BEARPAD makes large, colorful wooden cut-outs of big friendly affectionate bubs. We've put em up in galleries, at parties, in the woods for bear runs, and at queer arts festivals. These fun, sex positive, and big bodied fellas are up all over the world, but we're always lookin for new places to spread cozy BEARPAD vibes.
LONE STAR SALOON SHOW DECEMBER 2022 (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
We did a bunch of laser cut outs for this holiday show at the Lone Star, painting them bright colors and mounting them to the wall.
LIMINAL SPACE EXHIBITION (CIRCLE CHURCH, SANTA CRUZ, CA)
COZYSPACE debut
TRANS AWARE EXHIBITION (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
California State Senator Scott Wiener put out a call for artists to participate in an exhibit by and about trans people called TRANS AWARE, curated by KT Seibert. BEARPAD applied with two existing pieces, previously seen at Something Queer, Queers of the Fatosphere, Electroluxx, Lazy Bear, and the Queer Arts Featured storefront in San Francisco. Not only did we get in, but our piece Best Bubs was featured in a write-up in ARTFORUM!
WESTERN EXPOSURE XMAS 2022 (CCBC, PALM SPRINGS, CA)
We had so much fun at the Halloween event, we returned to Palm Springs for Xposure Xmas. We again created custom graphics that Xposure printed as they had for DADDY LAND, and we installed the VIDEO SLING again. We premiered more interactive projected visuals, this time with brightly colored edits of erotic films inhabiting the bodies of the viewers. The inflatable chode was installed for one night at the Barracks, a local leather bar.
BEARRISON STREET FAIR 2022 (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
For the second annual street fair, we put up some of the bubs we had at Lazy Bear early that summer in a different context, flanking the main stage and elsewhere.
WESTERN EXPOSURE HALLOWEEN 2022 (CCBC, PALM SPRINGS, CA)
BEARPAD had the opportunity to work with Western Xposure, an event held regularly at the CCBC nude men's resort in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs. In celebration of Halloween, we decorated the resort with original artwork of playful monster archetypes (and, of course, big men). The larger pieces are wooden cutouts handcrafted on site (in over 100 degree weather), while some of the smaller ones were manufactured by Western Xposure's print shop. We also experimented with visual projections, premiering the VIDEO SLING, a closed-loop fluxus inspired interactive installation for exhibitionists, and a long-form colorful psychedelic video mix project featuring classic bear erotic films. And, of course, the inflatable chode made an appearance. [CHECK OUT VIDEO WALKTHROUGH HERE]
SOME ARE CAMP 2022 (GUERNEVILLE, CA)
Some Are Camp is a druggier, draggier, weekend camp out following Lazy Bear with a more diverse crowd of weirdos that perform and hang out by the river. This year we brought the inflatable chode, as seen below.
LAZY BEAR 2022 (GUERNEVILLE, CA)
For Lazy Bear 2022, we donated our time by decorating the core of the event, the bonfire area. Here we made our biggest piece yet, a 20'x8' neon foursome which framed the DJ booth and our projection mapped chodes hanging behind. Throughout the grounds we created a queer wonderland of horny shifting colors and shapes, 13 pieces in all. Debuting at the event, was our custom 8 foot tall inflatable chode which was lit from the inside at night. Can't wait for next year! [CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO WALKTHROUGH HERE]
ELECTROLUXX - PRIDE 2022 (THE MIDWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
QUEERS OF THE FATOSPHERE 2022 (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
As part of the National Queer Arts Festival (funded by SFQCC), BEARPAD had the opportunity to create an art installation for the event QUEERS OF THE FATOSPHERE in June 2022. Featuring performances by Rawiyah Tariq, Kevin Seaman, and works by Baruch Porras-Hernandez, the show celebrated big-bodied queer individuals. We showcased over a dozen physical bubs - some featuring digital projection mapping - to a full house at the American Bookbinder’s Museum in San Francisco.
SOMETHING QUEER 2022 (LAKE COUNTY, CA)
A queer community gathering in Northern California held at Saratoga Springs Retreat Center, just a couple hours north of San Francisco. The event is hosted by a nonprofit led by a diverse volunteer Board of Directors who are deeply rooted in the Bay Area queer community. The gathering is 3 sparkling days of peace, companionship, queer love, body positivity, education, art, movement, healing, and music.
OUTSIDER FEST 2022 (AUSTIN, TX)
OUTsider Fest, a transmedia experiential queer arts festival in Austin Texas, invited us to install some bubs outside around the performance spaces of The Vortex in February of 2022. Logistically, we weren't able to build the bubs at our home and truck em out to Texas. Fortunately, OUTsider provided a garage and yard space where we managed to create seven of em in about a day and a half. The venue was close to the build site and installation happened the morning after we finished. Two of the largest pieces ended up at The Iron Bear, a bar in Austin. [see video below for a walkthrough of the installation]
WESTERN EXPOSURE'S "DADDYLAND" 2022 (PALM SPRINGS, CA)
In collaboration with Wes Fisher and the crew at Western Exposure, BEARPAD supplied custom graphics which were digitally printed and set up at CCBC by staff in Palm Springs as part of a free form play space dubbed "DADDYLAND". Though our ideal is making unique art by hand for each event with wood and paint, the possibilities of digital printing made the "chode tree" a reality, and we aren't mad about the results.
LONE STAR 2019-2022 (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
The Lone Star Saloon in San Francisco's historic SOMA district is known as "Bear Bar USA" and a perfect fit for some fuzzy cozy thick BEARPAD bubs. Shows at the Lone Star utilized an on site digital projector to add a layer of movement. For the installation in 2021, the first animation below was altered to shift slowly over the period of hours, making for a unique experience every time it was viewed. The show in 2019 utilized the fire animation below with flickering video occasionally peeking through of classic and home spun porn films - the bubs gathered around the campfire giving a feeling of timeless intimate interaction and community.
INDEXICAL 2021 (SANTA CRUZ, CA)
BEARPAD was tasked with an installation and performance for Indexical, a Santa Cruz gallery and experimental music venue. The Hugging Treee functioned as an immersive interpretation of a known gay cruising area in Northern California. Projectors were used to cast shifting linework onto these colorful bubs, with lighting accents designed to make the colors pop. Two 12 foot tall bubs - originally created for Lazy Bear 2021 - were installed in the back, flanking BEARPAD for their musical performance. In addition to the live show, an original composition was formulated through the sonification of data derived from physical touch between the two of us - a mysterious soundtrack that echoed throughout the space in our absence.
LAZY BEAR 2021 (GUERNEVILLE, CA)
Lazy Bear is a nonprofit based in San Francisco. Once a year, they throw a fundraising party in Guerneville, primarily attended by people who identify as part of the queer bear community. For their 2021 party, we created our biggest bubs yet, two of em, 12 feet tall a piece, with a support structure to ensure they could handle a little bit of weathering. They were installed at the nightly bonfire gathering and used to support a screen above DJs where BEARPAD projected visual art utilizing classic liquid light show techniques.