G. B. Jones

This is about the person. For the book of her art, see G.B. Jones (book).

G.B. Jones is an influential artist, filmmaker, and musician from Toronto.

1980's

In the early 80's G.B. Jones joined her first band, the experimental synth punk group, Bunny and the Lakers. Led by songwriter Peter Morgan and including Howard Pope, the band released one LP called Numbers. The trio performed live only once in Toronto.

From the early 80s to the late 90s, G.B. Jones performed with the all-women experimental post-punk band Fifth Column, playing drums and guitar, and was one of the co-founders of the group. The band's first album, To Sir With Hate was released in 1985. The same year saw the release of the influential fanzine J.D.s, which G.B. founded and co-published with Bruce LaBruce, the initials 'J.D.s' standing for Juvenile Delinquents. Among other things, the editors wrote a manifesto for the punk publication Maximum Rock 'N' Roll and, at the end of the decade, released a cassette tape entitled J.D.s Top Ten Tape, which featured bands from the U.S.A., Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.

1990's

Jones has directed and appeared in a number of underground films. In 1990, the two J.D.s editors held J.D.s movie nights in London, Toronto, Montreal and San Francisco showing their no budget films made on Super 8 mm film. The Troublemakers premiered at this time and proved influential, although rarely screened afterwards till the mid 2000s. She starred in No Skin Off My Ass in 1991; to date, her own films have all been made on Super 8. Her best known work is perhaps The Yo-Yo Gang, released in 1992, a 30 minute exploitation movie about girl gangs. that has gained cult status. The film stars a number of well-known musicians, including Fifth Column members Caroline Azar and Beverly Breckenridge.

The group went on to release three singles and two more albums. All-Time Queen Of The World was released in 1991 and a video for the song "Like This" was produced. Their last album, 36-C, contained perhaps their best-known and most controversial song, "All Women Are Bitches," which was released prior to the album as a single by K Records, and chosen "Single of the Week" by the UK paper Melody Maker. The band released two more singles after this and also appeared on a number of compilation albums.

Artwork

She is well known for her appropriation of the fetish art of Tom of Finland, re-interpreting both his drawings and Vivienne Westwood's punk exploitation of his work, through her series of 'Tom Girl' drawings. These drawings first came to public attention through the zine J.D.s, which was published from 1985 till 1991. In the early 1990s these drawings began to be shown in galleries, first in the U.S. and then around the world. In 1996 a gallery in New York released a book of the drawings, and other artwork, entitled G.B. Jones, with commentaries by Kevin Killian, Dodie Bellamy, Dennis Cooper and others. Although widely available in the U.S. and Europe, copies were seized at the Canadian border and it was officially pronounced banned in Canada.

In 1991, G.B. and a rotating roster of editors, including Jena von Brücker, Rex, Johnny Noxzema, Caroline Azar and several others began releasing the often contentious zine Double Bill, frequently referred to as an 'anti-zine' or 'hatezine' (as opposed to 'fan'-zine), a new category in the self-publishing world. Five issues were produced, the last one in 2001.

2000's

In the early 2000s, G.B. Jones began turning her attention to other subject matter in her drawings. Her work now explored darker themes: surreal lollipops; ruined buildings; car crashes; and the religious and pagan imagery of the record cover she produced for the Hidden Cameras' EP the arms of his 'ill' . Her most recent exhibition was in 2007, when G.B. and Joel Gibb showed their work together in the show Rise Up Thou Earth at SUNDAY gallery in New York City.

In 2002, Fifth Column's last release appeared on the Kill Rock Stars compilation album Fields and Streams. In October 2007, G.B.'s newest musical endeavor was unveiled. The recording Raise Your Paw To The Sky And Break The Truce by the Italian dark ambient group Mariae Nascenti was released on the Final Muzik label, with G.B. Jones appearing as a guest vocalist.

The work of G.B. Jones has appeared in a wide variety of media including film, fanzines, magazines, books, comics anthologies, posters, t-shirts, and on record, cassette and CDs, and their covers. As well, her drawings have been shown in art galleries and museums, and her films at film festivals, throughout Europe, Canada and the United States.

In 2008, G.B. Jones' film The Lollipop Generation, which had been a work-in-progress for 15 years, had its premiere on Thursday April 3 at the Images Festival in Toronto..^[1]

Filmography

• The Lollipop Generation, directed by G.B. Jones (2008)
• She's Real, Worse Than Queer, directed by Lucy Thane (1997)
• Cross Your Heart, directed by Suzy Richter (1993)
• The Yo-Yo Gang, directed by G.B. Jones (1992)
• No Skin Off My Ass, directed by Bruce LaBruce (1991)
• The Troublemakers, directed by G.B. Jones (1990)
• Boy, Girl, directed by Bruce LaBruce (1987)
• Fifth Column at the Funnel, directed by John Porter (1985)

Bibliography

• Juicy Mother 2: How They Met, edited by Jennifer Camper, 2007, Manic D Press ISBN 978-1-933149-20-2
• The Salivation Army Black Book by Scott Treleaven, Printed Matter Inc./Art Metropole, 2006, ISBN 0-89439-021-X

• Juicy Mother, edited by Jennifer Camper, Soft Skull Press, 2005, ISBN 1-932360-70-0

• Boy Trouble, Robert Kirby and David Kelly, editors, Boy Trouble Books, 2004, ISBN 0-9748855-0-9

• What's Wrong? Explicit Graphic Interpretations Against Censorship, edited by Robin Fisher, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2002, ISBN 1-55152-136-9

• Dangerous Drawings, edited by Andrea Juno, Juno Books, 1997, ISBN 0-9651042-8-1

• G.B. Jones, edited by Steve LaFreniere, Feature Publications, 1996

• Discontents, edited by Dennis Cooper, Amethyst Press, 1992, ISBN 0-927200-10-4

• Double Bill, edited by Caroline Azar, Jena von Brücker, G.B. Jones, Johnny Noxzema, Rex, Issues 1-5, 1991 to 2001

• J.D.s, edited by G.B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce, Issues 1-8, 1985 to 1991

References

1. ^ Liss, Sarah (2008-04-02), "The Lollipop Generation", Eye Weekly, <http://www.eyeweekly.com/music/streetspirit/article/22903> 

• Spencer, Amy; DIY: The Rise Of Lo-Fi, Marion Boyars Publishers, London, England, 2005 ISBN 0-7145-3105-7

External links

• Dennis Cooper's "GB Jones Day"
• G.B. Jones at SUNDAY in NYC
• G.B. Jones on YouTube
• G.B. Jones at Paul Petro Contemporary Art in Toronto
• Article about The Lollipop Generation at Images Festival
• The Yo-Yo Gang at IMDb
• Article about The Troublemakers
• Review of G.B. Jones Toronto exhibition
• "Pink Steam" art exhibition in San Francisco, July 2004 Webcite archive link
• Review of "Pink Steam"