Buds Digest 002 / edible moments with…

Michael Kauffmann

Artwork by MICHAEL KAUFFMANN
Portraits by CHAD KNUTH

Photographer and master manipulator, MICHAEL KAUFFMANN, pulls us deep into his beautifully mangled world on a truly psychedelic edition of Edible Moments. Here, the smart, refreshingly wry artist gets personal, professional and playful, sharing quintessential selections of their work alongside answers to some of Buds’ most finely cured queries.

THC Lube. Thoughts?

Funny story. I had a friend who made her own weed lube in college and called it Boo Goo (Iconic name). She sent it to me when I was living in LA and me and my friends all dosed it on a night out (very highschool, using something like that in a non-sexual sense). But major TBD if it ever worked. It’s like all things: if you believe in it, it works.

Favorite Musician?

I’m currently re-obsessed with The Knife right now. They no longer make music but they have been dropping hints that they will reunite soon. I love all their live albums especially Live at Terminal Five which was their last live show in New York in 2014. When the show ends they say “see you in another 7 years” which means 2021 is their year (also I think this is a vague ominous Twin Peaks reference a la “see you again in 25 years”). I love long-form drama like that and I will be seeing them live by all means necessary. They did a very cool thing with that show where they hired multiple performers to sing and perform their songs. They always were very stringent about not idolizing themselves in the classic creator=god archetype. They went the extra mile to obscure the ego from their art. So they had this diverse amalgamation of people performing their songs in a final show. The result is a beautiful, animalistic cacophony.

How does cannabis affect the creative mind?

I think it really has to do with free association. I mean, I think all great art is more about process versus product and marajuana can really help one stumble through that process. I’ve had my fair share of creative block and I really think the problem is usually that the artist is too concerned with the final result. Sometimes when I’m working in a program that may intimidate me (Adobe After Effects) cannabis can help me through that because it allows you to be a messy thot with that program. What’s beautiful about any mind-altering substance is that it can vanquish that anxiety to some degree but also help forge connections that don’t make any sense. It’s dream logic. All good art is dream logic.

What’s your hanky code - is this an outdated system?

So… I had to google this for the full details. So, yes. In short, it is outdated. But let me tell you something: we absolutely need to bring this back. Also let me tell you that the list that I googled is extensive (like, if you have a niche desire you best know a vendor with a wide palette of hankies). Anyhow, I would say I’m a lime-green hanky, left pocket. Which means I want a trick to buy me dinner. This brings me back to my initial point that we need to bring this social code back because romance is completely dead in this day and age. Everyone is in open, semi-commited relationships (no shade to that) and this is really fucking up my personal style. I’m looking for long-form drama. I need a courtship a la Jane Austen. I need some trick to be writing me letters with a quill sealed with WAX. That kind of love just doesn’t exist sadly. Tiktok killed it.

Sativa or Indica?

I’m an indica bitch. Mainly because I’m one of those people that gets really paranoid. I was smoking a lot of hybrids when I lived in Los Angeles and one day I ruined a pair of pants cause I put a sharpie in my pocket without the cap on. It’s stuff like that really freaks me out about pot (like leaving the gas stove on or something). So, I try to stay away from being totally zonked on pot. When I do smoke it’s a vaped indica and I’m by myself and away from sharp objects (probably about to watch Shark Tank). I will say there was this amazing strain in Los Angeles that I found only a few times and it was called “Harlequin”. It was marketed as a CBD dominant strain. It was akin to smoking mids and I (for some reason) liked that. Revising my answer; I’m a mids bitch.

What is a guilty pleasure?

At the moment my guilty pleasure is Shark Tank. I will not shut up about it. My friends say I need to seek treatment. I’m obsessed because I find it to be some of the greatest American theater (and propaganda) ever produced. First of all, I have to commend the genius set designer who put two unnecessary doors and a runway leading into the “Shark Tank”. That person understands drama honey. Second of all, I’m not interested in the fake success of it’s contestants but the pitches that the producers put on there that are like- the dumbest idea you have ever heard of? It’s probably the cruelest thing I can imagine. I know someone who went on Shark Tank with her father and pitched a company called “Balloon Distractions” that was about outsourcing balloon artists for restaurants as a diversion to the fact patrons had to wait. In what world?! It’s disturbing that these producers literally play god under the guise of “The American Dream”. A phrase that is a spoiled leftover from the unparalleled economic boom of post-war America. Also- I literally just found out that there is a british version called “The Dragons Den”- much better title.

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