In 1990, I was in group exhibits at the Willis Gallery and the Michigan Gallery. All of these master copies were done on Bristol paper except for Number 8. This was done on thin paper. Number 6 is on scratchboard, with the black scratched off with a sharp instrument to reveal the white beneath.
In 2017, I got to visit New York City, after staying home in 2016. It was a memorable trip. In Detroit, they tore down the old Dexter Bar. The QLINE train started running on Woodward. Then Tuesday, who was the last of a tribe of peafowl who lived on my block, vanished mysteriously. Hopefully she's in a zoo or some other friendly place.
2016 was an unusual year. For many of us, the year ended in heartbreak and a sense of impending disaster. You have to be a bit strange to really love politics, yet it's important. I curated a major exhibit here at the Library, Lost Cultural Venues of Detroit. As usual, I kept myself busy.
In 2014 I added around 340 image files to this archive. In the Summer, I installed an exhibit called A History of Detroit's Visual Arts Scene. This was here at this library. It explored some of the early history including the creation of the Detroit Institute of Arts. I drew on my own experience to chronicle the years from 1977 to 2014. There were a great many art shows held at a wide variety of galleries and other venues.
In 2013 I added quite a bit to this digital archive, around 700 image files. It was another busy year. It started with my participation in the exhibition Black Detroit 21 at the Work Detroit art space. I did a new group of paintings and drawings for it. Also, the first four 2013 issues of the POETIC EXPRESS were connected to and inspired by this exhibit.
In 2015 I added around 260 images to this collection. The POETIC EXPRESS marked its 30-year anniversary. The library held an exhibition The Poetic Express in Context 1985-2015. We also held an exhibit centered around the Halloween holiday. In early Autumn, I was part of an exhibit called What We Found at Detroit's Ellen Kayrod Gallery. The other artists in the show were Tim Burke and Jennifer Gariepy. It was generally a good and very busy year.
2012 was a good, busy year. I added more to this site. We got the Poetic Express section caught up. Images were added to the Index Card Art and Black and White Drawings Collections. I did concerts with Spaceband and the Fireflies. These included shows at the Steak Hut, the DLECTRICITY festival and at the Music Hall Café. I kept up my writing, drawing and painting.
In 2010, the POETIC EXPRESS reached 25. It's been going for a quarter of a century and is still kicking. I had a small solo exhibit at the MOSAIC Gallery on Detroit's east side. It turned out to be the last show that they had there. Around the same time, my friend Ron Allen died, out in California. Mick Vranich and Mary Laredo Herbeck also had died this year. All three were great people and mainstays of the Detroit arts scene.
In 2007, I curated a four person exhibit for the Zeitgeist Arts Venue. It was called Windows to Other Worlds (with Select Artifacts). That was in March and April. In July, we held a big ten year anniversary celebration there. I painted a large, triangular grouping of windows for a benefit. In September, I was part of a Telephone Game group exhibit in a gallery in Detroit's Eastern Market. Then too, I did a number of musical and puppet performances. At the end of the year, this Special Collections site appeared here for the first time, live.
In 2006, the Zeitgeist Arts Space was still going strong. I worked with them, including the Visual Jam Sessions. I did the poster for the Dally in the Alley. I did some puppet shows and played music with the Space Band and the Don't Look Now Jug Band. I was in art exhibits at the Cass Cafe and CAID arts spaces.
In 2011, we added a lot of images to this site. This included new sections on my Hudson's Building street art project, collages and pegboard drawings. It was an interesting year, full of changes and transitions, more good than bad. I was in three group art exhibits. One of these was just a one-day display, but it was still good. I kept drawing, painting, singing and making music. Adventures!
In 2000, I got the POETIC EXPRESS into the early stages of the new millennium. It was a crazy year for me due to health problems. For most of the year, I was out of a job. There was more time for being a full-time artist. I did work for the U.S. census. That was really interesting. In October, I spent my birthday in New York. I did a public art project and had a public screening of a short film starring my puppets.
