More Duvall......

I regret to say that I was unaware of how many family member J.S.D. had living, especially in Iowa. On behalf of the Surrealists scattered across the globe I want to extend our sympathies and let you know his work touched many of us.

Schlechter Duvall has passed away...

I posted about my Surrealist commrade Schlechter Duvall back in May. It is with sadness that I report from his family that he has passed away. I will be posting some new info on Schlechter in tribute to him this coming week.

His ever-potent quote which used to be next to my easel: "Surrealism always was, still is, and always will be the first and last force of revolt on this Earth. It exists only for one reason: to realize freedom. And for freedom's sake, I want to warn every human being that surrealism is more than ever ALIVE!"

Lawrence Welk has been killed

...run over by Tiger Woods. RIP Lawrence........ah one and a two and a .............

What are the Surrealists doing....?

The newest Declaration from the International Surrealist Movement:


International Surrealist Declaration
for the imprisoned Serbian anarchosyndicalists
-We hereby declare our unconditional solidarity with the five* Serbian anarcho-syndicalists who have been imprisoned since September the 4th, facing the charge of “international terrorism.” Tadej Kurep, Ivan Vulović, Sanja Dojkić, Ratibor Trivunac and Nikola Mitrović, all members of Sindikalna konfederacija Anarho-sindikalistička inicijativa (ASI), were arrested some days after an action of solidarity with the Greek activist, and then-hunger striker, Thodoris Iliopoulos. The target of this action was the Greek embassy in Belgrade.
The Serbian authorities used the slight damages caused to the building of the Greek embassy as a pretext in order to exercise their repressive powers, labeling the members of ASI as “terrorist” and detaining them with no substantial evidence of their actual involvement in this so-called crime of damaging the façade of a building. It is not the building, of course, that concerns the Serbian police; neither is it the symbolism, per se, of an attack against the embassy of another state: the real impact of international solidarity and radical politics, with a view towards social emancipation, is what makes them transgress the limits of their supposed democracy, so as to imprison militants through farcical procedures.
Ratibor Trivunac, one of the accused, is a friend of the international surrealist movement. But surrealism is not an exclusive club of personal relations, any more than it is one of mere aesthetic affinities. We consider as our brothers all these five persecuted Serbian militants (and the sixth, Ivan Savic, who was arrested some days later) because their cause, their choice to live and to struggle for another, liberated life, is one that we share. When a state lays its oppressive hand upon one of us, we must all feel the threat to our freedom, we must all take a stand with those who risk being deprived of their elementary freedoms because they are determined to fight, here and now, for real universal freedom.
We demand the immediate release of our six comrades and friends!
The passion for freedom is stronger than any of your prisons!

Athens Surrealist Group:
Grigoris Apostolides, Giannis Golfinopoulos, Manolis Daskalos, Alexandra Halkias, Diamantis Karavolas, Vangelis Koutalis, Sotiris Liontos, Helias Melios, Lefki Mossou, Makis Perdikomatis, Nikos Stabakis, Theoni Tabaki, Marianna Xanthopoulou, Giannis Xourias.

Nicosia: Kostas Reousis.

Leeds Surrealist Group:
Gareth Brown, Stephen J. Clark, Kenneth Cox, Luke Dominey, Jan Drabble, Bill Howe, Caroline Jeffs, Sarah Metcalf, Mike Peters, Peter Overton, Martin Trippett.

Surrealist London Action Group (SLAG):
Paul Cowdell, Merl Fluin, Aniano Henrique, Patrick Hourihan.


Grupo Surrealista de Madrid:
José Arias Taboada, Eugenio Castro, Manuel Crespo, Javier Gálvez, Jesús García Rodríguez, Vicente Gutiérrez Escudero, Bruno Jacobs, Lurdes Martínez, Julio Monteverde, Noé Ortega, Antonio Ramírez, José Manuel Rojo, María Santana y Ángel Zapata.
and its friends:
Sonia Ayerra, Rag Cuter, Andrés Devesa, Jesús González Gómez, Paul Hammond, Inés Mendoza, Emilio Santiago, Leticia Vera and the Anarchist Group Al Margen.

