Aaron Angello is co-curator of "e-Poetry: The Past, Present and Future of Electronic Poetry," both a showcase and laboratory for engaging works of digital literature, which comes to Counterpath Gallery + Performance Space at 7 p.m. tomorrow, on Saturday, May 26. "e-Poetry" will include multimedia installations and live readings from area poets, all exploring the interface between the written word and the tools of literary technology.

More >>

Photo by Sarah McMahon

Certified Customs window art, by Chuck Dorsey

Artist Chuck Dorsey crouches down, cutting a letter out of tape on the wall of Certified Customs, a tattoo, piercing and barber shop on South Broadway. He's wearing an old painter's shirt, splotched with bright colors, and drops his knife in his bag to pick up a fistful of brushes.

Dorsey's well-known in the South Broadway area. He's painted signs for many of the businesses in the area, and his antique style brightens up the store fronts. He uses a meticulous old school technique, and his attention to detail is apparent. He took some time to talk to us about learning from his grandfather, growing up in California in the '60s and how South Broadway has changed for the better.

More >>

It's difficult to say exactly what "mod" means in 2012. Even when the movement reached its zenith in London in the early '60s, the definition wasn't clear: not quite hippie, not quite punk, not quite English, yet not quite American, either. Inventing a sort of bohemian dandy aesthetic, the mods wore pork-pie hats, listened to jazz records, gobbled down amphetamines like pac-man and rode Vespa scooters through London, on their way to fights with "the rockers." Ah, but some would say that's not quite right, either. In its evolutions from the Quadrophenia/mod-punk revival of the late '70s to the Britpop aesthetics of the mid-90s, what's considered mod has gone through many changes and titles -- yet, like the Supreme Courts definition of pornography, you know it when you see it.

Here in Denver, the mod lifestyle of high fashion, scooters and record-collecting has been growing, due in part to groups like the Denver Vintage Reggae Society, whose events allow people to get dressed up in mod (or skinhead, ska, northern soul, etc.) gear and dance to records made before most of them were even born. And this Friday, May 18, you can check out these bohemian dandies yourself at the Mods Mayday 2012 event at the Skylark Lounge, featuring DJs spinning ska and northern soul, as well as live music by The Manxx and The Sonic Archers.

Westword reached out to Mods Mayday 2012 event organizer Steve Antonio to discuss scooters, music and shopping for mod clothes in Denver.

More >>

Photo courtesy of Bongo Love

Bongo Love isn't afraid of the chainsaw. He's won multiple awards at chainsaw carving competitions -- including third place in Vancouver and fourth place at the World Cup in Germany. He's also getting set to compete in Whittle the Wood in Craig this June. And he's recently opened a tea and art shop, The Front, in Lafayette, where he shows his carvings. Bongo Love's come along way, from carving animal sculptures for tourists in Zimbabwe (his home country) to chainsaw carving in Colorado; he took some time to tell us his story and how he conquered his fear of chainsaws.

More >>

Darren Bousman gets all the fun gigs. He directed Saw II, III and IV, the cult classic Repo! The Genetic Opera and his newest soon-to-be-cult-classic, The Dark Carnival. Has all this success turned him into an unapproachable ass-melon? Not even a little bit. We recently had a chance to talk with him about some pretty important topics -- like the "Saw III blackmail" rumor, fictional drug abuse, pimping out Paul Sorvino, and why Paris Hilton is not in the new movie.

Bousman was a good sport. Little does he realize that we were dead serious about the last question...

More >>

Just one portion of many crocheted coral reefs, made completely out of textiles.

Science writer Margaret Wertheim specializes in weighty topics, but she has a light touch when writing about science and mathematics. The author of several books dealing with theoretical physics within a cultural context as well as articles for numerous publications -- everything from the New York Times to a five-year run at the LA Weekly with her Quark Soup column -- she writes in a way that reaches readers at every level of scientific background.

In 2005 she started the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project with her sister, Christine Wertheim. This ever-evolving textile model of the fragile and endangered ocean landscape exists at what Wertheim calls "the intersection of art, science, environmental consciousness, community art practice and feminism." Speaking in advance of her lecture on "DIY Science" at the final installment of this season's Feminism & Co. at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver , Wertheim gave Westword some insight into her massive undertaking, and what she hopes comes from the community-driven feminist art and science effort.

More >>

Brooke Howell live drawing

Looking for a new Facebook profile picture? Brooke Howell can help. Her company, *LoL* Caricature Company, celebrates its grand re-opening on the 16th Street Mall this weekend and for just $12, you can get a digital caricature (drawn on an iPad), e-mailed to you to use on social media sites, or however you want.

Howell, an award-winning caricature artist, who is the first International Society of Caricature Artists member to live sculpt her pieces, took some time to talk to us about whether her clients ever get offended, the art of her work and her own most caricature-able features.

More >>

Kurt Cobain, Frances Bean Cobain and Patty Schemel in 1992.

In 1992, drummer Patty Schemel joined the now-legendary Hole, a band that was just positioning itself for mainstream success. Less than two years later, bassist Kristen Pfaff had died of an accidental overdose and lead singer Kurt Cobain had committed suicide -- and Hole had released its platinum-selling Live Through This. On a world tour in support of the record, Schemel found herself deep in substance abuse and the pressures of musical success -- and she brought along a camera to document it all.

More >>

The world needs more of what Amy Schumer has to offer: fresh, bold comedy that casually confronts sexuality and race in a way that makes you laugh now -- and think about it later. Whether she's discussing HPV, traveling to the Jewish homeland (Miami), or finally sleeping with her high school crush (but now he expects her to go to his graduation!), Schumer always delivers hilariously unexpected jokes. Her resume is impressive -- she placed fourth on season five of NBC's Last Comic Standing, appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm and 30 Rock, and will be in the upcoming Steve Carell film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

And she'll be in person delighting Comedy Works audiences tonight through Saturday.

We caught up with the comedian about self-confidence, angry Jackass fans, and how guys don't care if your arm jiggles a little bit.

More >>

Photo courtesy of Russ Beardsley

Artists, by virtue of being trained in aesthetic representation, usually have interesting jobs. Russ Beardsley, for example, takes his skills as a sculptor and applies them to his job as a stone worker. Beardsley, who is also a co-owner of Ironton Studios, took some time from lifting rock to talk to us about the dying art of masonry, his projects and his collaborative vision for Ironton.

More >>