This post was submitted by h2denver.

                          

I had no idea what to expect when Keith refused a coffee interview but instead insisted we meet late-night on a Sunday at a small Cap-Hill bar. Two men at the bar insisted that one was Keith, and the other was a close friend, but when my laptop came out they were highly confused but kept trying to push a shot in front of me nearly bursting at the seams trying hard not to laugh. I had been duped, or so I thought until I turned around to go outside and someone approached me who broke all stereotype of what I though a graffiti artist looked like. Mid 30’s, scruffy and smiling Keith held out his hand and pointed outside. The two men at the bar called after us as we sat down in a circle of about 10 people. He brought friends, and some of them didn’t look too pleased to see me or my laptop. As we started to talk the tension from his protective circle lessened and we started from the beginning.

Keith noticed graffiti for the first time while living in Manhattan at nine years old while riding the subway with his dad. After being moved to Connecticut because of an incident involving a strip club, the length of time Keith spent on the trains getting in and out of NYC increased and so would his exposure to graffiti. ‘The culture was unavoidable’ he said as he immersed himself in skateboarding, music, and art ‘it was hard not to pick up (a can.)’ It wasn’t long until Keith was under bridges meeting older artists who helped him out along the way like EMIT. ‘It was the cliff-notes lesson in painting, I’d finish a piece, he’d come up asking if I was done, and show me how to cut my lines clean.’

Inevitablly he joined up with crews, and very soon after started getting into trouble with the law. He explained to me that there are entire divisions of thte NYPD that are dedicated to preventing graffiti. The stories he was telling about getting locked up in the city made my skin crawl, and somehow find gratitude for how clean the jails in Colorado are. He told me while painting a wall with gaze, blood, cycle, ember, and yes2 an unmarked officer snuck up behind him and said ‘move and I’ll fucking kill you’ right before pulling the hammer on his 9. Keith Jive and all of his companions (except yes2 who had gotten away) spent the next five days in jail sitting on the floor watching crazed PCP addicts trying to cut the golden teeth out of the other detainees.

In 2002 Keith got a phone call from EMIT who was ‘so sick of the east coast’ and they both quit their jobs, loaded up a car and headed west shortly after leaving a final mark by throwing up on the front steps of the Warhol Museum. They ended up in Colorado and have been making marks on our scene ever since. I got lucky enough to spend an afternoon this past fall painting a wall with Keith and Obses, both Obses and I standing in awe to the flow and precise motion that Jive paints with. Keith stays very humble about his place in the Denver art scene and just writes it off as his way of life, when posed with the question ‘why do you keep painting?’ He laughs it off and says ‘this is the only thing I’ve been doing longer than jerking off! It’s been 22 years it’s just a part of me!’

                          

Friday night was an important night for fans of punk rock and its history. Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art played host to the opening of Bruce Conner and the Primal Scene of Punk Rock, a photographic descent into the raw, gritty history of punk and its subsequent influence on art and music. Attendees got to see a variety of photos, fliers, and video footage that truly showcased the rebelliousness of the punk rock culture. One that taught music and art history from a different perspective.

From the very first moment you stepped through the door to the museum, everyone from hipsters to punks to regular joes off the street, fans of punk and those who knew nothing about it were able to hang out, drink a few brews, and get a taste of what life was like for the dirty, outcast misfits of the 70’s and 80’s. Heavily influenced by the disdain for suburban life and conformity, the punk culture took visual and performance art to a whole new level.

Live shows, as well as the scene as a whole, were typically aggressive and sometimes violent in nature. The mindset of punk rockers during this time (and really, throughout time) was wholeheartedly against society standards, which clearly came through in the photographs and art that were created. Bruce Conner, possibly one of the most equivocal San Francisco Beats from the 1950’s, spent much of his career photographing bands like Devo, The Cramps and the Dead Kennedys during their live gigs to convey the dark aesthetic that essentially was punk rock.

As I walked around the museum looking at the photos, watching the footage, and reading excerpts printed on the walls, I took in the vibe of other patrons. It was an interesting experience to see their reactions to some of the pieces. Some reacted with familiarity and nostalgia as if perhaps they had once been apart of punk rock’s glory days. Others looked confused. I remember seeing one older guy who was watching live footage of a show who couldn’t stop smiling. I kind of hoped he would bust out his air guitar since it looked like that could have happened at any moment. Sadly, he did not. The mix of people was kind of surprising but I guess that’s to be expected when it comes to art.

The best part of the exhibit for me was the room where they were playing video footage. I think this was where I spent the majority of my time. Fliers were tacked up on one wall haphazardly and centered around medium sized TV screens, all of which allowed patrons to view a different show or performance. Music was playing over the loudspeakers above which hung from what I could only guess was a model sculpture of a vulture… or some other type of vindictive looking foul. On another wall were framed pictures, which included a cluster of song lyrics, fliers, and cassette tapes of various punk bands. Right dead in the middle of the room was a transparent screen where The Cramps footage was projected. I still wish that dude would have shown us all his mad air guitar skills…

In addition to Conner’s work, there were also textual pieces by Miranda July, a filmmaker, writer and performance artist with deep roots in the punk rock and Riot Grrl scenes of Olympia, Washington. There were photos by Juan Capistran, a Latino immigrant who utilized aspects of the punk culture to explore and expose the impact of U.S. Immigration laws on Latinos in the Los Angeles area, and an installation entitled Guarded that displayed weapons and seemingly harmless items that are prohibited by the TSA during air travel, by Adam Ames and Andrew Bordwin, better known as Type A. I’m not sure if the installation corresponded with the Bruce Conner exhibit, however, the more I think about it… in a strange way, I can see a link between the two.

