ASCO Firsthand

-Via lacma.wordpress.com -

ASCO Firsthand:

Recently, we talked to members of Asco, subject of the current exhibition at LACMA. Harry Gamboa Jr., Patssi Valdez, Willie Herrón and Gronk all stopped by during the installation of the show to share memories of the early years of the conceptual art group from East Los Angeles.


One of the events we talked about was the performance captured in the photograph below. Pattsi, Herb Sandoval, Willie, and Gronk appear in the midst of an impromptu meal, captured on film by Harry.


Harry Gamboa Jr., First Supper After a Major Riot, 1974, printed 2011. Courtesy of Harry Gamboa Jr.


The riot referenced in the title occurred nearby in 1971, when the Chicano Moratorium held a peaceful demonstration that degenerated into police brutality.


Harry Gamboa Jr.: LA County sheriffs open fired on innocent students and protestors, and wounded and killed many people who were protesting against the war in Vietnam, and were also protesting against police violence, which was followed by a two to three and a half year crackdown on young people gathering on the streets of East Los Angeles.


At the time that we shot [First Supper After a Major Riot], we felt that it had been long enough. It was time for it to be extinguished. And so, we declared it to be a celebration.


Willie Herrón: At the time of the Moratorium, I was in high school. I remember the procession originating at Belvedere Park, protesting the Vietnam War and all the Chicanos that lost their lives.  The police brutality was incredible. It affected me quite a bit and I think it affected all of us. So that’s why Whittier Boulevard became such an important street, and a place for us to conduct our performances and connect them to our community and the way society viewed us at the time.


Gronk: We decided that it was time that we would take action and actually use the streets once again. We would take over a street or a neighborhood and activate it in some way.


Pattsi Valdez: These performances usually happened really quickly. An idea would be sparked and then we’d gather all our stuff and Harry would pick us all up, and we’d put everything in the car, and then we’d zoom off into the city and find the location.


I think it was a combination of performance art and protest. For me, it was very important to try to get noticed because I had things to say. I felt like I had to do it in a big way, so that the viewer would pay attention. The look, the make-up: I needed for you to pay attention, because I had a message.


Harry: I’m behind the camera. I’m kind of pointing and telling people where to go, and actually, I was holding a handful of people at bay from entering into the frame. Because people wanted to join them.


Pattsi: Gronk brought that painting, it was rolled up. And when Gronk unrolled, unfurled that painting and hung it there, I was really amazed by the beauty of that and power of that painting.


Gronk: It is an image called The Truth of the Terror in Chile. That was one of my first paintings. Allende’s government had just fallen and artists in Chile were being taken into the stadium and hands chopped off or tortured. I was reacting to that.


During the performance, people either honked their horns or cheered us on. But also in the back of our minds…at the time a phone call was ten cents, so we all had ten cents in our pocket just in case we had to make that phone call from jail.


We’ll have audio from the interviews here soon.


Amy Heibel





In the summer of 1950...

Take from http://blog.drawn.ca -


In the summer of 1950, Hans Namuth approached Jackson Pollock...:


In the summer of 1950, Hans Namuth approached Jackson Pollock and asked the abstract expressionist painter if he could photograph him in his studio, working with his “drip” technique of painting. When Namuth arrived, he found:



A dripping wet canvas covered the entire floor. Blinding shafts of sunlight hit the wet canvas, making its surface hard to see. There was complete silence…. Pollock looked at the painting. Then unexpectedly, he picked up can and paintbrush and started to move around the canvas. It was as if he suddenly realized the painting was not finished. His movements, slow at first, gradually became faster and more dancelike as he flung black, white and rust-colored paint onto the canvas.



The images from this shoot “helped transform Pollock from a talented, cranky loner into the first media-driven superstar of American contemporary art, the jeans-clad, chain-smoking poster boy of abstract expressionism,” one critic later wrote in The Washington Post. But Namuth wasn’t satisfied that he had really captured the essence of Pollock’s work. He wanted to capture Pollock in motion and color, to focus on the painter and painting alike.


Above, you can watch the result of Namuth’s second effort. The ten-minute film, simply called Jackson Pollock 51 (the 51 being short for 1951), lets you see Pollock painting from a unique angle — through glass. The film achieved Namuth’s aesthetic goals, but it came at a price. Apparently the filming taxed Pollock emotionally, and by the evening, the painter decided to pour himself some bourbon, his first drink in two years. A blowout argument followed; Pollock never stopped drinking again; and it was downhill from there…



(via Jackson Pollock: Lights, Camera, Paint! (1951) | Open Culture)



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Conrad Schnitzler, RIP

VIA Brooklyn Vegan

Conrad Schnitzler, RIP: "

Conrad Schnitzler

Conrad Schnitzler, prolific German musician who was in early lineups of Kosmische (or krautrock, as the genre became known to English-speaking audiences) groups Tangerine Dream and Kluster, passed away due to [stomach] cancer on August 4. He was 74.



Schnitzler appeared on Tangerine Dream's first album, 'Electronic Meditation,' and he was a founding member of seminal krautrock group Kluster, along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. Three albums were released under the Kluster name before Schnitzler left in 1971 to work with his other group, Eruption. Moebius and Roedelius continued on as Cluster and actively recorded and toured on and off until 2010.Schnitzler was active all the way to end. He completed a new solo work 00/830 four days before he died. According to his website you can order a copy by emailing conpanie (at) yahoo (dot) com. RIP to Conrad.


Continue reading 'Conrad Schnitzler, RIP' at BrooklynVegan.com




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Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools

from "There, I Fixed It - Epic Kludge Photos by Not-So-Handy Andy"


Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools: "

Photographer Marc Steinmetz did a photography project a few years ago where collected items from prisons around Germany. Turns out, not all inmates are as brilliant and good-natured as Clair Cline. All the tools Mr. Steinmetz found were used by inmates for all sorts of nefarious porpoises; escape attempts, drug use, weaponry, and even *gasp* cooking. Here are a few of the more ingenious creations, most of which come from the “Santa Fu” prison outside of Hamburg.



A radio receiver carefully cut into an encyclopedia from the prison library. Entertainment lies within.



white trash repairs - Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools


Just because you see it in all the movies doesn’t mean it doesn’t work IRL. This classic rope made from bed sheets was used during an escape attempt from Santa Fu. Neither of the would-be escapees was very lucky; one fell while the other somehow managed to end up on the roof.



Now this is just plain sacrilegious. This crucifix hanging in an inmate’s cell contained a hidden surprise. Pretty evil in prison, but this would be one sweet vampire killer.


white trash repairs - Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools


This is a working gun made from sawed off pieces of bedposts and powered by the AA batteries you see wired to the top. It not only worked, but was successfully used in an escape in 1984; inmates shot through a glass window and hopped into a getaway car.


white trash repairs - Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools


Hey, sometimes you just needed a warm, home-cooked meal. This grill is kludged together from wire, foil and a broken heating rod. Perfect for that late night rat and cheese sandwich.


white trash repairs - Historical Thursday: Prison-Made Tools


Another heating device, this immersion heater made out of an electrical cord and some razor blades was purportedly used to make some delicious prison moonshine.


Enjoyed what you read? Check out all whole compendium of Historical Thursdays!


Pictures and Information courtesy of: Marc Steinmetz and Environmental Graffiti.


As always, if YOU have an idea for a Historical Thursday, let me know at thereifixedit@gmail.com





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