In the spring of 1983 billboards promoting enrollment in the Marines appeared in Seattle and around the nation. When one of these appeared in Belltown, an opportunity for appropriation presented itself. In this case the face was pealed away and a little spray paint completed the skull's expression and the revised message to confront the promotion of militarism in our culture. In the following day's papers, much to the participants' surprise, there had been two billboards done the previous night.
The fact that there were two groups altering billboards was never reported in the media, but once again, provocative news travels fast.
Four years later, Regina Hackett wrote an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer on unsanctioned art in Seattle. The article prominently featured the "You Can Be Dead" billboard and maintained the anonymity of the artists.
"Burnt Offering" was created for the windows of Art In Form, an art bookstore established by Laura Millen and Annie Grosshans in my former studio space on the corner of Second Avenue and Bell Street. The piece was conceived in support of a Fire Sale that was being held on the first anniversary of a fire that had been set on the back stoop of the building, causing considerable smoke damage and ending the residential space upstairs. The title referred to the planed incineration of the skeletal cityscape, fashioned from cardboard and embellished with jos paper and fireworks.
One night, shortly before the end of the sale, the glittering city was shifted to the adjacent window and a blackened wreckage was installed in the corner windows along with the words "This City Will Burn."
On the last day of the sale, the entire installation was transported two blocks north and installed in front of the old boiler-room building in the alley behind my studio. A small group of people who knew about the plan gathered in the space as preparations were made. Just in case, a hose was also at the ready.
The fire was brief and loud and sent up a dark cloud of smoke which caught the eye of a local resident who called the fire department, which was conveniently only 3 blocks away. The siren scattered the crowd and by the time the truck arrived the fire was merely embers which were quickly extinguished. A fire-woman seemed delighted at the idea and asked that they be invited 'next time.'
A notice of Violation was issued, marking the end of a lovely event.
In 1980, Buster Simpson started a new, if somewhat short-lived, tradition of serving up a huge root pie in celebration of Ground Hog Day. The pie was baked at the Belltown Cafe in the great metal bell pan that was created for the event. Here I am dishing up a steaming serving... yum!
For Bumbershoot 1982, Wendy Brawer organized "Regrade School," where each artist got a desk to embellish and other school room props to create. I immediately knew what to do with my extensive pencil stub collection.
It was also during this period that I created my first illustration using graphic border tape for a single released by The Features, a band I was friends with. The piece caught the eye of Helene Silverman and Mark Michaelson of Square Studios and The Rocket where I was soon creating edgy political graphics.
The Rosco Louie Gallery played a large roll in the growing art scene, and in 1980 I curated a show of humorous and provocative work. The poster above featured some of my earliest skeleton drawings. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the show as I had just taken off for an extensive trip to Mexico, where I would be inspired to explore 'calaveras' further.
