“How To Eat Corn Flakes”
My Contribution to an Upcoming Art Exhibition
Sorry this subscription-only newsletter is going out a bit late, but I spent all weekend working on a comic strip for Bobby Grossman’s upcoming exhibition at the Ki Smith Gallery. I think it looks pretty good: Bobby and Ki like it a lot. You’ll have to visit the art gallery to see it, and I think it’s one of the most interesting exhibitions I’ve ever been involved in. Which is saying a lot. Best of all, it’s a bit of fun, and not “Serious Art.”
I had a meeting with Ki Smith at his gallery recently. I was intrigued because the gallery is located next door to the building that housed Adam Purple’s Garden, which is where PUNK Magazine’s Art Director lived back in the day (when they were squatting!). Ki Smith grew up next door to Arturo Vega’s “Ramones Loft,” and used to hang out at the Yippie building on 9 Bleecker Street, so he’s definitely someone who understands the history of punk, art and the East Village. Very cool guy. It’s been great to work with Ki Smith and Bobby Grossman on this.
And I just noticed that Shepard Fairey is also involved! I was in a “Punk Art” exhibition he did last year that was very cool. I hope he attends the opening—he’s a good guy and a true punk rocker. He DJ’d the after-party in the parking lot and has great taste in music. (Special thanks to Nat, who hosted me in Los Angeles for the show.)
The show opens on March 8th: That’s less than a month away! So if you’d like to attend the opening, contact the Ki Smith Gallery to RSVP:
https://www.kismithgallery.com/events-2
Bobby Grossman was the first person to visit the Punk Dump to pitch his work! He showed me his Corn Flakes images back then. It’s like an obsession for him! I think his dedication to the Corn Flakes art project shows that persistence pays off.
This was 49 years ago, when I was working on PUNK Magazine #2 (with the Patti Smith cover). He showed me the Lou Reed Corn Flakes box, but since we had just done the cover story on Lou (and being paranoid about trademark infringement re: Kellogg’s), I rejected his work. But we stayed friends afterwards, and Bobby went on to build an impressive archive of downtown New York culture. I’ve been to several of his exhibitions over the years: He has photos of so many people, like: Basquiat, Warhol, David Johansen, Lester Bangs, David Byrne, and so many more. He has a lot of images of famous punk rock icons eating Corn Flakes. (I will avoid telling the joke that it’s a “corny” idea.)
If you’re interested in Bobby’s photos and books, you can find his stuff here:
https://www.thewaverlypress.com/home/p/low-fidelity-9hmsd
I have appeared in some interesting fine art exhibitions, (even though I am a “Bigfoot” cartoonist, which is the ghetto to most fine art aficionados). The first show was in Washington, DC at the Washington Project for the Arts, curated by Alice Denney and Marc Miller (who also curated the amazing 40th Anniversary exhibition at the Queens Museum in 2016). This show opened on May 15, 1978 and ran until June 10th.
One of my favorite “moments” in my career was have my artwork appear on the cover of the catalogue for the Queens Museum’s “Television’s Impact On Contemporary Art” that opened on September 13, 1986 and ran through October 26 that year.
There was an impressive roster of artists whose work appeared in the exhibition: Warhol, Mark Kostabi, Kenny Scharf, Keith Haring, Diane Arbus, Chris Burden, Robert Frank, Laurie Anderson and dozens more. Unfortunately, I abandoned doing artwork shortly after to take a full-time job at High Times magazine, but I have no regrets. Art wasn’t paying the bills back then (and still doesn’t).
Then there was the famous “New York New Wave” exhibition at PS 1 in Long Island City in Queens. Diego Cortez, a good friend of Anya Phillips (and worked with her on the Mudd Club back in the day), curated the show. It made Jean Michel Basquiat famous! (But don’t ask me why his name doesn’t appear in the flyer below? oh, right: He was still SAMO back then!) I remember running into him around a bar on Broadway near East 8th Street, just a day or two before the PS 1 show opened, and he told name “John! I’m being discovered! I’m going to become famous!” And it happened for him. I knew him from the Mudd Club back in the day.
Kind of cool that my name is sandwiched between Keith Haring and Curt Hoppe. Also very cool that names like Roberta Bayley, Bruce Carleton and Godlis (and even PUNK Magazine!) are credited. And even Screw magazine!
Then there was the Club 57 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), which opened on October 31, 2017 and closed on April 8. 2018. This was an amazing show: My “Joe Show” flyer was on the same wall as a couple of early Keith Haring artworks (who hung out there and did a lot of stuff with Kenny Scharf). The calendar promoting the Joe Show date also appeared a small thing by me. This was probably the highest profile my images were displayed in a fine arts exhibition.
It was fun to see my work involved in a show at MOMA! (And apparently the poster for Road to Ruin is in the permanent archive at MOMA.) Many thanks to Ann Magnuson for including my artwork in the show.)
I could go on and on about art exhibits I’ve been involved with, such as early Juxtapoz magazine exhibitions, the Stooges show in Detroit that Niagara put together, and so many others. I’ve probably forgotten half of them. Anyway, it’s nice to be recognized by the “Fine Arts” world once in a while, but I am happy being a “Bigfoot Cartoonist” and having most of my art, writing and illustrations appearing in lowbrow publications and underground records etc. And writing newsletters
for you, my loyal supporters. Thanks!
LINK: https://www.wornfree.com
Anytime!
Aw, thanks for the shout-out, much love!