Groupe Surréaliste de Montréal:
Jean-Maurice Brouillet, Dominic Tétrault.

Le Groupe de Paris du mouvement surréaliste:
Michèle Bachelet, Alfredo Fernandes, Jean-Pierre Guillon, Michaël Löwy, Marie-Dominique Massoni, Dominique Paul, Michel Zimbacca.

La Vertèbre et le Rossignol (ville de Québec):
Enrique Lechuga, David Nadeau.

on behalf of Grupo Surrealista del Río de la Plata/Buenos Aires-Montevideo:
Juan Carlos Otaño.

on behalf of Skupina Českých a Slovenských Surrealistů:
Frantisek Dryje, Katerina Pinosova, Bertrand Schmitt, Bruno Solarik.

Surrealistgruppen i Stockholm, Johannes Bergmark.

Sürrealist Eylem Türkiye

Surrealist Movement in U.S.A.:

Chicago Surrealist Group: Penelope Rosemont, Paul Garon, Beth Garon, Gale Ahrens, David Roediger, Joseph Jablonski, Joel Williams, Jan Hathaway, Irene Plazewski, Janina Ciezadlo, Renay Kirkman, Tamara L. Smith.

Portland: Brandon Freels, M.K. Shibek.

The St. Louis Surrealist Group:
Richard Burke, Susan Burke, Andrew Torch, M. M. Morose.

Eric Bragg (www.surrealcoconut.com)



• - Currently six imprisoned

October 31, 2009

Sarane Alexandrian has died.

The group of Surrealist Movement members directly associated with Breton, Picabia and other Pre-WWII members becomes one fewer this week. Sarane was an active Movement member in the 1940's - 1950's, director of NEON, headed the journal Supérieur Inconnu, wrote the overview 'Surrealist Art' (1969) and countless other books and novels. Our comrade will be missed.

Rep. Joe Wilson, you so crazzzy

Another sad and brazen display of impertinence in Congress shadowed President Obama's address regarding healthcare reform in America. Representative Joe 'Can't shut my piehole' Wilson, interrupted the speech a couple of times shouting at the President and blatantly in a louder voice: 'You Lie'. I urge the South Carolinians who voted this buffoon into office to join us in the new century and elect a leader whose whiteness and dull wit will not continue to be a roadblock to progress in their state.

(Cartoon by me; submitted to the Editorial page at the St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Crucified Tree

On my way to work everyday I pass a solemn tree...

Arch connector and beer for all!

I have wondered over the last 2 or 3 months if President Obama is trying to tackle too many issues. Today, in our fair city by the muddy Mississippi we are gearing up for the Baseball All-Star Game but at the same time we had a visit from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. For the most part I like Salazar, I think he was a solid pick by Obama. What surprises the hell out of me, is what Salazar stated today during his visit:

(From the Post-Dispatch/Jake Wagman) Salazar noted what visitors before him have lamented for years: The Arch is cut off from the rest of downtown, isolated by the depressed interstate lanes that run along Memorial Drive.
"One of the things we need to do is find a way of connecting the Arch to the community of St. Louis," Salazar said. "That will be a priority of President Obama, and it will be a priority of mine."

Really? A priority? Our Senator Claire McCaskill must really be working her voodoo spell to bend the ears of Salazar and Obama enough to make the connecting-lid over the highway to the Arch grounds a priority. Hot damn!

Reinhardt Mural COVERED by advertising!

Lambert Airport sells out!
Sigfried Reinhardt, the world renowned St. Louis artist (b.1925 - d.1984) recently had his famous History of Aviation Mural at Lambert Saint Louis Airport covered and boarded-over. Some states like New York have statutes against doctoring and/or removing public commissioned artwork. My guess is that many citizens are in the dark on this as our once proud international airport is currently a joke of an airstrip which might be able get you to Chicago or Baltimore, run by one buffoon after another. Props go out to KTVI 2, who appear to be the only media outlet covering this story....here are some snips:

BRIDGETON, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - The huge "History Of Aviation" mural at Lambert Airport was heralded as a masterpiece when it was finished some 30 years ago. In fact, some critics thought it was the finest work of internationally-known artist Sigfried Reinhardt. Now the folks at Lambert have decided to cover it with plywood.

