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Rachel Mason
Born
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Known forPerformance, sculpture, music, film
SpouseBuck Angel

Rachel Mason is an American filmmaker whose work includes performance art, music, films and multimedia projects.

Early life and education

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Mason was born in Los Angeles, California, to Karen and Barry Mason.[1] She has an older brother, Micah, and a younger brother, Josh.[1] Her mother was initially a journalist and her father worked as a special effects engineer in the film industry.[1] When her parents got into financial difficulties in the mid-1970s, they got jobs distributing porn magnate Larry Flynt's Hustler magazine as well as gay porn publications. In 1982, Mason's parents took over the gay porn bookshop Circus of Books in West Hollywood, without telling their children what they did for a living.[1] They also produced gay porn videos, starring Jeff Stryker.[2]

Mason attended Wonderland Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) and Cleveland High School in Reseda. Mason received a BFA in art from UCLA and an MFA from Yale University. In New York she worked as an assistant to video and performance artist Joan Jonas.[3]

Career

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Her debut feature film The Lives of Hamilton Fish is a musical art film with no dialogue. Mason often performed the entire soundtrack live in front of an audience while touring the film to museums and festivals. The film's story is based on a true coincidence Mason discovered.[4] Two obituaries of two men, both named Hamilton Fish, were printed on the front page of a newspaper from January 16, 1936.[5] Hamilton Fish (aka Albert Fish) had been a serial killer while Hamilton Fish II had been a statesman. The latter was a descendant of 18th century politician Alexander Hamilton,[6] who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr; a large part of the film was shot on location at the Morris–Jumel Mansion where Burr once lived.[7] The film also portrays one of the first known psychics, The White Crow, aka Leonora Piper.[8]

The Lives of Hamilton Fish premiered at London's Raindance Film Festival in 2015,[6] and Mason performed with the film as a live performance at museums including LACMA,[9] Art in General, Henry Art Gallery,[10] Corcoran Gallery, Albany Institute of History and Art,[11] The Horse Hospital (London), Pineapple Underground Film Festival (Hong Kong), and Night Gallery (Los Angeles).[12]

Mason's 2019 documentary feature film Circus of Books was acquired by Netflix and executive produced by Ryan Murphy.[13] It is based on the story of the historic gay landmark Circus of Books, a book and magazine store that her parents ran from 1982 until 2019.[14][1] The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2019[15][16][17] and was the opening night gala presentation at the 2019 Outfest film festival.[18][19] It was available for streaming on Netflix on April 22, 2020.[1][20]

"Rachel's art is fluid — it's always easing in and out of different forms. She is a songwriter and performer; she's an actress, of a sort, who performs as if channeling the poetic inner souls of controversial leaders like Fidel Castro and Manuel Noriega." -- Claudine Ise[21]

Her latest documentary A Update on Family which centered on family vloggers Myka and James Stauffer controversy. [22][23]

In October 2023, Mason joined the Museum of Neon Art's "Light in the Dark: Queen Narratives in Neon" exhibition,[24] participating in a panel discussion about LGBTQ+ connections to neon art and the Glendale, California community. Other panelists included museum trustee Eric Lynxwiler, sex educator Buck Angel, neon artist Dani Bonnet, glendaleOUT member Paul Manchester, and activist Shant Jaltorossian of GALAS LGBTQ+ Armenian Society.[25]

Personal life

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Rachel Mason's life partner is Buck Angel.[26] She has a son from a previous relationship.[26]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Muhammad, Jaja (December 11, 2019). "Our parents ran a secret gay porn empire". Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "BBC World Service - Outlook, Our parents' secret gay porn empire". BBC. November 20, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "Rachel Mason". Rachel Mason. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Wise, Damon (October 2, 2015). "Raindance- Rachel Mason on Making the Leap from Art to Film". review. No. October 2015. Variety Magazine. Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  5. ^ "The Cannibal and the Statesman: Rachel Mason Performs Her Karaoke Rock-Opera Film". Observer. June 4, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Wise, Damon (October 2, 2015). "Raindance – Rachel Mason on Making the Jump from Art to Film with 'The Lives of Hamilton Fish'". Variety. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "The Lives of Hamilton Fish: A 'Strange In-Between' of a Rock Opera, Music Video, Art Piece". Bedford + Bowery. July 21, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Gorce, Tammy La (2015). "The Film 'The Lives of Hamilton Fish' Is About a Politician and a Criminal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  9. ^ Duelund, Theis (June 23, 2015). "Murder Ballad Musical The Lives of Hamilton Fish Screens at LACMA Tonight Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  10. ^ "Rachel Mason: The Lives of Hamilton Fish - Henry Art Gallery". henryart.org. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "The Lives of Hamilton Fish: A Film Song by Rachel Mason - Albany Institute of History and Art". www.albanyinstitute.org. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Interview: Rachel Mason". Echoes And Dust. August 7, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 25, 2019). "Netflix Acquires Tribeca Doc 'Circus of Books,' Exec Produced by Ryan Murphy". Variety. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Preserving WeHo's Circus of Books: A Documentary by Its Owners' Daughter". WEHOville. June 23, 2017. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  15. ^ "Circus of Books". Tribeca Film Festival. 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Dry, Jude (April 26, 2019). "'Circus of Books' Review: A Perfect Portrait of Mom and Pop's Gay Porn Shop". IndieWire. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  17. ^ Uhlich, Keith (April 29, 2019). "'Circus of Books': Film Review | Tribeca 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  18. ^ "Opening Night Gala: Circus of Books". Outfest. 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  19. ^ Debruge, Peter (July 23, 2019). "Film Review: 'Circus of Books'". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  20. ^ "Circus of Books | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  21. ^ "Center Field | Characters, Not Caricatures: The Multifarious Art of Rachel Mason | Art21 Magazine". Art21 Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  22. ^ "Director Rachel Mason Talks New Series on Family Vlogging and Status of 'Rust' Documentary". The Hollywood Reporter.
  23. ^ "Myka Stauffer, YouTuber who 're-homed' her adopted son, is subject of new documentary". The Independent.
  24. ^ "MONA Presents Light in the Dark: Queer Narratives in Neon". Signs of the Times Magazine. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  25. ^ "Thank you for helping us make history today as the last program of the Circa: Queer Histories festival organized by @oneinstitutela". October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  26. ^ a b Cooper, Michael (April 27, 2020). "Time For Tea: Circus of Books' Rachel Mason Talks About her Family's Landmark LGBTQ Business - LA Weekly". www.laweekly.com. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
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