#Stovall

[strandedpunk]

please forgive the things stovall does to me

[xrotinthefckingdirtx]

Microwave stoval

[samprestonbigbadabruce]

Thoughts on ‘A Ghost Waits’

Watched this for the third time in I think less than a year this past month. Since the first time I watched it, I've loved this movie.

The best way I can describe it maybe is that it's like "A major ghost movie directed by a Mumblecore / Dogme '95 team". With a haunted house story seemingly stripped down to the core. This is definitely helped by the decision to use a greyscale to create a black and white

'A Yellow Cotton Dress' by Wussy is a song introduced in the early goings as a soundtrack for Jack as he works on the empty haunted household, an indie rock piece probably reminiscent of many favourite songs. But its second utilisation is evocative of the entire movie, in that Jack plays a stripped down version on an acoustic guitar, giving new context to the song. Jack plays the song in a moment that coincides with Muriel the Ghost's first seeing of him, and unlike many first moments built on tension, this moment is built on a gentleness, Muriel almost inconsequential as just like the audience, she sees the depth within this individual first.

The song to me is talking about a house, a partner, a life, that until given true meaning is empty and devoid of life. A dress is pretty until you see a loved one wear it, and it becomes something actually worthwhile to you. A building isn't a home until you live in it, a partner is an idea until they become a reality, a life is worthless unless you have something to live for.

Jack is a blue-collar handyman who is wandering through life with little connections fixing houses, Muriel is a ghost (sorry, 'spectral agent') haunting a house stuck in a bureaucratical afterlife ala 'Beetlejuice' who has nothing beyond her role. They exist but are not alive, an empty cotton dress on the side with the nobody to fill it. Whilst not subtle in terms of Muriel's attempt to scare Jack off, the surprising aspect of Jack's awareness of his own faults and fears off-kilts the attempts to scare him. "Yeah, I'm a failure, you're right...so what should I do about it?"

MacLeod Andrews has a genial everyman quality that allows his transition between non-believer and believer to feel quick but believable, the sort of person who is open minded and comes to terms with the evidence displayed to him. Natalie Walker has this air of humanity to a spectral element, in that she also has a job to do and the ever growing frustration and bewilderment at its lack of success. The haunted who is more curious than afraid, and the haunter fuelled by KPIs and quotas than incessant rage and hated.

The minimal setting and setpieces actually works as a strength, being a physical representation of the placement both characters are in, while allowing the focus of the story to be on its characters and their relationship rather than special effects, jump scares or horrors. It's a non-horror examining the lives of two people defined by the simple drive of "I have a job to do", Jack to fix the house, Muriel to rid the house.

There is a fascinating comparison between the weariness of Jack / Muriel and the inclusion of Sydney Vollmer's Rosie, a more modern 'spectral agent' thrown in to force Jack out of the house at Muriel's expense. What in any other film would be a generic antagonist to be defeated, instead it reinforces the concept of being defined by a role attributed to you and the pressures of achieving the work given to you. By Jack and Muriel briefly venturing outside the lines of their set roles, finding a connection, it threatens those who have become defined by their roles, reinforcing the fears and loneliness of those involved. The biggest fear is maybe not loneliness, it's becoming aware of what is wrong and what is missing?

The most surprising element is not that the two begin to fall for each other, but the shockingly moving montage in the final act, as Jack's unquestionable loneliness culminates in the decision to join Muriel in the afterlife. He's found somebody he wants to be with, but she can't allow a human to stay within the house, so the compromise is to kill himself and they haunt the house together. They've both found a connection, he is no longer alone and drifting through an uncaring life, and she has a reason to enjoy being in her home.

Adam Stovall has directed and co-written (with MacLeod) a surprisingly rich piece of film that could succeed transitioning to stage, or be expanded upon into a miniseries (there are several aspects of the third act that could have been expanded upon in more detail). It's refreshingly emotional and impactful, culminating into a gorgeous rendition of 'Years Go By' by The Bengsons, a beautiful song reminiscing of a moment that could last a second or a lifetime.

I love this film, it simultaneously feels full of subtext and yet barely scratching the surface of its possibilities. Its rich beyond its surface but full of potential. But more than anything? It hits you when you least expect it and finds the light within the darkness. Like Jack, Muriel, and even Rosie, this film offers something you need. A connection.

[mentaltimetraveller]

Will Stovall Ulrik, New York May 18 – July 12, 2024

[pseudo-satisfaction]

Laurel Stovall by Laura Sfez

[undergroundrockpress]

Di Bagley Stovall Fruits of Our Lives, 1971

[euphorictrait]

sidra’s crush L. Faba invited her to geekcon 🤓

[brentchua]

tristan stovall @ wilhelmina

[h00dsw0rld]

Good Morning

[thunderstruck9]

Lou Stovall (American, 1937-2023), Untitled, 2020. Collage, silkscreen mono print, 13 1/2 × 13 1/2 in.

[razorsadness]

Now I keep my distance. If I'm not careful, my heart can still break at first sight. Skateboards, faded band shirts, Sambas and Vans, tattoos verging on generic, black jeans, and scruff scrawled on slack jaws. Now I avert my eyes. Tall goddamn socks. Those were the objects of my affection. Their wearers were secondary, and I was sure they couldn't see me. If only I could have beckoned them without having to speak. If only I had social skills to speak of. They could have held me, maybe, but not while we listened to playlists painstakingly crafted to capture something inherently fleeting. If only they'd been more than mannequins adorned in aesthetics.

—Mariah Stovall, from I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both (Soft Skull Press, 2024)

[weepingwidar]

Lou Stovall (American, 1937) - Meadow (1980)

[gregdotorg]

Sam Gilliam gave this 1979 drape painting to his longtime friend and printmaking collaborator, and fellow DC artist Lou Stovall in 2006. Stovall's estate is selling it next week.

[nununiverse]

César Stovall

[rustbeltjessie]

This is my favorite novel I’ve read in a while. One of those ones that I haven’t been able to put down since I started reading it. If you’ve ever been obsessed with punk music, or annotated a mix tape, and especially if you’ve ever been in an intense, codependent friendship, or if you just love great writing—READ IT.

[euphorictrait]

sidra’s lookbook 🧝‍♀️