FOX 2's John Auble caught up with Jim Pegg at the Brewington Gallery in the Central West End where many of his paintings are sold.
Pegg recently got off a plane and couldn't help but notice that the mural was being covered by carpenters. "They said, 'Well, why do you want to know?' And, I said, 'Well, because I helped paint that mural," Pegg relates, "One of the guys said that they were going to put some advertising on it."


(Reinhardt photo courtesy of LIFE magazine)

What inspires you to create...

In the midst of the oppressive summer heat a simple link from my friend Craig has inspired me in multiple ways...enjoy:

St Louis, hoodwinked again...

...by the Catholic-hierarchy and elitist developers who manhandle this city with full approval and ball-licking by a corrupt City Hall. More to follow...

Nudity for the weekend

Pour yourself a drink and take off your clothes; try to hold a pose for about 30 minutes...the best ones can! Why is it that mainstream America still sees nudity as vulgar and comical, even nudes in art?! Today's MSNBC headline report (because I am sure there isn't any better news to dwell on) focused on Leonardo da Vinci and the possibility of a nude painting of Mona Lisa or what might have been a pre-lim sketch of Mona in the nude. This work was recently uncovered in the wall of a library. Their take was: "(Leonardo), in a Renaissance version of Mad Magazine, may have painted his famous Mona Lisa in a number of ways, including nude. Now, a painting has surfaced that looks much like the original, sparking debate over just how far the master took his iconic painting." I guess the reference to Mad magazine was made to dumb-down the artwork of Leonardo so it is on a level that the average American moron can relate! Well, fuck you MSNBC.

The best art model I ever worked with was from Columbia, MO and she could hold a complex pose for about 30 minutes, sometimes 40.

Note: The picture is of a watercolor I executed for the book: 'The Somnambulist Footprints - A Collection of Surrealist Tales'. It has not been publicly viewed and it joins a subset of my work which is not welcome by most gallery owners.

BUILT, Art Exhibition at Laumeier

You have until September 6 to see this dynamic show at Laumeier. Artists include: Sarah Frost, Mike Behle, Cameron Fuller & Sarah Paulsen, Stan Chisholm and Craig Norton.

It's Sunday, why not?

....have a drink, maybe 20 and enjoy.

Sid Larson 1923 - 2009 R.I.P.

Sid was one of three people in my life that inspired me to be an artist, now with his passing all three are dead. Sid was my painting professor at Columbia College, he was also Thomas Hart Benton's assistant and friend; his influence was great on me, more so than I probably ever wanted to admit but never once did he restrict my style to favor his style (often seen in Art schools) or deter my search and exploration of Surrealism.

Think Local - Buy Local

Tuesday is the unofficial day for the 3/50 Project. It boils down to buying local as much as possible, from non-chain establishments. Their suggestion is spending $ 50 a month amongst 3 independently owned local stores, or more if possible. Support your local, independently owned restaurants, bars, 'record' stores (can you tell I am from the Pre-CD age) coffeehouses, artists/art galleries, small book stores, maybe even a local vintage toy store (ha!). Saint Louis has a large number of independently owned small stores and establishments, help them out this week if you can.

