A MASSIVE assortment of the various clown looks I did throughout 2014, starting after I auditioned for Barnum and Bailey. By this point I had been doing clown for a few years (and been interested for MUCH longer without pursuing it), but it wasn't until Barnum and Bailey put out that casting call that I really considered doing it professionally. When I auditioned I originally wanted to apply as a fire dancer, however they told me they were only auditioning clowns, so I took 3 seconds to think about it and was like "Fuck it, let's do this" I landed the gig, and they told me they'd call me in 2 months to let me know when and where I'd meet the train to join up and go to their clown school. I spent those two months learning everything I didn't already know about being a circus clown; I practiced acrobatics and pantomime, I learned balloon twisting, face painting, and the Barnum and Bailey style makeup methods, I picked up juggling on top of my other object manipulation, and I really spent just about 24/7 doing everything I could to be prepared when the time came around. But after two months I still hadn't heard anything back, and I started calling and trying to figure out what was up- Then I emailed my auditioner, and it bounced back as an invalid email. I was a bit devastated thinking that I had been passed up, however as it turned out they had been having financial issues and the auditions I went to as a whole amounted to nothing, for any of us, as Barnum had decided they couldn't afford to train and hire new clowns as they were on the decline. So, instead of taking this as some devastating news and issue, I decided to look at everything I'd learned and just go for it Solo, as a party clown and balloon artist- I was already doing parties as a firedancer, so this was really just an expansion, and now I was doing it all as a clown! It wasn't long after this decision that I landed on the name The Ubiquitous Dr Strangelove, and stepped away from the joke name Kato The Clown that I had previously been using, and things just went crazy from there. __________ Some notes regarding clowning as it pertains to the looks I did this year: First off, the Rainbow Afro (Images #10 and 11 in this post)- As I said in an earlier post I had to get this wig for a client who specifically requested it. I did not know yet that the wig was problematic or the history of racism and bigotry that the wig represents- I went into much more detail about this already, but you can never belabor the point when it comes to these things, and just like I wasn't aware then many new clowns today are also unaware; But these wigs tie themselves directly to the early 1900s Minstrel Shows, and were integrated into clowning and color changed from black to rainbow to be more appealing to younger audiences- They then blew up and became the Status Quo in clowning with people forgetting the history.
Never forget the history, be aware of it, and show respect to the marginalized peoples that early- and mid-century clown culture was mocking and dehumanizing by just not fucking doing it. The Black/White split face (Images #19-20 in this post)- This one isn't necessarily a problematic look, in my opinion- but I don't really think MY opinion is the important one. I originally did this look as a means to represent the idea of Dichotomy through my clown, and the longer this look is in my history the more gross I feel about it. No one has ever reprimanded me about it, however it is a bit too close to blackface for my liking and current sensibilities- and I would urge ANY clown who wishes to do a similar look to keep that in mind, as Blackface is a massively problematic stain on the history of clowning, that also comes from the Minstrel Show culture stated above. It was never my intention to represent this look as blackface, and anyone looking at it can probably see that- but that doesn't mean the parallels aren't there or that it isn't an issue that I treaded into.
Brown Clown #2 (image #24 in this set) - At first glance this image probably doesn't seem problematic and my intentions behind it were actually aimed at supporting marginalized groups- but just like the split-face look, the longer it's in my history the more problematic I feel like it is. This look was what I decided on for a Thanksgiving party I was hired for. Being someone who has NEVER celebrated thanksgiving, and who stands with the Native American tribes and sentiments, and opposes the ideas of colonialism and genocide, I wanted to do a look for this event that honored Native American cultures- and so I went into the vaults and referenced a spiritual figure from the Sioux and Great Plains tribes known as Heyoka. Heyoka is known to us White Folks as a Sacred Clown, and I have loved and respected the stories of Heyoka most of my life- however as a white dude who is not part of those cultures and who does not know enough about the implications of this figure within them, this look was an ill-advised attempt at honoring Heyoka and Native Americans. And not least of all because I had no way of actually speaking on these topics as I wore the look, to actually spread awareness and combat the mindsets of White America that makes them to this day still take MASSIVE issue with only bad-mouthing Thanksgiving or Columbus.
What I have learned since then is that in general, your clown should never represent a race or spiritual figure within a culture or closed practice, and that even while the intention behind it may have been admirable it is still problematic of me to have done. But, you learn and you grow, and the only thing you can do is try to pass on what you've learned through mistakes you've made.
