Marisa Carnesky in Jewess Tattooess at UCLA: Walking on a forward-tilting stage, a nude Carnesky cloaked herself in an ultra-Orthodox-chic ’40s coat with matching hat, and stepped into a pair of pumps. Closed-toe shoes that happened to be preloaded with blood capsules. Taking slow steps, she never looked down as the blood provocatively oozed up and over the tops of her feet.


Mayumi Tanaka in Voyage at REDCAT: The beautiful Tanaka, part of the Kyoto-based collective Dumb Type, lay on a chrome stage which mirrored a giant video projection behind her. She wore a romantic floral-print dress and high heels, reciting a monologue that was a long list of “I wish”es, climaxing with, “I wish I could sleep in a coffin.”


Maria La Ribot in Más Distinguidas at Highways: La Ribot was nude, if you could call a fire-red-dyed muff nude. She dressed herself by hanging frocks around her neck, sandwich board signs over her shoulders, and in her best move, she stepped into an old-fashioned wooden folding chair, lay on her back and noisily manipulated the seat to create the commotion of frantic intercourse.


Toxic Titties in Wet Lesbian U-Haul at Outfest: Toxic Titties took on the role of fashion police at an event heavy on dykey academia. And talk about tongue-in-cheek: The young, up-and-rising collective (Heather Cassils, Clover Leary and Julia Stein) that cites all things ’70s feminist as an inspiration went on a quest to eradicate the site of all mullets and flannel.

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