Pink Narcissus 1971: Live Score from kraftwitch
kraftwitch (John Moletress) is a Philadelphia-based artist, producer, psychotherapist, DJ and founder of Three Wands Records.
Having obtained multiple graduate degrees in music (MA), dance performance (MFA) and psychology (MA), they take an embodied approach to sound with live performance and DJ sets that evoke moving between territories, intimacy and vast environments.
From 2009-2015, they helmed the experimental theatre collective Force Collision, which produced new works from Erik Ehn and Caridad Svich, performing at such venues as La Mama ETC, Homotopia Festival (UK), SHOUT Festival (UK), Kings College (UK), Plymouth University (UK), Abrons Art Center, Vortex Theatre (ATX) and The Walker. Their solo performance about Derek Jarman toured throughout the US and Europe. In 2010, they were awarded the Helen Hayes Award for New Theatre in DC. Additionally, they were a four-time grant recipient from the DC Arts Commission for theatre/performance. As a writer, they have contributed to American Theatre Magazine, Theatre Communications Group and NoPassport Press.
As a live artist, they have performed new works such as the 24hr durational performance Trigger Warnings and Various Attempts for FUSEBOX Festival (ATX) and Blood Typist at LACA (LA), as well as the live-streamed Untitled Cruising (both in UK/US). Additionally, they worked with Ron Athey and Sean Griffin on Gifts of the Spirit (LA). In 2016, they received multiple grants to show visual art work responding to the incoming Trump administration at Flashpoint Gallery (DC) titled Perversion Therapy.
In 2020, kraftwitch returned to music through the creating, coding and constructing of digital music instruments from found objects. Their following grew exponentially over the proceeding year as they livestreamed weekly performances from home during the pandemic. Additionally, they made several videos in the Colorado mountains, “playing” the materials of abandoned mines and other sites through the use of conductive digital interfaces. They took part in the worldwide 7-hour livestreamed opera “Full Pink Moon” May 2020, produced by Opera Povera and Gray Center for the Arts and Inquiry. They have live scored the films Pink Narcissus (1971) and Vampyr (1932) in both Denver and at INTERSECTIONS Festival DC.
Additionally, they have been an invited lecturer at such universities as George Washington University, McDaniel College, Kings College (UK), Johns Moore Liverpool (UK), Goldsmiths London (UK), Plymouth University (UK), and several others.
They co-produce CURFEW, a queer electronic music and performance series based in Philadelphia, for which they also are resident DJ. They have contributed radio shows to Hyde FM, Loose FM, Rinse FM, and their monthly radio show CHROMA can be heard on Great Circles Radio based in Philadelphia, PA. They have released recently with Three Wands Records, Warehouse Disco, Dragon’s Eye Recordings and Heavy. kraftwitch.com; IG: @kraftwitch
JAMES BIDGOOD | USA | 1971 | 70 MIN | NR | SILENT, ENGLISH | 4K
A screening of James Bidgood’s 1971 queer experimental erotic film PINK NARCISSUS with accompanying live score by multidisciplinary artist, kraftwitch (John Moletress).
Cast: Bobby Kendall, Don Brooks, Charles Ludlam, Arthur Williams
Director: JAMES BIDGOOD
Cast: Bobby Kendall, Don Brooks, Charles Ludlam, Arthur Williams
