Statements by Todd Pendu

people who are ruled by passion do passionate things... they are great lovers, great artists, but are often prone to temper flare-ups and sometimes violent behaviors... you can't ask for all the positive sides of passion... If you want one side, you've got to have them all. Passion is always a monster... sometimes it's a loveable one, but don't be surprised when the monster in the heat of passion turns on you and devours you...

Statements by Todd Pendu

I think almost every Marxist/post-Marxist writer misunderstands the notion of a "so-called" autonomous art... autonomy in art is not about a separation of art from everyday life or a new division of labor... it's about art's autonomy from morality, especially morality imposed by bourgeois society's institutions. Art should be free to do whatever the imagination desires and live outside the confines and limits of human laws. Ex. an author who writes about murder is not a murderer. That's the autonomy that the early art-for-art's-sake artists were fighting for.

Statements by Todd Pendu

Noise as a form of "codified sound" is made by frontiers people, purveyors, and trailblazers but also by hacks, poseurs, and wannabes. It's rarely made by young teenagers. It's something people come to after years of making other stuff first. Why? One reason is that when anyone starts playing an instrument, they can't do much with it. They work so hard to make it sound like something recognizable. After they've done that for a while, they can begin to appreciate effects and tones and random sounds and can begin to shape and work them into something that feels complete. There are those people though who never wanted to make music in the first place and started right out making weird sounds and shit, but they tend to be on the upper planes of mental development and although there are not many of them, I'm glad they exist.

Have you ever been to a noise show, and right before someone begins their set, they adjust one of their input jacks and it makes a jarring sound through the speakers and everyone puts their hands over their ears while grimacing ... right before settling back in for a loud, fucking ripping heavy set... that's funny because the only 'real' noise made that night was that jarring abrasive sound coming from an input channel. The blistering, heavy set that followed was sound meant to create an effect and affect the audience in a certain way. I wish someone would put on a set that just involved plugging and unplugging their equipment into loud speakers while play acting that something was wrong and then after 5 minutes or so, just looked at the audience to signal that the set was over. A few would get it, but most everyone would at best be pissed or at worst, disappointed.

My point is, who really cares about what's noise or not noise.... I created the term Noise-not-noise which makes more sense to me. None of us really like noise... we like Noise-not-noise. Capital N noise. All of our industrial and noise records are records we cherish... when 9 car horns are going off at the same time at an intersection while you're talking to your friend on a cell phone and you can't hear what your friend is saying, that's noise and it sucks. Horn honking in general sucks. The sounds of the subway however, are more enjoyable. There's a natural reverb in the tunnels which makes the screeching of the tracks resonate beautifully. That could be considered Noise-not-noise. Lowercase n noise is rarely enjoyable, because it has no purpose... no narrative. It's just alone, pointless, and annoying.

Statements by Todd Pendu

Don't make boring art. I don't mean the kind of art that's so boring it's interesting, because that would be considered interesting art. I mean art that's truly boring and uninteresting, but again, not the kind of art that is so uninteresting that it becomes interesting. I think you know what I mean... If the work slips out but finds itself back again inside the Zone of Interesting Arts, then all is OK.

If you're boring, so also will your art be. Not all interesting people make interesting art, but all interesting art is made by interesting people.

"DON'T BE LAZY, DON'T MAKE BORING ART."

Statements by Todd Pendu

The Avant-Garde as a term has obviously changed meanings over the years. I used to apply the term to nearly all art that my parents wouldn't understand. The words Avant-Garde as we know are a from a military term meaning "Advanced or Forward Guard". The idea that has been passed down is that all "forward-thinking" art is somehow Avant-Garde. This has led to all kinds of conflicts and difficulties in establishing a workable meaning without consistently running into contradictions. I see it as being allied with Leftist political thinking looking at its origin and use. I see it as antagonistic to the "art for art's sake" credo which has been decried by all Leftist critics. I was thinking about it recently and a simple definition occurred to me that although imperfect (being that it's 'simple'), is based on a common thread to the various movements that have been labeled Avant-Garde. This definition was previously obscured to me all these years because it was buried under too many theoretical debates and arguments. My definition reads, "The practice of the Avant-Gardist is the practice of making the Ordinary 'interesting' without changing very much of what makes IT ordinary." It is the opposite of the Romantic practices. The Avant-Gardist embraces the ordinary and instead of transcending it, is immersed in it; shoving it back in the face of the viewer in a kind of antagonistic literalism. The Avant-Gardist isn't attempting to create a visceral, ecstatic experience for the viewer; it's more a way to impose an intellectual context first, with emotional content being held as secondary or merely an accidental bi-product. That's really all it has been... from the bottle rack of Duchamp, to the silence of Cage, and onward, that is what the Avant-Gardist has done in practice. It is merely the Elevation of the Ordinary rather than Elevation from the Ordinary. This is why the political Left has had such a vested interest in the Avant-Garde and has argued against all other modern/post-modern era art movements labeling them as pro-Bourgeois, Escapist, and Self-Indulgent movements. The Avant-Garde has always carried within it the germ of Social Reform in its aim to overthrow the Bourgeoisie. This is also the reason that Leftist-Intellectuals have engaged in so much debate as to whether or not the Avant-Garde has even existed, and if so, who and what art is allowed into this marginalized group. Art that intends to Transcend Ordinariness (with the notable exceptions being Satire and Caricature) or cause Inward Reflection is unacceptable to the Leftist. (However, I'm not implying that Socialist Realism is somehow inevitable to this line of thinking or the only art that could be considered Leftist, in fact there is plenty of argument against that conclusion). I could say that all artists employing diverse techniques of estrangement (Ostranenie) to produce work with the intention to Transcend the Ordinary by creating works that could be considered Grotesque, Fantastic, Surreal, SuperNatural, Mystical, and so on... fall outside of the of this definition and are therefore not part of an Avant-Garde. It would clear up dialogue if this definition were used... one could argue the pros and cons of the Avant-Garde rather than trying to include or exclude what's in or out. One could say that the Dadaists were the perfect In-Between group who played both sides of the fence; the Surrealists, in contrast, were persistently attacked by Left in their time and ultimately were rejected by the Communist Party they tried to join. They considered themselves the Avant-Garde while the Avant-Garde rejected them. Really, as we know, the Avant-Garde is a completely unique trajectory and offshoot from the history of art... It was the creation of Art Institutions that gave it birth. It had no life before the 19th Century and even then only arose specifically in the West or any place that the West had colonized. I find that in order to stay away from academic arguments, one thing one must do is stay away from academic art, and the Avant-Garde is Academia 101.

