Get on the Bus

June 15 – July 7, 2019

Saturday, June 22, 3 PM

GALLERY TALK with Roger Lazoff

Saturday, June 29, 2 PM

FILM: The Bus Movie, Episode 1: Journey to the East

Sunday, July 7, 2 PM

FILM: The Bus Movie, Episode 2: North to Madhattan

SOLO GALLERY

In the summer of 1964, Ken Kesey and his friends, known as the Merry Pranksters, undertook an epic cross-country bus trip. In a decade of Happenings, this event, chronicled on film and in print, became a celebration and a touchstone for the emerging counter-culture. In later years, the Merry Pranksters continued to demonstrate their version of free expression, both graphically and through what might now be called performance art.

The items in this show; posters, film, books – by Kesey and others – illustrate the multimedia interests of the group.

I went to California in 1974 and quickly fell into the Kesey orbit. Some of the objects in this exhibition came to me during the six years I lived with and around the Pranksters; others represent the next generation.

This exhibition asks and suggests the answer to the question: is Ken Kesey still relevant today and if so why? It is my belief that he is, not only because of his great novels, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion, but also because he was so central to the cultural transformation  that took place in the 60s and early 70s. Kesey’s circle of influence encompassed the Grateful Dead, John Barlow developer of the Well, the first online information source, and Steward Brand, who created the Whole Earth Catalogue, Kesey can also be seen as one of the key figures in the development of new art forms as can be seen in the 1964 Bus Trip movies. To put it in the parlance of the time, Kesey’s vibes were everywhere and they are still being felt today.

Roger Lazoff, Merry Prankster