Behind the yellow gates is a realm that sparkles like diamonds under a desert sun. It is a realm ablaze with outrageous flowers, fragrant and poisonous… A realm populated by bare skin scared by flashing swords and marked with stone idols… It is that subterranean consciousness; a land of Mind-in-Time that sends unholy incense up toward Heaven.
This title comprises Tarnished Utopia (2008) and Idyll (2009) which were compiled into this form by Mike Kuchar in 2022.
Mike Kuchar, cinematographer, painter and writer and brother of George Kuchar, was born in New York City. He began making 8mm movies in the 1950's, switching over to 16mm film production in 1960, and continues now, producing short motion pictures in the video and digital formats. Mike and George Kuchar were the co-recipients of the "Vanguard Director Award" at the 11th CineVegas Film Festival, 2009, and the 2009 "Frameline Award" at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.
"Film purists," says Mike, "tend to snub the digital medium — but as far as I'm concerned, if it allows the image to move and make noise, I'll gladly use it... and the format fits perfectly into my budgets too!"
Mike Kuchar is a 2017 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow for his work in film and video.