Hard-core porno paid for by taxpayers via SNP quango

[IcakethereforeIam]

'dyke identifying' is an offensive new one for me. It stands to reason that such an (ahem) artist would be au fait with gender ideology.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/10/snp-quango-gave-public-money-to-porn-masquerading-as-art/ sorry archive.ph seems to be having a moment.

It's not an insignificant sum of money. The ferrets are reversing. But how can they justify bunging someone so much money without knowing precisely what it would be spent on. And, if I understand correctly, they'd already paid for and seen a taster.

When this masterbate, sorry, masterpiece is...erm...finished. The audience will be told to remove their shoes. I'd hate to think what they're stepping in.

Yes, publish the application. I'm not certain that simulated sex would be much better if it would, on film, be indistinguishable from the real thing.

I googled her the other day. The “artist” behind this appears to have been educated at an exclusive Dulwich girls’ school (although her LinkedIn and Nat Theatre of Scotland blurb seems to have disappeared from search results when I tried to double check now before posting today). Good to see the SNP really sticking it to the London elites they rail against.

Not surprised.

Hm. There's a post on Facebook from October 2023, describing Rein thus:

'Rein tells the fantastical and epic tale of different subcultures of dykes living and fucking in the rural Scottish highlands. The work uses no spoken language, instead developing movement choreography and sex choreography to explore playful power dynamics, kinks and aftercare - challenging the binaries of what is seen as ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’, what is ‘wild’ and what is ‘behaved’. For this residency, Aniela will be working with director Leonie Rae Gasson to continue to develop new choreographic material for filmed group scenes, using neurodivergent dramaturgy and a multi-sensory approach.
Leonie Rae Gasson / Molly Mae Whawell
Aniela will run a workshop on Thursday 26 October from 11am to 1pm as part of her Residency.

The workshop is open to all those who identify as queer and all gender expressions. All body-based practitioners are welcome and this workshop draws on work we are developing to create space for many physicalities, movement vocabularies, energy levels to co-exist together.'

https://archive.ph/y4ZBG#selection-479.0-501.274

'Creative Scotland insists the description of Gasson’s project has changed significantly since it awarded her a previous grant of £23,219 in 2022 and the £84,555 grant in January this year.'

Be interested to see how that's a change?

This is a scot gov "adjacent" body you don't actually think they'll release anything do you 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yes, but so redacted it'll be like a photocopy with the lid left open.

SotGov like to keep everything hidden, can't have the public knowing anything. They'll just try brush it all under the carpet and blame the Tories, as usual.

I agree. Its the same in Wales. I think the lack of accountability is a product of small countries. Small country, small population, so you get the same people circling around the same public institutions and terrible group think and homogeneous outlook develops. You just don't get the challenge that you need for really rigorous thinking or governing.

It was the same problem in Iceland that led to their financial collapse. Everything was done on relationships rather than rigorous critique.

Ok, if that was the description in the grant I can see why they didn't think it was full on porn! I watch a lot of dance and have been to a couple of dance shows which have very small sections choreographing sex scenes (both were abuse scenes). They could have read this and thought it was a dance/ movement piece about the dynamics of relationships that are negotiated in sex rather than lots of people actually being filmed shagging. I mean, for a lot of dance shows, especially contemporary, if you didn't read the blurb you would have very little idea what the piece was meant to be about. The translation from the blurb to the dance is not normally so literal!

You can also see it ticking a lot of diversity boxes as they read it. So edgy! So diverse!

Fair enough. I hadn't come across the term 'sex choreography' before.

The DM have published a, imo, cracking article on this, including the backstop of Ms (Mx?) glasson and Creative Scotland. Well worth a read. I'm glad I caught it.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13203117/How-earth-did-luvvies-Creative-Scotland-end-spending-110-000-public-cash-bankroll-hardcore-porn-film.html

Iceland might not fit - but I also wonder if part of the issue isn't that they see themselves as oppressed by some kind of "baddies." I see that in Canada, there is this animosity towards, and also a sense of being both lesser and better than the US. This seems to drive a lot of what goes on in the public political discourse. The feel virtuous in comparison and want to stand against whatever the Americans are doing.

I know in the past, like decades ago, there were complaints that publicly funded art was too safe, and didn't push boundaries.

I am starting to think that might have been for good reason.