Statements by Todd Pendu

The door is open and we are marching out in greater numbers everyday. We no longer care about art and music, really; instead we create or discover things to be looked at and/or to be listened to solely for the purpose of excitation of the senses and with intent to invoke an individual or collective ecstatic experience. We create visuals and sounds from a foundation based on the principles of Thee Aktions Ov Yes.

Statements by Todd Pendu

I think it's perfectly acceptable to like bad or mediocre art/music/etc... as long as you are critically aware of their deficiencies as great works. Discernment and judgment should be exercised always, but in the end, if you just like it, who's to stand against you? Trouble and concern should only arise in those who do not use their critical facilities and are unable to recognize the difference between good, bad, and all of the other shades. Being critical does not need to become an obsession or somehow rise above as being more important than emotional immediacy. Emotional immediacy though can lead to impulsiveness which is a negative trait. I am for intuitive immediacy not impulsive.

Statements by Todd Pendu

all occultists are artists, but far fewer artists are occultists

occultism and art are not mutually inclusive and at times are antagonistic

art of the occultist does not have to represent any occult themes

occult art can be aesthetically interesting, but it is primarily made of symbols expressing the desires, imagination, and Will of its maker for the purpose of evocation or invocation; not just a pretty image to look at in an art gallery

automatic drawing used in magick ritual is very different from automatic drawing as drawing

sigils (magickal monograms) are very different from abstract design

Statements by Todd Pendu

freedom comes through self-defined constraints... all other constraints are negatively restrictive and result in slavery

only rules created by yourself are legitimate... all others must be questioned and either accepted or rejected... your rules should never be fixed or static, they should remain dynamic and in flux

Statements by Todd Pendu

everyone is an artist, but not everyone makes good art, far fewer make great art

great art and good art are thus because they have something interesting to say

not all art has to be great; great art is different from good art and good art is different from mediocre art

bad art is bad art, but it's still art; good art can be bad

art is not a question and art is not an end

there are no limits or boundaries to push and there is no such thing as anti-art; there is only creation and destruction, and either can be considered artmaking processes

all art has a right to exist, but not all of it needs to be paid attention to; it's better to simply ignore bad art then to talk about it

What is the PenduCult of Ecstatic Experience?

What is the PenduCult of Ecstatic Experience?
It is a question more easily answered as one begins to make their own connections between the diverse group of artists and work that is on our site. (http://www.pendu.org) It could be un-easily non-reduced to an eclectic hodgepodge of esoteric magick and mysticism mixed with late 60's radical DIY anarchism and left-hand path tantric thought. It is a reclaiming of these ideas from the world of burn-outs, hippies, and poseurs by practicing these ideas in a Hardcore arena. The PenduCult is something different. Yes it's true, there are no new ideas idea here, I don't claim to have invented these ideas, but the presentation and combination of these ideas produces something very unique and different.

The PenduCult?
Le Pendu is the Hanged-Man... the 12th card of the Major Arcanum of the Tarot. The Hanged-Man is a card that is not easily understood in meaning. Most agree that the Hanged-Man has volunteered to be hung upside-down by one foot, the argument is in why he chose to do this. I see this Hanged-Man as one who has chosen to see the world in a new way and literally turns everything upside down; a pairing of opposites, a synthesis of contradictions. Some have seen him as a Buddha, some have seen him as Odin.

Ecstatic Experiences?
Ecstatic Experiences are reached through the transcendence of logical and analytical modes of thinking into irrational, euphoric states of being. You can call it getting off or getting high or getting fucked-up, whatever works. Automatic writing & drawing, magick, great sex, entheogenic & shamanistic visions, and many many other actions can produce different levels of ecstatic experiences.