In 1994, I joined the Don't Look Now Jug Band. I still play and sing with them, though more rarely. It was always a "big band" with eight to twelve people. A smaller side group, the Fireflies, plays more often these days. I had a small solo art exhibit at Rabbles Coffee House in St. Clair Shores. My friendship with Jacques Karamanoukian was underway. I started getting up to Ann Arbor again to visit and to exhibit at Galerie Jacques. This was a time of experimentation. It was another good year for me and for THE POETIC EXPRESS.
In 1993, I was digging into my new living space, making new friends and alliances and doing a lot of puppet performances. It was a good year for me. Things were flowing. I'm sure this was the year I spent nearly a month in New York City, on three separate trips.
In 1992, I moved down to my favorite neighborhood in Detroit. The New Center, Cultural Center and the Cass Corridor are all close by. I also worked with the Space Gallery and the Michigan Gallery. All issues were done on Bristol paper except for Number 2. Numbers 1 and 2 were created in Athens, Georgia. Number 8, was done in New York City.
In 1991, I had a big solo show at Detroit's Willis Gallery called More than Meets the Eye. It was up in late January and early February. This year, all issues were done on Bristol paper except for Number 11. I think that the quality of my work improved a lot this year, on all fronts. This is toward the end of the period where I lived in my parent's attic. I was still working in Detroit's New Center at Crowleys, making art and doing puppet shows.
In 2008, I had a great year. Early on, we worked on this site. There were a few additions and refinements. From May to July, I had an enormous exhibit at the MOCAD aka the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. It was part of a larger group exhibit. I also exhibited my puppet collection here at the University of Detroit Mercy library. In August, I got to New York City, as usual. Then, the Zeitgeist Arts Space closed its doors in November.
In 1989, I continued to do the masters on thin, cheap paper. With the last issue of the year, Number 14, I finally started using using a thicker Bristol paper. I continued to do this for nearly every issue from 1990 to the present day.
In 1988, I started the year with a trip to Athens, Georgia. In June, I did my first public puppet show performances Detroit's old Trobar Gallery. I was in a two person art exhibit there. In this volume, I continue doing the master copies on thin paper. Only Issue 5 is on Bristol board. I played with collage, frottage and used the typewriter some.
In 2005, I celebrated twenty years of continuous publication of the POETIC EXPRESS. For the anniversary in April, I did three issues including another Inventory poem and a full-page comic strip version, with drawings and poetry. Also, in October, I had an exhibit marking this milestone. It was at the library, here on the McNichols Campus of the University of Detroit Mercy.
In 1987, I was still making art and working at the store. I was "doing everything but selling and management." The second volume marks the beginning of my notorious "comic strip" SURREAL THEATRE. The master copies are on thin paper with Numbers 4 and 14 on cardboard.
In 2004 my long standing Detroit Street Art project was painted over, see Number 11. For years I had done drawings on viaduct walls as a bridge between drawing on sidewalks and on buildings. This one, on Woodward, was the longest lasting and most visible of these drawing projects. Also, in September I closed my P.O. Box and started listing a different postal address on the sheets, see Number 18.
In 2003, I finished the objects and places series. My email address now appears on one page a month. The SURREAL THEATRE goes into a nighttime setting and winds up its impressions of a day. It concludes with a larger strip with two rows of panels. I conclude the Emotional Digest series.
In 2002, the order shifted so that the odd numbers are the issues without the SURREAL THEATRE. The series mainly inspired by objects and places continues. My good friend Jacques Karamanoukian died this year. Issues Numbers 9 and 10 are in his memory. These include a large drawing and a poem in fractured French.
In 2001, I was really on the move! It was a bad year in many ways. The high point was that I started working here at the University of Detroit Mercy library. I'd been back doing "retail time" at Value City, in Warren. My friend Tim Knoll died this year, and I dedicated Old Lost Jug Band Song to him in Number 11. I put out a third page in September to include my poem September 11, 2001 in Number 17. It was written on September 12. Issue Number 19 includes other responses to these attacks.