Tangled Garden

“Tangled Garden” is an experimental documentary triptych exploring representation, desire and meaning from a queer perspective – a glance, which is philosophical, political and erotic. Produced from 1992 to 1994. “Tangled Garden, Act I, Scene II” (12 min. 1993) begins the filmmaker’s journey by exploring the history of the purebred Jersey cow, and suggesting that when we look at the “other,” it is often ourselves we see reflected back. “Tangle Garden, Act II, Scene II” (13 min. 1992) examines the male nude in the history of Western Art, and offers a personal interpretation of the eroticism inherent in these images which both challenges rigid dichotomies of gay and straight, and reminds gay white men of their investment in the norms of masculinity. “Between You and Me, Tangled Garden, Act III, Scene I” (10 min. 1994) looks at the internalization of homophobia and fatalism present in mainstream representations of the AIDS pandemic, as it reflects on the conflict between grief and desire in a gay man’s psyche. The film challenges the viewer to turn their red ribbons into real action both on the streets and in bed, and to resist the industry of AIDS.