Yeah, I’ve been around “punks” all my life, but was never really exposed to the scene’s roots or its correlation with art. However, after diving in a little deeper when I left the museum and conversing with my fellow art and music lovers, I can clearly see just how influential the punk rock culture was on artistic expression in all its forms. From the flier art and magazine covers, specifically those of Search & Destroy, the zine that Bruce Conner shot for, to the photos of musicians and their audiences during shows, punk rock undoubtedly left its mark.

If you weren’t able to catch Bruce Conner and the Primal Scene of Punk Rock on its opening night, don’t worry. The exhibit will be at the Museum of Contemporary Art until June 24th and you will also have the chance to check out some cool lectures and performances along the way. For more information on the Bruce Conner exhibit as well as dates and times of lectures and shows, check out www.mcadenver.org.

Oh! One more thing… if you have seen the exhibit, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Did you think the photos and pieces displayed truly represented the punk rock scene? Would you have done something different? Get the discussion started in the comments section NOW!

Photo Cred: Phil Morris & Rachael Moyte

                          

This post was submitted by durrink.

                          

This post was submitted by durrink.

                          

This post was submitted by durrink.

                          

This post was submitted by Denver Tramp.

                          

This post was submitted by nugeofthesun.

                          

This post was submitted by durrink.

                          

The Colorado based unicorn tribe is currently raising the funds to create a mobile masterpiece: a 20 foot dancing rainbow for this years Burning Man and Apogaea festivals. The face of the rainbow will be covered in computer controlled LEDs, programmed to react to music. There will be an 8 X 20 foot dance platform on top and an aerial rig for performance art off the back. Masking the facade of the vehicle will be glowing fabric clouds and original murals depicting the “UniKama Sutra.”

Rainbow schematic illustrating the dance platform and aerial rig. Clouds and unicorns not shown.

Before you learn more about the project, let me tell you a little story about some Fucking Unicorns.  Our camp began its evolution in 2001 when our founding mother first stepped foot on the playa.  Years later, a simple image of two unicorns doing it doggy-style gave birth to our name, identity, and a full blown obsession with horny ponies.  They represent everything that we love about Burning Man… the beautiful, the playful, the magical, and the surreal.  In 2008, the Fucking Unicorns were placed on the Esplanade, the main drag of the mile wide city.  We were 30 members strong and had developed the infrastructure to comfortably support ourselves, including custom welded shade structures, domes, and yurts.  We introduced the “silent disco,” a dance floor with wireless headphones, each receiving musical transmissions allowing the dancer to block out external stimuli and get lost in the rhythm.

The 2008 Fucking Unicorn Camp on the Black Rock City Esplanade. Gus the bus in the background.

Our most prominent year on the playa came to a tragic end.  On the way home from Burning Man 2008, the Fucking Unicorns were hit by a 26 wheel semi-truck outside of Park City, Utah. At ten o’clock at night “Gus the Short Bus” was slammed by 50 tons of metal cruising at 60 miles an hour.  We skidded, rolled, and slide across the highway.  As awful as it sounds, take a minute to picture the scene of the accident.  Twelve bikes flew off the roof rack.  Ten storage tubs of costumes burst apart.  Fifteen hula hoops were scattered across the road.  Fur, lace, and glow sticks showered light and color upon piles of debris.  Our bikes, costumes, shade structure, 12 foot trampoline, a life-size springy unicorn, and Gus were all destroyed.

The outside of Gus the Bus post-accident

Three years later, our camp is rising from the ashes of what was the scariest moment of our lives.  In the end, we had our share of serious injuries, medical bills, and litigious headaches; but we all made it out alive.  Many took some or all of the last years off from the burn.  It was hard to lose so much, so traumatically, and so suddenly.  We were forced to re-prioritize our lives.  It wasn’t until last year, in 2011, that our camp felt complete again.  We finally gained the steam and motivation to finish rebuilding what was lost.  More importantly, we rebuilt our family.  We are ready to contribute something substantial to that collaborative experience in the desert, something that will add even more craziness and beauty to the cacophony of sights and sounds that make up the playa.  We know that the Fucking Unicorn Rainbow will be one of the most memorable mutant vehicles of 2012 and will continue to add visual and performance art to regional festivals and events for many years to come.  The default world can be a dark and scary place.  We hope that by creating our vehicle, we will also be creating myriads of opportunities to perform, inspire, and add even more life and color to the world.  The Fucking Unicorns are back and we are more magical than ever.  Thank you for your support!

To find out more about the Fucking Unicorn Rainbow Art Car and to donate go to:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1554537122/the-f-king-unicorn-art-car