About this Event
Join NYU Special Collections for an evening with artist and publisher Ben Kinmont as he shares two new productions from the multimedia artistry of James E. “Jet” Tressler (1944-2024), a countercultural performance artist and co-founder of the Angels of Light Free Theater. Tressler—also known as Jilala Jet von Jalopy and Jet—was part of the Kaliflower Commune in San Francisco, California, and helped found the Angels of Light Free Theater, alongsideHibiscus (George Edgerly Harris III) and others. From 1970 to the early 1980s, Angles of Light created and produced radically queer shows in San Francisco and New York City based on an ethos of free access: audiences were never charged admission. . With credits in writing, filmmaking, and painting, Tressler spent his life engaged in art and activism in the Bay Area.
Kinmont has brought Tressler’s experiences with communal living and alternative theatre into new exposure with two interconnected works. The first is the inaugural facsimile publication of Tressler’s The Passion of Jilala Hrose–A Film, an unpublished poem in the style of William Blake, illustrated with hand-drawn and collaged artwork. The text was composed by Tressler as a plea to Kaliflower Commune’s founder for readmission during a year of extended absence from the group. Kinmont’s Antinomian Press published the book this year in a limited quantity, and he will speak to its development and unique distribution in keeping with the spirit of the commune’s original free sharing philosophy.
Kinmont will also screen his latest film, Saints paradice (2024-25), a compilation of 8mm footage recorded by Tessler that covers nearly a decade of Angels of Light performances in San Francisco, with a soundtrack scored by a former cast member. The film documents the group and how communalism shaped its performances and other creative output, including the newspaper, Kaliflower, which briefly circulated in San Francisco during the early 1970s.
NYU’s Downtown Collection holds a variety of materials that relate to these figures and their milieu, including the Martin Wong Papers, Kaliflower, and materials on both the Angels of Light and the Cockettes. Together, Kinmont’s film and his publication of Tessler’s poetic invention explores what it means to build creative community and cultural critiques during one of San Francisco’s most iconic countercultural moments. This screening coincides with Ben Kinmont’s exhibition on Bleecker Street with Yoshi Hill, open through November 8, 2026.
As a part of NYU's commitment to global inclusion, our events and initiatives are open to individuals of all backgrounds and identities.
Banner image: film still from Saints paradice (2024-25), featuring Angels of Light performer Hibiscus in a costume by Martin Wong.
Event venue & nearby stays
Bobst Library | 7th Floor | Feldstein Immersion Room, 70 Washington Square South, New York, United States
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