Tour showcases paintings, music by Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia
http://www.oceancitytoday.net/news/2011-09-09/Lifestyle/Tour_showcases_paintings_music_by_Grateful_Deads_J.html TOM RISEN ¦ Staff Writer September 9, 2011 Musical titans such as Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan and John Lennon wrote songs that will never be forgotten, but an art exhibit at Fager’s Island on 60th Street will showcase their lesserknown expressions on canvas. The art exhibit, “Jerry Garcia: A Visual Journey,” will be on display from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m., on Sept. 15, and from noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17. The company organizing the exhibit, Image Makers Art, specializes in artwork by actors and musicians, such as Tony Bennett and John Lennon, said Garry Engel, coordinator of the Garcia exhibition. The upcoming show focuses on work by Garcia, a budding painter at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960s, but will also have a few pieces by Dylan and Lennon. “A lot of the artwork by these celebrities is very good,” Engel said. “My boss [John Sozanski, owner of Image Makers Art] was working on a lithograph collection of Jerry Garcia’s work [in the 1990s,] and when Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995, [Garcia’s] publisher offered the whole collection of a few thousand pieces to my boss, and he bought thousands of copies of about 70 different artworks. Jerry Garcia signed about 25 percent of the prints.” Engel also manages, plays guitar and sings vocals in a Grateful Dead tribute band, Steal Your Face, which will play from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., on Sept. 15, for those who need a primer, or a reminder, of some greatest hits. A video clip of the band in concert is available online at www.stealyourface- band.com. “Steal Your Face will have the Woodstock generation reminiscing, the Bonnaroo kids screaming for more and everyone dancing,” according to a press release from the band. Fager’s Island General Manager Kevin Myers said he got the lead about Steal Your Face and the art show from listening to classic rock on WGBG 98.5 FM, and the restaurant followed, since there are a number of “‘Dead heads’ on the staff.” The cover band played at the restaurant on July 7, when the two companies started planning the art show. “The Grateful Dead’s music has a strong pull still as the forerunner to a lot of contemporary bands that seem popular with much of the beach lifestyle set,” Myers said. Other fans of the Grateful Dead can view, and even purchase, some of the art during the exhibit. Some of Garcia’s personal possessions, such as his ashtray and one of the black T-shirts he always wore on stage, are also part of the display, Engel said. “Jerry’s fans are legion and hardcore. Some people will walk out of a room in tears since the music touched your soul, and you see what his genius did on canvas as well,” Engel said. “That’s what I felt and what I hear from people. We’re like brothers and sisters in that way.” None of the heirlooms are for sale. Work by Garcia and other musical masters, such as Jimi Hendrix, is for sale online at www.imagemakersart.com . . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sixties-L" group. To post to this group, send email to sixties-l@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sixties-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sixties-l?hl=en.