Thursday Nights in STL

Wake the fuck up St. Louis! You missed it. Yeah, it was a Thursday and also the same night as the KDHX Mayhem event but the Schlafly Tap Room was the scene of balls to the wall musical explosions and mind numbing orchestrations that you rarely find in the Midwest. I can't sum-up N. Nomurai in words, you will have to go see them play and be blown-away for yourself; The Ottomen had a strong set and have inspired me to dig out my early Fugazi cds. Spelling Bee was the middle band on the line-up card, who apparently were playing a set at the Tap Room and then moving on to play another show that night (it was almost midnight).....the jokes of 'a large sound from a small package' are too lame to make but the two member group (or duo) was like Pussy Galore and Danzig meets Gene Krupa on crack! Holy shit!! Check out all these bands the next time they play.
(image: one of my older works of art that seemed to fit the music)

Schlechter Duvall, Words of Fire

Schlechter-who?! An under-appreciated international Surrealist whose words are still like fire-starters some 40 years later: "Surrealism always was, still is, and always will be the first and last force of revolt on this Earth. It exists only for one reason: to realize freedom. And for freedom's sake, I want to warn every human being that surrealism is more than ever ALIVE!"

I had this statement from Duvall posted next to my studio easel for many years.

(Courtesy of 'Surrealist Subversions' (Sakolsky) Autonomedia 2002)

Surrealism in Midtown

This is the last week (through Saturday afternoon) that you can see my art show at the PSTL Gallery inside Pace. 3842 Washington Blvd
STL 63108. Michael Allen's Ecology of Absence Blog has a good story on the history of the building that PACE now occupies......

http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2009/05/mid-century-modern-preservation-in.html

Playing with your organ!

Two weeks ago after too much whiskey, I watched 5 minutes of a Lawrence Welk re-run, maybe it turned into 25 minutes I don't clearly remember. I was transfixed by the 'dated' 1960's organ sound, a Thomas Organ to be exact, a sound I can pick out whether I am coherent or not! I can not properly convey the level of ....um...campiness (well, that might be too harsh of a description) but if you are familiar with the organ and know the sounds it can produce then you know what I am talking about. (This was NOT a Hammond B-3)
Put that inane repeating drum sound on, add in an organ-marimba, cello, whatever, turn on the Vibra-Magic and you have a Lawrwence Welk show soundtrack. I can't play the piano or organ worth a damn, I tired; you can buy old organs rather cheap if you agree to haul them off (check it out). I bought an organ at an estate sale about 6 years ago for $ 10 and put it in my garage, I would occasionally play it at night much to the confusion of my neighbors...the garage allowed for even greater echo effects and it was like the Welk show was being piped in from the heavens! More on this later.......

Franklin Rosemont departs

Last week the Surrealist Movement and the world in general lost a dear friend, Franklin Rosemont. Franklin, co-founder of the Chicago Surrealist Group, facilitator of a more organized Surrealist Movement in the United States (in general terms) IWW activist, Arsenal founder, writer, champion of Ted Joans and Philip Lamantia, friend of the Beats; mentor and supporter of the Portland Surrealist Group and the Saint Louis Surrealist Group, etc, can NOT be summed up in a mere blogpost so I will let his words linger on like sweet wine on a hot sun-soaked day......... : "Surrealism strives to liberate the imagination from the strictures of repression, to restore our latent poetic faculties, to put language in the service of desire and to enable it to formulate ardent images of implacable subversion. There is no 'realistic' escape from the life which offers more than the surrealist seizure of life. Unveiled language does not propose an escape but rather a thoroughgoing transformation of the world."

"Starting from the very depths of what we call the imagination, pure psychic automatism brings to the surface signals of the individual's farthest vision into the self - signals which tend to take on aspects of the future. Surrealism, this invisible ray, was brought into being not only to discover these signals, but to realize the future they call forth. The automatic image becomes a guide to action." --- Franklin Rosemont, excerpts via Arsenal 1970

Jesus drives a Lincoln

Hell yes, Jesus drives a Lincoln, 1989 powder-blue to be exact, matching the old-lady-hair of the driver going 25 on the 40 mph road with a large chrome Jesus fish around the Lincoln nameplate on the trunk.

Welcome to Crazies, Kooks & Lawrence Welk

This blog will contain somewhat infrequent musings from me and maybe guest bloggers associated with art, poetry, alien visitation, time-travel, government conspiracies, historical mysteries, Tesla's last experiments, Lawrence Welk's organ (whoa), fringe movements deserving more attention and artistic endeavors out of the mainstream........