G A N Z E E R . T O D A Y

“Their marathon rehearsal sessions began on Friday nights. The next morning each of them ingested a blue tranquilizer and four quarts of beer and smoked a joint, and they then practiced until eleven at night. 'Our music evolved collectively,' Sterling Morrison recalled, and it combined rock and roll with the consciousness-altering musical discipline learned from La Monte Young. The group added guitar feedback and an electric viola that sounded like a jet engine. [Lou] Reed was inspired by now forgotten songs of the time: 'Smoke from a Cigarette,' 'I Need a Sunday Kind of Love,' 'Wind' by the Chesters, 'Later for You Baby' by the Solitaires. 'All those really ferocious records that no one seemed to listen to anymore were underneath everything we were playing,' said Reed.”

More from FACTORY MADE which I am thoroughly enjoying.

“The next problem was where they would play. The band didn't consider themselves to be entertainers, and there were few models on the music scene. 'Rock and Roll consisted of Joey Dee and the Starlighters, guys who played the uptown clubs and had matching suits,' Sterling Morrison said. They didn't want to be cute, like the Monkees, or sincere, like folk singers. Their image was aloof and nasty and urban. As Cale summed it up, 'Our aim was to upset people, make them feel uncomfortable, make them vomit.'

“They found a suitable venue for performing when another neighbor in their Ludlow Street building, underground filmmaker Piero Heliczer, invited them to play at the Filmmakers' Cinematheque on Lafayette Street for two events. Angus MacLise and Piero Heliczer described them as 'ritual happenings.' They featured Piero's films projected through veils hung between the audience and the screen. Multicolored lights and slides were superimposed on the veils, and on the stage were dancers. The strange and overwhelming sound that overlaid this intermedia action issued from behind the screen, where the band improvised their music. In its multimedia overwhelming of the senses and in the band's invisibility, this performance reflected the group's evolution and quickly defined a place for them in the avante-garde.”

Piero Heliczer reportedly struggled with schizophrenia throughout his life but was nonetheless productive.

#reads

Father's day be like:

#journal

“Ronald Tavel's ingenuity was tested on several fronts in the spring of 1965. He had to imagine and write scenarios that represented different genres, and he had to create them very quickly.”

For about six months, they shot a film every two weeks to be precise. This is again from FACTORY MADE.

“He had to formulate strategies so that the cast could deliver his lines, even though they never tried to memorize them.”

It's hard to think of Warhol's films having had any semblance of script prior to filming, but apparently they did and they're all available for download.

#reads

“He's a fag from New York, he's just a fashion thing, we've read his publicity, this is no serious artist.”

The response from the board of the ICA to the suggestion of a Warhol retrospective in February 1965. The ICA (the Institute of Contemporary Art) was a modest noncommercial art space at Wesleyan University in Philadelphia. Exhibiting there would hardly be considered a major career achievement. Warhol was in trouble though. Despite this being what may be considered the height of Warhol's much mythologized Factory years, he was hardly making any money and practically operating at a loss. It would also mark the first time for an artist to be offered a one-person show less than a year and a half after their first serious gallery exhibition.

Chairman of the board, Mrs. Horatio Gates Lloyd III decided to make the trip to New York and pay Warhol a visit together with ICA director Sam Green, a young recent hire who was pro Warhol, and who got the position out of sheer dumb luck (and connections).

From FACTORY MADE by Steven Watson:

“Warhol seemed uncommunicative, not responding to any of the diplomatic conversational ploys at which Mrs. Gates was so adept. When she asked Warhol about his interest in movies, he just looked at her and said nothing. 'Mr. Warhol,' she said, 'is there anything wrong?' Warhol looked at her and said, 'Uh, gee, Mrs. Lloyd, you are so great. I just think you're really terrific. Would you be in one of my movies?' Mrs. Lloyd reached for her pearls and said what a fascinating idea, what role did he have in mind. Warhol said, 'Would you fuck Sam?' When Green heard that, he thought, 'Oh God, there it goes.'

”'Mr. Warhol, what a very interesting idea and I'm quite flattered,' she said. 'However, you might realize that my husband is the administrative head of the CIA, and it might not be appropriate for me to play that role. Could you think of another?'

The retrospective was eventually approved and scheduled for the fall.

#reads

Late night inks on TSG. I reckon there'll be many such nights in coming weeks. Meanwhile, Garage.Ganzeer is being stocked with many original drawings and production art. Updates to Ganzeer.com to follow. Newsletter forthcoming this Saturday.

#work

Hot as balls in Houston these days, heavy rainstorms only make it more humid. But I'll still squeeze in a walk whenever I can, which begets me nothing but strange looks from the Houstonians in their cars. Nobody really walks around these parts, unless they are leashed to a dog.

I find that the less I walk, the less I'm able to think. No earbuds/podcasts/music for me thank you very much (except of course when I'm at the drawing board in the studio).

#journal

Little dude's mouth needed a do-over, was a little to agape. The more subtle the expression, the harder it is to pull off. It's why the Mona Lisa's such a big deal.

#Work #comix #TSG

THE CURSE OF I #1 is now completely sold out. Only 4 copies remain of THE CURSE OF I #2.

More cover art to do today, inks on a TSG page, and adding a Clearance section to the Garage.

#work

Officially done with Instagram for good, which I first joined 12 years ago, severing the last of my ties with social media. Facebook was the first to go a few years back, followed by Tumblr, and then Twitter.

My online presence will now henceforth be limited entirely to ganzeer.com, the Restricted Frequency newsletter, Restricted Academy forum, and this here blog: ganzeer.today.

This may or may not be the start of a transitional decade to my later recluse years.

#journal

Brain pattern for a thing today.

#work