FrankGaard.com

I'm giving a talk about Artpolice, Artpolice was a little magazine I produced for 20 years starting in 1974, yea it was 36 years ago, very pre-digital indeed the Vietnam War was finally in it's end game. But we were assassinating foreign leaders per the example of The President of Chile Allende( elected to his office). The war in Nam had gone on forever, it ground our souls into poison. America had soiled it's honor, not that the VC and NVA were angels but damn what was it all for (to open the Chinese markets to our crap)?

How I came to be here in the Land of Sky Blue Waters may have begun when I was a boy sitting on a bar stool looking at the Hamm's Beer sign across from the bar. Hamm's was The Land of Sky Blue Waters brand and as I looked at the image on the back lighted sign I'd imagine myself in that mystical land of sky blue waters which of course was Wisconsin and Minnesota (the fishing states) where everyone wanted to go to get those tasty Walleyes and be far away from the filth and noise of Chicago.

The radio studio was stuffy and warm but otherwise comfortable as if you were in North Afrikan indie radio station. So I was trying my best but my microphone technique was poor. And I was getting excited at times, you know 16 years after the demise of Artpolice it's suddenly cheese? It's this vampyr craze everything brought back to life, a sort of Zombie Art World.  The dead sell well. I have been having yet another bout with gout which gout always wins. But this little opening at Sean Smuda's place was impossible without feet.

If you divide something over and over eventually you have next to nothing, Im not thinking hedge funds but something like that. Apparently alot of hedge fund operators collected contemporary art. Not now though, although these new means to prosper will likely continue and enlarge as the time passes and it's safe to eat cake again.

Imagine your baby children in buggy attacted by lil' varmit dogs and giant pre-historic wolfie-hounds, is it hard to imagine yourself fending off these sharp teethed midgets? What about invisible fencing, as used in Israel. I've seen invisible fencing it's pretty cool the dogs are completely obedient to the invisible fence, unless you are walking with a dog then a more profound test is given the invisible fence. Why we keep the dogs around us I don't know? Seems a bit of a throwback to the caves where your beast was your door.

Lost yesterday's blog,frustrating ideas up in smoke. I'm not very gifted in the digital arts, plus I'm old and romantic still imagine films where something happens that should'nt happen as in old noir films. When I stayed with Mike McCoy in Venice a few years back we drove past Dennis Hopper's property which was like a giant military compound boy it was liked a celebrity overkill, the guy lived on a set it was morning in Amerika the Saudi punks blew up the Twin Towers in Manhattan. they would have called on Dennis Hopper if they could afford a really A movie production.

I was just finished with grad school when my first son was born, they called when I was working the night shift at the Oakland Post Office. Peter was born around 7 in the am.  When he got older he'd say he kept me out of the war as if that was reason number one for his existing.

In Cody Books in Berkeley you could buy little books written by the Viet Cong these publications were intended to find new comrades and cadre. I remember by friend Steve (special forces) saying that these books were all propaganda and I thought this freedom of the press is a great concept. Indeed freedom of the press is very important for artists' The Artpolice Journal was very much a free speech vehicle.

Hey Put The Pants in The Hole!!