Spontodaciously Where No Art Gallery Ever Went by Gerry Fialka <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] 310-306-7330
Mark "Sponto" Kornfeld (Aug 29, 1949 to Dec 28, 2008) greeted folks with the vivacious "Yo We." The "We" took his Spontolicious sing-songy slang into the "We are all oneness" realm. He hybridized "spontaneous" simultaneity with that feisty "pronto" punch, reinventing the spirit of the Beats. Artist/curator Sponto nurtured the creative and Love community in Venice, California for 24 years at his 7 Dudley Avenue location. This venue was the very same home of the infamous Venice West Cafe from 1958 to 1966, one of the birthplaces of a free-spirited literature and art movement. The Beats shared themes of spirituality, environmental awareness and political dissidence. Sponto felt the sacred ground bubbling up from the Beat roots, and extended it. Outty. Spontropy. Sponto cultivated a glorious garden of wonders and Spontasmagorical liberation. He transformed the whole concept of the art gallery into perceptual otherness--the SPONTOFICATION RITUAL. Now here this! Sponto Gallery was, is, and will forever be: 1- Art gallery - locals, international, homeless, children's art. Where no percentage was taken, all sales go to the artist. Whaa??? 2- Very Live music venue - Azar Lawrence, Country Joe McDonald, Jazz Funk Fest, and tons more - The Beat Goes Spon. 3- 7 Dudley Cinema - earth shaking experimental films and discussions - all volunteer, free admission. The series continues at the Unurban in Santa Monica and The Talking Stick in Venice, visit: <http://www.myspace.com/sevendudleycinema>www.myspace.com/sevendudleycinema 4- Exotic playground - where many a soulmate met their match. 5- Poetry center - carrying on the Venice West Cafe Beat tradition. 6- Political activist forum - with the likes of Alexander Cockburn, Blaise Bonpaine, Paul Krassner and much more like raising money to feed the homeless and helping New Orleans musicians. 7- Sponto championed bicycle activism and 7 Dudley Cinema showed Critical Mass bike films. His assemblage sculptures were often made of found objects, like the Sponto Cristo, which was composed of bike parts. 8- One of a kind events - like Fools Fest, Ms Beatnik Contest, and the Dumpster Diving Fashion Show. 9- Party central - Ain't no party like a Sponto party cause a Sponto party don't stop. Backgammon Spontoisseurs. 10- SIC (Spiritually Incorrect Comedy) - Live. 11- Got additions? Help make Sponto Gallery a Historic Landmark, contact Shirley <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] Shall I go on? We'z in double figures and there so much more to add. The Spontorage rages Eternal in Love and Laughter and Laughtears and whatever other word that describes what living is really all about, a word that hasn't been invented yet. Sponto nourished our clan, and there ain't no stopping us now. We're on the move. Don't matter where the place is. We are on top of it. We are the Little Rascals puttin' on THE show. He was and always will be our Righteous Entrepreneur of Rascality, and we ain't gonna let him down. Yo We. One Love Mojo. Spontodelic Spontoons. If you ever burned a fatty wif dis bad boy, ya know what I be talkin bout. Spontorific herbal knowledge. Ya be diggin infinity till the cows come home. Dancin' barefoot round da campfire. Ya be shootin' up to da rafters, homey. Rasta Sponto. Spontolini 7 1/2. The Man, the Myth, the Movie - 4:20 to Zuma. Where else in this multi-verse could one actually raise consciousness and vote under the same woof? Da Bomb. The Atomic Dawg barkin' the history of the future. Non-medical. Get on the Doobie Nova Bus. Squanto. Sponto was a real mutha fo'ya. He showered generous gifts at Mother's Day to many, often rapping them in aluminum foil, which he called Sponto Rap. He loved shiny objects. Sponto was once an almost-pro-tennis-player. He loved cheese on everything. His Spontopolis operated in the inclusive realm, not in the "guilty until proven rich" exclusivity - a utopian direct democracy of participatory involvement. He often employed houseless people, one of which declared "They'll never get him out of there now." Spontoneers and Spontonarians unify in the Spontopolitan Bohemia. Abbott Kinney invented Venice and Sponto reinvented it. Soon after Kinney died, the pier burned. Soon after Sponto died, the Gallery may close, but we'll be burnin' the Sponto light forever. Bustin' the bardos loose. Wanna be King of the Spontoprize. Let's meet and have community now. "It's all good, Sponti. Coolarue !" There was a memorial January 7 at Beyond Baroque. A daytime memorial is planned at the Boardwalk & Dudley Avenue on January 11 at 11 a.m. PS- The following is our PR-bio. Sponto especially agreed with including Albert Schweitzer's words: "Do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it." Sponto Gallery at 7 Dudley Avenue was the home of the infamous Venice West Cafe from the late 50's to the early 60's - an important birthplace for the Beat movement, much like North Beach in San Francisco, the Village in New York and the Left Bank in Paris. Sponto Gallery retrieves the explorations of Alan Kaprow's Happenings, Jack Smith's experimental films and the Fluxus art movement with its various film, poetry and comedy events. Visit: <http://www.myspace.com/sevendudleycinema>www.myspace.com/sevendudleycinema and <http://www.laughtears.com/>http://www.laughtears.com/ or call Gerry Fialka 310-306-7330 for more information and news on the continuation of 7 DUDLEY CINEMA at the Unurban (3301 Pico Blvd), The Talking Stick (1411c Lincoln Blvd) and other locations. Poet Stuart Z. Perkoff, who declared "All words are holy in the right mouth and right ears," wrote on the walls of the Venice West Cafe: "Art is Love is God." The Sponto Gallery community is developing ways of communicating that makes one aware of the processes and biases of communication. They stimulate the growth of subverting otherness, finding epiphanies and discovering redefinitions. The Sponto Family evokes Joseph Beuys resurrecting Black Mountain College & Andy Warhol's Factory with Sun Ra, Martha Graham, Bucky Fuller, Captain Beefheart, Sonia Sanchez, Lord Buckley and Luis Bunuel as instructors. They seem to be verbs: illuminate, demystify, unlearn, persevere, reinvent, question, interconnect, cross-pollinate, widen horizons, and make, match and mirror centers without margins. Diane & Abraham Butler's CIRCLE OF COLOR summer and winter solstice shows at Sponto continue to transform art and music celebrations. Gallery owner Sponto and programmer Gerry Fialka believe in Albert Schweitzer's words: "Do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it." 7 DUDLEY CINEMA plays a crucial role promoting counter-current moving image artists in a cozy community-oriented setting. Since November 2002, we have shown films free to the public with the filmmakers often present for discussion. We are an all volunteer group. <http://www.81x.com/7dudley/cinema>http://www.81x.com/7dudley/cinema Past screenings have included all Craig Baldwin's films (Tribulation 99, SOS, Sonic Outlaws & Mock Up on Mu), Watts Tower Film Festival, Critical Mass-Pedal Revolution, Lenny Bruce night, Uncensored Cartoons & much more. Our speakers have included Orson Welles' cameraman Gary Graver, culture jammer Craig Baldwin, director William Richert, political satirist Paul Krassner, archivist Stephen Parr, director Ted Bonnitt, experimental pioneer Chick Strand, producer Susan West (IN THE REALMS OF THE UNREAL), author Janine Marchessault, screenwriter/critic F.X. Feeney, experimental documentarian Philip Hoffman, Firesign Theater's Peter Bergman & Phil Proctor, poet Michael C. Ford, Ruben Guevara (Ruben & the Jets), Little Willie G. & Jimmy Espinoza of Thee Midniters, author Domenic Priore, jazz archivist Mark Cantor, Country Joe McDonald, Larry Taylor & Fito de la Parra of CANNED HEAT, producer Ken Kubernick, experimental filmmaker Alfonzo Alvarez, Lord Buckley's daughter Laurie, director Richard Elfman, comedian/ARISTOCRATS director Paul Provenza, Corman vet & author Beverly Gray, super groupie Pamela Des Barres, Victor Haydon (Mascara Snake of Captain Beefheart), film historian Michael Henry Wilson, experimental film pioneer Curtis Harrington and I AM CUBA cameraman Alexander Calzatti. Happy TrailerHD Film Fest world premiered Oscar nominee TONTO WOMAN at 7 Dudley Cinema. Sponto Gallery has sponsored children's art shows, raised money for New Orleans' musicians and helped raise money for Venice Food Not Bombs, who feed the homeless. Jazz great Azar Lawrence played ! a free 2 005 concert at Sponto Gallery. 7 DUDLEY CINEMA was featured on Warren Olney's NPR radio show, "Which Way L.A.?" on Santa Monica's KCRW. ---------- Listen to 350+ music, sports, & news radio stations FREE while you browse.<http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000022>Start Listening Now! ---------- Listen to 350+ music, sports, & news radio stations FREE while you browse.<http://toolbar.aol.com/aolradio/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000022>Start Listening Now! John Johnson Change-Links Progressive Newspaper [email protected] http://change-links.org Subscribe to our list server. 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