Bruce Conner - Beat Generation Artist - Original Ink Blot Drawing, 1962

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Bruce Conner - Beat Generation Artist - Original Ink Blot Drawing, 1962

About the Item

This large ink blot drawing was created by Bruce Conner in 1962. He was a fascinating artist of his time and was known for forging his own path. A copy of his own journal (at the bottom of the page) shows an entry he made dated September of 1962 in which he titled the piece “On.” He indicated the medium to be ink and blood - the sheet measuring 26"h x 20"w. The piece is in excellent condition. As you can see in the photo there is a slight waviness to the paper which is always forgivable in a drawing. It is unmatted and un-framed. The drawing is titled in pencil by the artist on the verso “On,” April 29, 1962. The piece is also titled with a black circle lower right on the front along with the artist’s signature in pencil “Conner.” Bruce Conner (1933-2008) Known for film making, assemblage, drawing, painting, collage, photographs, and conceptual events, Bruce Conner was a hard-working artist who spent much of his life searching for artistic truth. He is best known for his assemblage, but turned to other mediums after 1964 because he did not want to be only associated with one style. He achieved much fame but showed little interest in its trappings. In fact, he refused to be photographed and often did not sign his work. As a prank, he sent a notice of his death to "Who's Who in American Art," and exhibited a series of his collages under the name of his friend, Dennis Hopper. However, a Walker Art Gallery retrospective in 2000 gave him wide public exposure. In the early 1960s, he became a key figure among artists in San Francisco, a city where he and his wife, Jean, arrived in 1957 from his childhood home of Wichita, Kansas. Conner and his artist friends including Joan Brown, Jay De Feo, Manuel Neri, and Wallace Berman, formed the Rat-Bastard Protective Association, a counter-culture group to distance themselves from mainstream values. They became known as Beat-Generation artists who looked for something deeper than what they perceived as the shallow pieties of Eisenhower dominated America. Continuing to search for something beyond conventional America, he spent two years in Mexico where he did embryonic drawings in obsessive patterning. He returned to San Francisco and went into a period of exile from 1967 to 1971 when he quit exhibiting or teaching art. He supported himself by being a janitor and a salesman and made art only for himself. He developed inkblot drawings that explored symmetry and chance and experimented with methods of photography and film. His career led him through a wide range of forms and mediums, and his personality was one of humor and a love of the absurd. He died in 2008.

Creator:
Bruce Conner 3 (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)Depth: 0.03 in (0.77 mm)
Materials and Techniques:
Paper
Period:
1960-1969
Date of Manufacture:
1962
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Phoenix, AZ
Reference Number:
Seller: p37421stDibs: LU1875328830222