Occultism, Adhocism, Eroticism
The Pendu Organization's motto is Occultism, Adhocism, Eroticism... What is the meaning of this triad?

-Occultism is the study or practice of the secret, mysterious, or supernatural arts.
-Adhocism aka bricolage is the pragmatic practice of creating structures from what is at hand ex. DIY projects, recycled & found objects, mishmash eclecticism, etc.)
-Eroticism is the arousal of sexual feeling by means of suggestion, symbolism, or allusion.

I see these -ism's as methods and strategies toward producing ecstatic experiences. If art is made in the meantime, I welcome that too.

Statements by Todd Pendu

"...art as ecstatic experience. Does it really matter which is called art by some and not by others? The analytical is a distraction from mysteries, pulling away the veil. I am interested in the overall effect of an artwork, not necessarily technical prowess. It's not important how an artist gets to the end. Crude art can be erotic and technical art can also be erotic; it's not a matter of only one or the other. Does it stimulate, arouse, or excite? Does it confuse, disorient, or estrange? These are the questions that matter. I'm interested in spontaneous ecstatic actions; emotive outbursts of creativity; raw expression derived from intuition and the pineal imagination; uninhibited tantrums of frenetic and vital energies; visceral and cathartic artforms and artworks. I'm interested in the unknowable; the dark and the secret..."

Physical Poetic Expression and Psychical Ecstatic Reception

Physical poetic expression and psychical ecstatic reception -- This is how I see the roles of artist and audience when it's art worth talking about. This is my approach to the arts whether they be visual, sound, or text-based. I don't really care about art the way most think about it. To me, it's about immersion; it's about 'getting off' (through the mind and senses). It's about creating trance-like states of consciousness; constructing transports to euphoria; producing tangible manufactured projections of visions and dreams. I could possibly get away with not using the word 'art' at all and instead focus on the close connection between Aesthetic, Sexual, and Mystical experiences as each have the potential to produce ecstatic experiences in individuals. Ecstatic Experience is not just about the 'high' or the climax, it's about arousal, suspension, and the slow rise to climax. Any activity or imaginative creation that can produce an ecstatic experience is what I'm interested in. Visuals, sounds, or writings that excite, that speed up the vital signs, that push the blood through the veins a little harder... - well, that's the good stuff...

Everyone Loves Noise!

Everyone loves noise, they really do... The biggest blockbuster movies are the noisiest films you'll ever see and bring in the largest audiences. Populist in every way.

Explosions, violence, chaos... Blockbuster filmic excitement is LOUD and CACOPHONOUS... a bombardment of the aural senses... I mean think about how loud people play their stereos at home with fighter jets screaming engines at Mach whatever speeds... Movies like Top Gun revolutionized the way movies did sound... High-speed car chases with revved engines, squealing tires, and the sound of crunching metal... Add it all up, the destruction, the screams, fist-pounding violence, the explosions... yes, the people love it!

Theaters spend millions of dollars developing newer speakers and sound systems to maximize the biggest bang for the buck; to make things louder, to make films noisier, more intense... The Industry wants to give more Noise to the people because people love Noise.

but ....

When we talk about noise as in noise music, things become much more unclear. The reason most people say they don't like noise is because they think of it in terms of music. When they watch a film, the sounds coincide with the visuals, therefore there's nothing difficult to get or to understand. However, it's difficult to get people into the idea that some musicians choose to make seemingly random sounds that are meant to just be listened to... even if many of those sounds comparatively aren't that different from what they hear in their Blockbuster films. You can see it happen again and again. If you score a film with a noise group, you can bring in a larger crowd and your positive responses afterward increase tenfold. Everone Loves Noise if it accompanies Visuals.

The People like their movies, not our Noise. Basically, if they can't gather together collectively and sing or clap or shout or cry together with the same purpose, then they really see no reason to listen to whatever sounds are being made. That's it... Our Noise will unlikely be listened to by Everyone, even though we know that Everyone Loves Noise.

What counts as an independent label?

What counts as an independent label? The debate has raged on and on over the years, but I think there's an easy answer to this... it's not about how large or small the label is; it's not about how much money it makes or doesn't... To me, an independent label is a label that does not answer to non-musician board members whose only interest is "bottom line"; investors and venture capitalists fit that category of board member. A label will sometimes seek board members out in order to fund future projects. In the relatively small cases where this leads to unfiltered patronage, then it's a good decision. The moment the label wants to put something out and it is decided that it will not sell enough copies to please the investors, then the label ceases to be independent. That record label is no longer independent because now it must seek approval from those who are protecting their financial stake and interest in the company. Independent labels should put out quality music regardless of risk. They should be willing to lose money if it doesn't work. If it does work and they do make money, then that's awesome; but independent labels ultimately make the choices of what they put out independent of financiers. If an independent label begins to make money, they can still be considered independent if they remain untied to stakeholders who don't care about music. Selling good music to people is a good thing and should be praised, not scorned. Being a huge independent label is a great thing; being a small one is as well.