The latest Instant Coffee bulletin has a small rant about Les King. If you ever go out on Queen St. in Toronto you know the guy. He is an artist who sells his work on the street with the line, "Would you like to buy an original drawing?" Here's the Instant Coffee post, and a response from my friend Von Bark who has probably purchased more of Les King's drawings than any one else I know.
Instant Coffee: We ventured out for the first time in a while into the Toronto gallery
world. At an opening we witnessed exactly what makes an "Outsider Artist"
actually an outsider artist. At many openings Les King attempts to sell his
amazing depictions of the metaphysical and on too many ocassions is kicked
to the curb for his unconventional ways of trying to get by as an artist.
How can gallery owners and patrons be so fucking crass and intimidated by an artist just trying to get by and have a place to sleep. He is an outsider artist not because he hasnt been trained in the accepted field of education but because he has been made an outsider by the self righteous "insiders". So glorify the romantic past of artists being shunned by the elite but realize what that elite is now. If you can't buy a 10 dollar drawing then thats your business, but have the decency to stand up for someone who needs a break and is honest about they are doing. Les is an amazing artist and deserves basic respect for having the balls to do what he does.
- Jay Isaac and Jenny Bishop
Von Bark: So Les got kicked out of an opening? He was probably bothering people, and not stopping. If Les understood human politics he wouldn't be an outsider. If Les knew how to stay out of people's way and not bother them so much then... well... Les is persistent. A lot of people are persistent. The people who run the world are persistent...
That rant caught me eye as well and made feel a little ashamed at how I've persistently treated Les as little more than an annoyance. It's easy to be idealistic and say that everyone should be nice to people all the time, but then there are people like Les who can make you seem like a hypocrite. I've never really had a conversation with him, but I've overheard lots between him and a particular gallery owner, who was nice and generous with him until Les started to take advantage of that and wore out his welcome. I tend to just think Les is more of a conman than anything...his story isn't very consistent over the long term. In addition, he doesn't seem to want to do anything to help himself, which I tend to think is because he does have some form of security.
I guess the biggest fear I have toward being nice to the guy is that fear that he'll latch on - he is persistent in that desperate way that scares anyone. I also think it's generous to call him an artist - he's an unskilled doodler with a parasitic attitude towards openings. While I think Jay and Jenny are right to call the art scene on its double-standards, I also am sometimes surprised that Les hasn't been banned from galleries.
I don't really agree with this part, "but have the decency to stand up for someone who needs a break and is honest about they are doing. Les is an amazing artist and deserves basic respect for having the balls to do what he does."
Les has been given tons of breaks, is not an amazing artist, and while he deserves our respect, which I admit I haven't always shown, he's also a weasel.
Les is one of these people who remind us why society needs social programs. He also reminds me of why it's important to have a sense of integrity and that your word is your bond. Les' interaction with the gallery owner I mentioned usually involved a degrading begging and pleading and a 'I'll pay you back I promise,' which never once was followed through on. While he was obviously able to afford this generosity, why should he be put into this position where Les makes him a dependent? While you could say it's probably obvious that Les could never pay him back, why should he be so dishonest and self-degrading? Like Von Bark said, he has no sense of politics.
I live in the neighbourhood that Les frequents so i have had many encounters with him. I must say i don't really care for his 'art', occasionally he may pull off a trippy drawing (which i have bought on occasion) but usually they are unskilled doodles as 'anonymous' says. He does appear to have some problems, and some days he is more lucid than others. I have been on the Dufferin bus with him a couple times and have overheard him discussing Marxist politics with a fellow passenger, he seemed to know his stuff (sorry Von Bark). Of course Von Bark may argue that a practical/realistic application of Marxist theory has yet to be realized. Les has also been quite kind and generous to me at times. He likes to tell bad jokes and has given me a gift he found in the garbage. Unfortunately every encounter always ends with him asking me for money or to buy a drawing. I basically treat this request the same as any other from a street person, sometimes i give money other times i don't, no judgement, no particular reason. We should treat everyone with the respect that they deserve, but beating ourselves up with liberal guilt won't solve anything. Maybe Les was just born with an unfortunate name.
Well, depending on your perspective, his drawings can be interpreted as "unskilled doodling", but I would love to cook up a theory as to how his work represents a bold foray into the "representation of countervailing polytonalities". Unfortunately, I can't do that, instead I could simply say that some (not all) of his drawings have a distinctive personal value which appeals to me.
His personal style complicates the issue.
O.K. point taken V.B., i have occasionally really liked his drawings (or photocopied versions). But oh, the inconsistancy! Perhaps some countervailing medications are at work. Ah well, we all have our good days and bad days.
