ChiChi,
Thank you so much for your reply. I am just blown away by that. I have been thinking about it all afternoon since I read your message. The image just stands out so vividly--it is Klaus in high relief. And I love that you say "Klaus" in readings now, for all the reasons you cited.
On a personal level, I am really enjoying the coincidence of the image, since I will sometimes look at a photo of him where he is looking really glam or just cheeky (or both), and I think to myself: "Fräulein Schmetterling I presume?" I read in an interview that he had an idea to make a movie about Salome and he wanted to play Salome himself. I have thought more than once that he should have gotten to play Madame Butterfly. (I believe he did sing the parts of the Forest Bird and a Rhine maiden in Charles Ludlam's version of the Ring at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre in 1977...I like the idea of him as a Forest Bird especially.) But I digress...
So, forgive this long message...but for the anniversary of his death...well, the truth is that I have been working on little photo pieces using poetry or song lyrics-all involving Klaus, sort of prototypes or models of things I would like to revise/refine or perhaps do on larger scale. I think have somewhere around 30-40 of them. It started as a way of feeling like I was getting to see new images of him--or to see him in a different way I suppose--which it is I guess, since the images are blown way up, or distorted somehow--with lighting, color, transparency--or they are screen captures from interviews etc. I didn't have a memorial in mind when I started making them; it is just something I like to do. But I started thinking a lot about August 6th and so my thoughts turned to making a stealth--and temporary-- memorial to him-- up and down on his block--quietly at night (and totally anonymously of course) so it would just be there at dawn on the anniversary of his death (since he died overnight between the 5th and 6th). I would also like to include red roses, which I believe were a particular favorite of his. I want it to look beautiful most importantly (because one of the many things I admire about him was his earnest pursuit of beauty in his art and in his appearance) but in a discreet, under the radar sort of way, that maybe people only notice if they're paying attention (also since I am doing this as a gesture of reverence to Klaus, I don't want to undermine that vibe by having it resented or construed as a nuisance.) If anything I would hope that someone might be curious and be inspired to look him up and maybe hear his music for the first time--and maybe for someone familiar with him, it might just give them pause to stop and think...or maybe something totally different than I'm thinking). I would put his dates on some of them so it could be understood as to why they were there on that day. So...ah, that's my story...I hope you don't regret asking! If I could, I would pave his street with flowers and have soprano arias pouring out of his building's windows, but I have to start somewhere... I really welcome your thoughts on this( and I have to admit I feel a bit sheepish and thank you for asking about it.) I could also show you some of the pieces online if you are curious.
**Most of all, though, I wanted to say I am very touched by Take Back the Night. It is powerful.**