West Virginia Fungi

Just back from the Farm. It's been a wet month which made a perfect environment for a broad variety of mushrooms including the delicious Chanterelles.

The remarkable thing was the variety. I counted over 100 types with 50 varieties growing within a small area.

Heartache For Sale

Starting Wednesday, August 22 this incredible piece of art will be auctioned through Ebay.
It will be auction number 230163017817 -- and this important document of prison life is all about the numbers. Here is a preview of the listing:

This is an original important, oil on burlap painting from one of the first "OFFICIAL" Stateville Art Shows. It measures approx. 29 inches wide by 37 inches long. This appears to be the original artwork that was used for a printed poster.

The artist is August G Mendez and I have searched on the internet for any reference to this artist with little luck. I checked and he is not currently incarcerated.

The subject is an intelligent and well-balanced hybrid of 1970's "supergraphics" and Mexican folk painting or textile design contrasted by an INCREDIBLE, monochromatic inset of the prison itself.

This guy was a good painter and smart, to boot.

If I were a critic I would say he successfully contrasts the bleakness of prison life against the beauty of freedom.

The color is amazing with very controlled mixing of hue and tone.

There are three forms of identification on the piece;

First - the artist has poignantly incorporated his prisoner number into the image: 66720.

Second: the verso reads, in permanent marker;
August G. Mendez
#66720
"Stateville Poste(r)"

Third: There is a deteriorated typed paper label on the side. All that is left is the number 66720.
CONDITION: The stretcher seems to have warped but I think the frame - which is cheap stained trim nailed directly to the stretcher - has caused this and it can easily be fixed (but I hope the high bidder will keep this material as a part of the whole - for archival purposes).

The framing has suffered some discoloration.

Also - there is a tiny drip of white paint near the lower right edge that I think could be removed with just a little work.

Shipping is high via UPS insured with special packing at $110.00. International shippers will pay actual cost per estimate before invoice.

I WILL BE OUT OF CONTACT FOR THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF THE DURATION OF THIS SALE WITH NO ABILITY TO CHECK EMAIL AND WILL RETURN ON AUGUST 26TH . I APOLOGIZE IF THIS CAUSES ANY PROBLEMS.

On a brighter note: I'm leaving for the farm and that's gonna be a blast. My eyes get tired from looking at the mountains.

And there are some other Ebay auctions starting Sunday including some great turquoise McCoy

And original engravings from the 1st/2nd edition of Encyclopedia Britannica

(Pictured: "Eclipse")

Peace Tower

I was invited to provide a piece for the Peace Tower project which is installed through October 1 at the Chicago Cultural Center. The Tower is really worth seeing and I am proud of Chicago for producing this in such a prominent venue.

The first Peace Tower was organized by Mark di Suvero in 1966 in Los Angeles and included works by Rothko, Lichtenstein, Judd, Golub and many others.

It was revived for the Whitney Biennal last year. Here is a wonderful website about the project.

Here is text from the Department of Cultural Affairs; "A Peace Tower project, created by di Suvero for this exhibition, will stand in the Chicago Rooms’ second gallery. In response to a call for participation, local artists, activists, veterans, military personnel and documentary photographers are now contributing artwork about peace and protest that will hang on di Suvero’s steel structure. The Peace Tower was originally created in 1966 in Los Angeles as a response to the Vietnam War, with 400 artists participating in the project. It was later re-created in 2006 for the Whitney Biennal in New York City as a response to the war in Iraq. "

My "Piece" is Installed Next to Skreneski's Portrait of Studs Terkel (I'm humbled on many levels). It's made with braille paper.

Peace = Justice, 2007, Braile New York Times Article on Deployment in Iraq with Collage on Board. 24" x 24"

I only had two days to complete the piece but I'm happy with the agit prop quality. Here's the verso (cut-out).

TEN DAYS UNTILL THE FARM

Ebay Paper Dress Bonanza!

Yippee!

This is amazing! I'm selling stuff on ebay and someone bid this paper dress up to $500! It must be a mistake. I've contacted the bidder in Greece but for the time being I'm imagining some wealthy woman who remembers her mother wearing an identical dress at an Easter party on Crete. Or maybe it's a hyper-allergic fashion model.

SOLD TO THE PELEPONISIAN FOLKLORE INSTITUTE IN GREECE for 510.00.

Here's some more good crap:

An 8 inch coffin from West Virginia

This mermaid has seen better days

WITHDRAWN FROM SALE FOR STRUCTURAL ISUUES.

Old Art: "The Light Was Yellow Officer"

I found a bunch of slides of pieces I did on tar paper back in the late '80's. This piece was done on construction debris and I think it was 6 feet tall by 3 feet wide. I left it in an alley when I moved to 1322 North Wicker Park Ave.