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1 Subterraneans has been published to accompany the Subterraneans exhibition at Leeds College of Art from 21st November – 5th December 2014 Leeds College of Art Blenheim Walk Leeds LS2 9AQ Tel: 0113 202 8000 4 Leeds College of Art Subterraneans the start and attracted a number indeed mainly from, the culture and those paths that were of artists, photographers and present day. laid out in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Beat Influences on film makers to their circle. Also Contemporary Art the Beat movement influenced Although the Beat Generation in Although some of the works many others to create art that all probability began as far back are obvious such as a paper cut Subterraneans, an exhibition that could reasonably be called Beat as 1944 at New York’s Columbia piece by Bristol based artist Rose looks at the Beat movement from in its own right. Subterraneans University where Jack Kerouac, Vickers, using an early paperback a mainly visual perspective, has has taken this a stage further, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, cover of On the Road, or works by been gradually evolving since discovering Beat in work where it William Burroughs and others both Simon Morris and Joe Hale 2011 when Leeds College of Art may not be immediately obvious, became acquainted, the Beats based on the more recent Penguin held a couple of small shows but in doing so a unique exhibition have somehow managed to Edition of On the Road, the called En el Camino, Sur la Route begins to come together where, remain the coolest of literary exhibition soon veers away from and City Lights. Working closely for example, a Marcel Duchamp movements attracting ever more the overly literal and yet there is with the City Lights book store in 7” record is shown next to Kim followers. By pure coincidence always this connection, this thread San Francisco, these two shows Gordon’s Marcel Duchamp around the same time a new that binds all the artists and included work by San Francisco screenprint which is in turn shown generation of painters emerged, designers, writers and film makers photographer Larry Keenan and next to a Small Stakes poster the New York School, perhaps together, a perceived coolness, various versions of On the Road of Sonic Youth, playing at the better known as the Abstract edginess, art that is potentially in several languages alongside Fillmore, San Francisco. Expressionists and all this wild, crazy, art that if it were a other Beat publications. Such was glued together by the Be work of literature it would surely was the interest shown that the Back in 1952 Carolyn Cassady Bop jazz of musicians such as be Beat. The selection of what idea of a larger show soon took took some photographs of her Dizzy Gilespie, Miles Davis and to show, who to invite, or perhaps hold. Initially this was planned as husband Neal Cassady standing Thelonius Monk which permeated just as importantly who to leave an exhibition of contemporary art next to a relaxed Jack Kerouac everything. This is an exhibition of out, has not been easy and has with a Jack Kerouac connection. and these have become among art that you can almost click your taken a number of years - on the the most iconic images of the fingers to. one hand we have included work However as the months passed Beat Generation. I have taken by long established artists such the exhibition began to take a one of these photographs, an Of course, there have been, and as Gavin Turk, Jonathan Monk, different direction, less literal, image of youth, freedom and will be, many exhibitions about Marcel Duchamp, Sam Taylor- more open to influences from rebellion, as the starting point the Beat Generation in one Wood, John Baldessari, James the entire Beat movement, and for Subterraneans, an exhibition form or another but rarely has Turrell, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard beyond, and this has given us which is nevertheless not so anyone touched upon the wider Hamilton, Boyd & Evans and Yoko the opportunity to display a much about Jack Kerouac or implications of Beat culture and Ono, while on the other we have large, quite diverse range of work the Beat Generation but rather the visual arts. Subterraneans young artists such as Bonnie including paintings, photographs, the mind-set of artists since that confidently shows art by and Clyde, Adie Russell, Stefanie prints, film, performance and photograph was taken, artists who established artists and young Posavec, Aaron Murphy, Silviu and video, yet all crucially linked. have maybe been influenced by unknowns, recent graduates Irina Szekely, Rossina Bossio and Beat culture, directly or indirectly, and the long dead, artists and Jonna Bergelin and many others. Unlike most literary movements, even if not being immediately designers who have all in some We have also included recent the Beats were pretty visual from aware of the fact, right up to, way come under the spell of Beat Subterraneans 5 6 Leeds College of Art graduates and even one involved. I met Simon Warner that changed lives, including mine, Brontë’s perhaps, Shakespeare photographer still at art school. at the University of Leeds and profoundly. The artists taking part maybe - and this all started with Simon Morris at the University are from the United States, the Jack Kerouac sitting down at his There is a strong Leeds College of Middlesbrough, which in turn United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Underwood typewriter to start of Art connection - many of the led to others being discovered Brazil, China, Romania, Colombia, work on his scroll . the rest works on show come from the such as Jason Jadick in the Holland, Ireland and elsewhere, is history. Leeds College of Art Collection USA or Joe Hale and so it went a truly international display of and a good number of the artists on. A German collector of On creativity and an extraordinary involved are Leeds College of the Road in foreign languages, collection of art and design, film Art alumni. Several artists have Horst Spandler, got in touch, as and literature. links with Leeds College of Art did several artists in California, through exhibiting here in the past even the quirky Beat Museum The Beat movement produced while others have been directly in San Francisco. If we had the many literary stars and a few approached by the College. A space this could have developed mega stars – Allen Ginsberg, number of the artists we are into a major exhibition but as we William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac showing approached us to take have a small gallery we had to – Kerouac even has a street part on hearing about the show limit the exhibitors in some way. named after him in San Francisco. but all the works in Subterraneans Therefore there are not many And in San Francisco, just up from vary tremendously, from the direct references to Kerouac or the Vesuvius Bar where Kerouac simple woodcut by Los Angeles On the Road, but the works do once drank, the City Lights book artist Loren Kantor to the difficult have this special connection: The store still exists pretty much as it I first read Kerouac in the 1970’s to describe in a few words re- Boyd & Evans absorbing video did in the 1950s with rooms full of starting with On the Road then mastering of the Harry Smith piece One Day at a Time showing poetry, left wing literature and an rapidly consuming most of his Anthology by Jesse Kuppila or the short sequences of being on the entire room upstairs devoted to other works such as Visions painterly works by Russian/Dutch road in the American West, Adie the Beats. Owned and founded of Cody, Desolation Angels, artist Roza Horowitz. Russell’s works based on found by the Beat poet and painter Dharma Bums and of course photographs from the 1950’s or Lawrence Ferlinghetti, this is the The Subterraneans, perhaps my Going back to the beginning Chris Osburn’s Self Portrait taken true centre of the Beat Movement. favourite Kerouac novel. There is the paper-cut piece by Rose while on the road have no direct It is not a tourist place although much about the industry that has Vickers, which utilised the cover connection with the Beats but all plenty of tourists visit and it still built up around Kerouac and the of a Penguin copy of On the Road are included because they each sits precariously in a slightly Beat Generation that is somewhat that I had bought, and read, in the have a feel of Beat about them. sleazy area of North Beach on tacky, and film adaptations have 1970’s, became the catalyst. the edge of Chinatown and Little proved to be less than successful, This exhibition is a snapshot Italy. It is the genuine article but but it is the writing that matters I looked at our collection and of creative art from the past since City Lights was founded in and without that writing this found numerous works than could sixty years, sixty years that may 1953 the idea of Beat and Beat exhibition of visual art could never be called “Beat” and we began possibly have been so different, literature has spread worldwide, have existed. to approach other artists who certainly as far as literature is in all major languages and many we deemed to be equally “Beat” concerned, if Jack Kerouac had minor ones, and as a literary Terence Jones, Curator to see if they would like to be not written On the Road, a novel phenomenon it has few rivals - the Leeds College of Art 2014 Subterraneans 7 8 Leeds College of Art Aaron Murphy Aaron Murphy is a contemporary of Fine Art.

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