"So glorify the romantic past of artists being shunned by the elite but realize what that elite is now."
This is the part of Jay Isaac and Jenny Bishop's message that I find the most interesting. It's like a thread sticking out of a sweater...if you tug at it, doesn't the whole romantic starving artist genius myth start to unravel?
anyone remember "the count" ??
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The latest Instant Coffee bulletin has a small rant about Les King. If you ever go out on Queen St. in Toronto you know the guy. He is an artist who sells his work on the street with the line, "Would you like to buy an original drawing?" Here's the Instant Coffee post, and a response from my friend Von Bark who has probably purchased more of Les King's drawings than any one else I know.
- sally mckay 3-31-2005 8:32 am
That rant caught me eye as well and made feel a little ashamed at how I've persistently treated Les as little more than an annoyance. It's easy to be idealistic and say that everyone should be nice to people all the time, but then there are people like Les who can make you seem like a hypocrite. I've never really had a conversation with him, but I've overheard lots between him and a particular gallery owner, who was nice and generous with him until Les started to take advantage of that and wore out his welcome. I tend to just think Les is more of a conman than anything...his story isn't very consistent over the long term. In addition, he doesn't seem to want to do anything to help himself, which I tend to think is because he does have some form of security.
I guess the biggest fear I have toward being nice to the guy is that fear that he'll latch on - he is persistent in that desperate way that scares anyone. I also think it's generous to call him an artist - he's an unskilled doodler with a parasitic attitude towards openings. While I think Jay and Jenny are right to call the art scene on its double-standards, I also am sometimes surprised that Les hasn't been banned from galleries.
I don't really agree with this part, "but have the decency to stand up for someone who needs a break and is honest about they are doing. Les is an amazing artist and deserves basic respect for having the balls to do what he does."
Les has been given tons of breaks, is not an amazing artist, and while he deserves our respect, which I admit I haven't always shown, he's also a weasel.
Les is one of these people who remind us why society needs social programs. He also reminds me of why it's important to have a sense of integrity and that your word is your bond. Les' interaction with the gallery owner I mentioned usually involved a degrading begging and pleading and a 'I'll pay you back I promise,' which never once was followed through on. While he was obviously able to afford this generosity, why should he be put into this position where Les makes him a dependent? While you could say it's probably obvious that Les could never pay him back, why should he be so dishonest and self-degrading? Like Von Bark said, he has no sense of politics.
- anonymous (guest) 4-01-2005 12:21 am
I live in the neighbourhood that Les frequents so i have had many encounters with him. I must say i don't really care for his 'art', occasionally he may pull off a trippy drawing (which i have bought on occasion) but usually they are unskilled doodles as 'anonymous' says. He does appear to have some problems, and some days he is more lucid than others. I have been on the Dufferin bus with him a couple times and have overheard him discussing Marxist politics with a fellow passenger, he seemed to know his stuff (sorry Von Bark). Of course Von Bark may argue that a practical/realistic application of Marxist theory has yet to be realized. Les has also been quite kind and generous to me at times. He likes to tell bad jokes and has given me a gift he found in the garbage. Unfortunately every encounter always ends with him asking me for money or to buy a drawing. I basically treat this request the same as any other from a street person, sometimes i give money other times i don't, no judgement, no particular reason. We should treat everyone with the respect that they deserve, but beating ourselves up with liberal guilt won't solve anything. Maybe Les was just born with an unfortunate name.
- rusty_k 4-01-2005 1:40 am
Well, depending on your perspective, his drawings can be interpreted as "unskilled doodling", but I would love to cook up a theory as to how his work represents a bold foray into the "representation of countervailing polytonalities". Unfortunately, I can't do that, instead I could simply say that some (not all) of his drawings have a distinctive personal value which appeals to me.
His personal style complicates the issue.
- Von Bark (guest) 4-01-2005 4:03 am
O.K. point taken V.B., i have occasionally really liked his drawings (or photocopied versions). But oh, the inconsistancy! Perhaps some countervailing medications are at work. Ah well, we all have our good days and bad days.
- rusty_k 4-01-2005 5:47 am
"So glorify the romantic past of artists being shunned by the elite but realize what that elite is now."
This is the part of Jay Isaac and Jenny Bishop's message that I find the most interesting. It's like a thread sticking out of a sweater...if you tug at it, doesn't the whole romantic starving artist genius myth start to unravel?
- sally mckay 4-01-2005 8:08 pm
anyone remember "the count" ??
- anonymous (guest) 4-03-2005 11:03 am