Interview: Innervisions: The Ego, Soul and Paradoxes of Black Vision

“Oftentimes I ask people, ‘What came first, the truth or a lie?’ The answer is the truth, because a lie is the distortion or omission of the truth. Lies cannot exist without the truth, whereas the truth fundamentally exists on its own.”

These are the analytical meditations of Kevin Bishop, aka Black Vision, poet, thinker, myth maker, visionary, father and son hailing from Kings County, Brooklyn, New York.

Such measures of inquiry and contemplation are at the essence of his debut collection of poems, “The Paradoxical Effects of Black Vision,” released in 2008 through Lulu Publishing after five years of development. 

The title of the book, though seemingly obscure, possesses a very apparent meaning to Bishop, explaining it expresses the idea that awareness and perception are results of a unified experience that doesn’t exclude physical sensibilities, but, more so, emphasizes spiritual possibility. As he says, the title “conceptualizes the ability to see from an undifferentiated point of view.”

Bishop further explains that, though such a point of view is undivided, it is actually composed of distinct aspects – the spiritual and the physical.

“Even though the two sides are different vibrational degrees, they are inherently the same,” the poet, who is also a father of two, explains. “I feel the best description is placing an ice cube in water. The solid ice represents the physical body and the liquid represents the spiritual state. They exist on different vibrational levels, but share [the] same essence which is water.”

In realizing a foundation from which all perception and consciousness emerges, Bishop has found a more complete universal perspective.

“Through my experiences I have learned how opposites are more complimentary than they are adversarial.”

The Paradoxical Effects of Black Vision, or PEBV, is informed by these conceptual dynamics. Parables, fables, and myths from all parts of the world have been a source of inspiration and meditation for Bishop since he was a child. These childhood imaginings have provided the seeds for poems in his collection such as I.S.P. (Inner Sensory Perception), in which he analyzes the differing roles between the soul and the ego.

Bishop, who composed PEBV “after going through terrifying experiences dealing [with] acrimonious occult practices,” believes that the ego is responsible for extreme and harmful human desires. The senses, he says, are utilized by the ego in order to fulfill carnal inclinations. Because of its spiritual void, the ego creates conflict within the individual.

“The priority is the battle for control of self, which ties into the mind,” Bishop explains.

Interview: Sacramento Filmmaker Moves From One Dark Ride to Another

Sacramento independent filmmaker Greg Stechman found his passion for film making at age eleven.

“The moment my father gave me use of his video camera, I made films of everything, including the family dog,” the 31-year old director and screenwriter says. “I would even make my own fake credits with construction paper.”

Nearly fifteen years after his youthful efforts at making movies, Stechman has directed four feature films.

Though perhaps most known for gore and horror, Stechman’s first film was, of all genres, a romantic comedy. Made in 2004, the project, called Michael and Claire: A Portrait of Love and Dreams, was filmed on a budget of $10,000 during his senior year in college. The premise? A love story about the relationship between an insomniac editor and narcoleptic virgin.

“I am a huge Wes Anderson fan and wanted to make sort of an offbeat love story,” Stechman says. “We had a crew of ten, not including the actors, so [the cast was] relatively big for a small film.”

The film was never distributed, but was screened at California State University, Sacramento, and was shown in eleven film festivals.

Two years after his directorial debut, Stechman directed what, to date, has been his most monetarily successful film, This Hollow Sacrament, based on the story of four Sacramento murders that occurred in the 1990s. The film, which Stechman also wrote the screenplay for, won Best Picture at the Texas Frightmare Weekend Film Festival in 2008.

Though Stechman admits he’s disappointed with the final studio cut of the movie, it still caught the attention of horror film director Eli Roth who, most notably, directed the 2005 horror film, Hostel.

“[Eli’s] buddies with my cousin, and I guess he watched a copy of Hollow Sacrament,” Stechman says. “He’s in the process of putting together an ultra-low budget film studio and asked me to make some screenplay submissions. It was very cool.”

But for now, Stechman, who has appeared in three Clint Eastwood films, has his own work cut out for him as he prepares for his next major project, Dark Ride, based on the horror novel of the same title by author Michael Laimo. The adaptation will consist of four short films and one feature film.