feature presentation of the Images Festival in Toronto on April 3, 2008....
by G.B. Jones, alongside Jena von Brücker, Mark Ewert
Mark Ewert
Marcus Ewert, previously known as Mark Ewert, is an American writer, actor and director, living in San Francisco.Marcus Ewert began making and appearing in films in the 1990s. He has appeared in the Gus Van Sant short film Four Naked Boys and a Gun, in Sadie Benning's Flat Is Beautiful, and the...
, Vaginal Davis
Vaginal Davis
Vaginal Davis is an American genderqueer performing artist, painter, independent curator, composer, and writer. Davis's name is a homage to activist Angela Davis.-Life and career:Davis is often associated with the formation of the Queer-Core Zine Movement...
, Calvin Johnson and Joel Gibb
Joel Gibb
Joel Gibb is a Berlin-based Canadian artist and singer-songwriter who leads the "gay church folk" group The Hidden Cameras. He was born in Kincardine, Ontario.-Career:...
.
In March 2011, The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
) featured a program of Treleaven's films as part of the Queer Cinema from the Collection: Today and Yesterday program, curated by artist AA Bronson
AA Bronson
AA Bronson, OC, is an artist, magazine publisher and curator who co-founded the artists' group General Idea.-General Idea:The General Idea artists group was founded in 1969 by Bronson, Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz...
and Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film, at The Museum of Modern Art.
Publications and Zines
Concurrent with the documentary Queercore: A Punk-u-mentary, Treleaven created an illustrated zineZine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
project called This Is The Salivation Army (1996–1999): a mix of punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, and industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
aesthetics, alongside homages to iconoclasts like William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin
Brion Gysin was a painter, writer, sound poet, and performance artist born in Taplow, Buckinghamshire.He is best known for his discovery of the cut-up technique, used by his friend, the novelist William S. Burroughs...
, William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, and Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
. The zine was a seeding ground for a variety of concepts and styles that would continue to appear in Treleaven's visual art. Books, zines and independently produced publications continue to be a recurring motif throughout his work.
In 2006 a book marking the 10th anniversary of the This Is The Salivation Army project was published by Printed Matter
Printed matter
Printed matter is a term to describe printed material produced by printers or publishers, such as books, magazines, booklets, brochures and other publicity materials and in some cases, newspapers...
(NY) and Art Metropole
Art Metropole
Art Metropole was founded in 1974 by the Canadian artists' group General Idea as a not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the laws of the province of Ontario. It is located in Toronto, Canada....
(Toronto), containing an entire reprint of the zines alongside more recent drawings and collages.
Treleaven's contribution to artist publications was most recently acknowledged in the book, In Numbers: Serial Publications by Artists Since 1955
Filmography
- Last 7 Words (2009), actors: Genesis P-OrridgeGenesis P-OrridgeGenesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
, soundtrack by Locrian (Terence Hannum & André Foisy) - Silver (2006), actors: AA BronsonAA BronsonAA Bronson, OC, is an artist, magazine publisher and curator who co-founded the artists' group General Idea.-General Idea:The General Idea artists group was founded in 1969 by Bronson, Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz...
, soundtrack by Andrew Zealley - Gold (2006), actors: Genesis P-OrridgeGenesis P-OrridgeGenesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
and Lady Jaye Breyer P-OrridgeLady Jaye Breyer P-OrridgeLady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge was the chosen name of Jacqueline Mary Breyer, an American nurse, keyboardist and singer with PTV3 and Thee Majesty...
, soundtrack by Andrew Zealley - Bugcrush (2006), original story. Written and directed by Carter SmithCarter SmithCarter Smith, is an American film director and fashion photographer.-Life and career:A native of Topsham, Maine, Smith moved to New York City after graduating from Mt. Ararat High School in 1989. He enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology but later dropped out to pursue a career in...
- Lustre (2005), actors: Massimo & Pierce of Black Sun ProductionsBlack Sun ProductionsBlack Sun Productions is the project of sound, visual and performance artists & activists Massimo & Pierce.-Biography:Black Sun Productions is the project of sound, visual and performance "artivists" Massimo & Pierce, also known as the Anarcocks....
, soundtrack by Andrew Zealley - The Salivation Army (2002), actors: Kevin DrewKevin DrewKevin Drew is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene...
- Beastboy (2002), actor: Andrew Cecil
- He Is the Boss Of Me (2001), video for The Hidden CamerasThe Hidden CamerasThe Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music"...
- Queercore: A punk-u-mentary (1996)
External links
- An introduction to Scott Treleaven's visual art
- Artwork by Scott Treleaven
- Genesis P-Orridge writing about Scott Treleaven
- "The Salivation Army Black Book"
- Official site of Scott Treleaven
- This Is The Salivation Army zine page at ZineWikiZineWikiZineWiki is an open-source online wiki devoted to zines, fanzines, small press publications, chapbooks, and independent media. It covers the history, production, distribution and culture of the small press.-History:...