You have to wonder what other garbage gets funded by CS that the public have no idea about ? We would never have
known about this if it hadn't of been for that Bonnie Prince Bob page.

There remains a suspicion that certain artists are favoured by the present SNP/Green Scottish Government's progressive agenda

Hmm. CS is a separate body entirely. I'm sure there may ne cronyism but as far as I know they are quite capable of being shitwit nepotists all on their very own.

Wtf is neurodivergent dramaturgy?

I read on here once a theory that cultures which had previously been quite repressed and narrow minded (and the Scotland I grew I in was as racist, sexist, homophobic, judgemental and sanctimonious as they come) seem to over-correct when they try to come out of this - and go way too far in the opposite direction. Ireland fits that theory too.

It just seems that anything goes in Scotland just now. And that demonstrating showing how kind and broad minded and accepting we are these days is more important than the boring stuff - like fixing the bloody potholes, the schools, the healthcare system.

the political talent pool is shallow in Scotland.

It doesn't entirely surprise me that the wording didn't raise any red flags (though possibly examples of earlier work should have done). It's ordinary arty wording but Gasson has taken it very literally and ignored the unspoken social and professional boundaries around artwork.

I don't know if I should say this here but... when most people see the word "neurodivergent" they think "how lovely! how inclusive!" But as the parent of a DC with autism I think "uh-oh - watch out for boundary issues and language issues".

I was wondering how this was brought to the public and, apparently, Creative Scotland's attention. I was hopeful although sceptical that it was someone at CS that sounded the alarm.

I'd not heard of BPB before? Do you have a link?

Just in case anyone doesn't wish to give the DM clicks (fair enough) or read such a long article, this extract is interesting

Yet, it is not as if Creative Scotland was unfamiliar with Ms Gasson's oeuvre. Five years ago, the self-styled 'multi-reality director' directed a Scottish youth theatre performance in which a 16-year-old used sex toys live on stage.

The show, which was called Love & Machinery and described as 'a party on a stage' was part of a Youth Theatre Arts Scotland event in Edinburgh.

The blurb for the show, performed by Lyceum Youth Theatre actors, said: 'Under the guidance of some twentysomethings, some teenagers and a child explore what they think about relationships, sex & what it means to have a good time.'
It added: 'Participatory theatre with Stevie Nicks and sex toys.'

It is understood the show encouraged its young cast to 'make sex toys out of the audience's possessions' and to discuss their sexuality in a 'modern on-stage riot'.
One art critic gave the work five stars and said that opening up 'a conversation about sex and its many misconceptions is a bold move for 16-year-olds. Especially in front of their parents'.

Quite what the parents thought of it is not recorded. It is worth noting that the show's description has been altered on Ms Gasson's website to remove any mention of sex toys and children.

It is also worth noting that one of the event's backers was Creative Scotland.

my bold

WTAF!!

Yep. That is all archived.

CS would have been perfectly happy with all of this had it not got so much attention, I suspect. £84k is a fucking huge amount of money. It's a fairly onerous process to apply for a meagre grant for a few hundred. I'd imagine that a show that's already been through R&D would have a fair bit of detail to it to get that amount.

But eh, maybe if you're one of the chosen ones it's a different process.

@IcakethereforeIam he's just some guy I think on twitter, that's how I found out about him. twitter bonnieprincebob
He makes wee films holding the SG to account. He seems quite left wing as he is into Mark Fisher (now deceased who called out Cancel Culture and I think, don't quote me on this, killed himself because he himself was a victim of cancel culture). Bonnie Prince Bob has a short film in which he describes the Cancel Culture and the theories of Mark Fischer and I think he feels this is Scotland basically. I do think Mark Fisher got everything spot on ,except the stuff about Russell Brand ( who is alleged to have sexually abused many women and girls ) I would replace the person Mark Fischer wrote about with Glinner or JK perhaps. Interesting stuff

I suppose that applying for arts grants is like applying for any other grant, succeed once and you're likely to succeed again especially if you attract some publicity (in my line of work they call it "impact") which you can do in the arts by being controversial. Until the tide turns on your controversy and the publicity turns ugly, which it seems to have done.

I'd heard of Mark Fisher probably through Glinner.

I tried googling 'Love and Machinery', just got lots of links to Wham's Love Machine 😃

Probe launched.

NOT LIKE THAT.

https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/holyrood-launches-probe-into-creative-scotland-funding-of-hardcore-sex-film-project-4567808