On June 23, 2014, Joan Agajanian Quinn interviewed me for her cable access show The Joan Quinn Profiles in advance of my performance, Object of Her Affection at REDCAT in Los Angeles. Object of Her Affection is a solo object and puppet-based performance art piece centered on a woman, who in her search for true love develops intimate relationships with inanimate objects.
Joan Agajanian Quinn has been referred to as the Culture Queen and the Gertrude Stein of her day. Through the 1970s to the 1990s, her Los Angeles home became the nucleus of a pivotal artist interchange. Artists were drawn to capture the enigmatic Joan Quinn; showcasing their singular style in portraiture while embellishing the mythology she had built in the contemporary art world. Joan Quinn’s cultural dedication is never ending and has taken many paths. As West Coast editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, Joan’s constant snapshot taking for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner of emerging and established artists and her current The Joan Quinn Profiles cable television show has created an ongoing archive of visionaries shifting paradigms in the creative world.
Joan Quinn Profiles (YouTube)
Announcer: Stay tuned for The Joan Quinn Profiles. Joan served the State of California as a member on the Arts Council and on the Film Commission. She was formerly on the Architectural Commission and filled two terms on the Fine Arts Commission for the City of Beverly Hills. As an editor for Andy Warhol’s magazine, Interview, Conde Nast Publications, and the Hearst Corporation, Joan covered the world of fashion, the mysteries of food, the excitement of theatre, and the international art scene. She continues to find people who are on the cutting edge of their professions. Here’s Joan Agajanian Quinn…
Joan Quinn: Hi, I’m Joan Quinn and welcome back to the Joan Quinn Profiles. I’m here with writer, performance artist Marsian De Lellis, who was born and raised in Boston. [They] earned [their] bachelor of fine arts at the Art Institute of Chicago and [their] MFA in puppetry and the arts at the CalArts in Los Angeles – California Institute of the Arts. [Their] work is featured in the 11th annual NOW Festival of original work at REDCAT, which is right next to Disney Hall.
Marsian De Lellis: Yes
Joan Quinn: And what is it called? New –
Both: Original Works
JQ: N.O.W.?
MD: Right – That helps you remember it.
JQ: N.O.W.? Right
MD: And it’s timely.
JQ: So what is new original work? What are the other things going on down there?
MD: Well, I’m doing puppets and performing objects and there’s a lot of people doing dance and video related stuff with performance