Film director John Waters is well known for a decades-long career making funny and irreverent flicks. (Doug Hill)
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ohn Waters was exhausted when I crossed paths with him May 19 in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Ada, Oklahoma.
The legendary director of cult-classic films like Crybaby and Pecker had flown into Dallas and was picked up in a car by an East Central University student for the ground portion of his trip. Waters was in Ada to be keynote speaker at the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s Momentum Ada film and new media festival a few hours after our pleasant albeit brief encounter. His arrival was punctuated by a terrific thunderstorm directly overhead with crashing thunder and spectacular lightning.
Waters’ remarks for his presentation, titled This Filthy World, that evening in the university’s Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center were parts stand-up comedy routine, wry social commentary on a variety of topics and thumbnail sketches of the 16 decidedly outside-the-mainstream films he has directed since 1964.
The 71-year-old’s stamina continued to be tested after his performance, as he greeted an incredibly long line of fans, autographing new copies of his books they’d just purchased. Storms raged on outside, and he sheltered in-place alongside his new Okie friends.
The next evening back at home in Norman, my wife, Barb, and I re-visited a VHS copy of Waters’ 1988 Hairspray to be reminded that Waters is indeed a counterculture genius.
Dozens of John Waters fans wait in line to greet him during Momentum Ada. (Doug Hill)
The Ataloa Theatre in ECU’s Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center was near capacity for John Waters’ presentation during Momentum Ada. (Doug Hill)
East Central University professor and Momentum Ada curator F. Bradley Jessop introduces John Waters. Jessop also loudly and heroically alerted the crowd to flash flooding later in the evening. (Doug Hill)
John Waters at his meet-and-greet table, where he autographed books for a long time following his presentation. (Doug Hill)
Norman artist Laurence Meyers Reese (left) with collaborator Keeva Lough. Reese was a festival Spotlight artist. (Doug Hill)
Norman filmmaker Shae Dickinson was one of the Spotlight artists for their video installation _Pink Hell_. (Doug Hill)
The front man of Our Mother’s Martyr, seen here performing, noted that death metal was a first for Momentum Ada. (Doug Hill)
In another part of town, the Ada Artists Association held its Spring Exhibit reception at the Chickasaw Nation Arts & Humanities building. (Doug Hill)
Doug Hill earned a double-major undergraduate degree in English and East Asian Studies from the University of Kansas and a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. He's been a freelance journalist and photographer in central Oklahoma since 1997.
