In the mid-1990s, Charles Krafft and Larry Reid decided to do something about the past-tense reputation of Krafft’s personal hero.
Enter the Mystic Sons of Morris Graves, Lodge No. 93.
In draping a mantle of irony and subversive humor over the spiritual head of the Northwest School, Krafft and Reid were pushing what Krafft called “resurgent regionalism through mythomania.” Graves’ profile had become fogged with the dewy breath of his mythy-minded admirers, and Krafft and Reid hoped to clear it with satire.
Satire and strategy. Like a Stephen Sondheim stripper in Gypsy, they got nothing against a gimmick.
You can pull all the stops out
Till they call the cops out,
Grind your behind till your banned,
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you wanna get a hand.
You can sacrifice your sacro
Workin’ in the back row,
Bump in a dump till your dead.
But you gotta get a gimmick
If you wanna get ahead.
Krafft:
We’re taking out the sanctimony and adding a bit of titillation. The
Northwest mystics were an urban movement, not a bunch of remote
dreamers. They didn’t have master of fine arts degrees. They learned on
the job.
Besides membership charters, wristwatches, calendars, trading cards, ashtrays, portable shrines and even a theme song written by Krafft and sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies, what has the Mystic Sons done for us lately?
Reid is glad you asked.
Thursday night, 5:00 to 8:00 at 3 galleries in the
Tashiro Kaplan compound (Rock/DeMent, the Corridor, and Angle galleries
at 306 S. Washington St) is a Graves’ tribute invitational, with a Graves séance on August 28, what would have been Graves’ 100th birthday.
Morris Graves, Self Portrait, (left); John Ohannesian, Morris Graves (right)
(Reid’s press release after the jump.)
The Mystic Sons of Morris Graves, a beneficent fraternal order dedicated
to celebrating the legacy of its revered namesake, is commemorating the
centenary of Graves’ birth with an invitational art exhibition and
séance in August at the Tashiro Kaplan artists cooperative in Seattle’s
Pioneer Square.
The art exhibition will feature dozens of homages to Northwest master
Morris Graves by accomplished members and friends of Seattle Lodge No.
93. The show features work in all media from established and emerging
artists including Chris Crites, Charles Krafft, Stephen Rock, Aaron
Murray, Ries Niemi, James Dykes, Kelly Lyles, Peter Santino, Tim
Silbaugh, Tom Francis, David C, Kane, Art Garcia, Eric Nelson, Galen
Garwood, Tom Francis, John Ohannesian, Augie Pagan, Matthew Kangas,
Robert Hardgrave, Larry Reid, and countless others.
Also included in the
exhibition will be seldom-seen artworks and artifacts created by Morris
Graves specifically for the Seattle Lodge.
The Morris Graves Centenary exhibition opens with a festive reception on
First Thursday, August 5 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at 3 galleries in the
Tashiro Kaplan compound: Rock/DeMent, the Corridor, and Angle galleries
at 306 S. Washington St. Following the reception, the exhibition will
remain open for public viewing on Saturdays from noon to 6:00 PM through
August 28.
On Saturday, August 28 at 9:00 PM – Morris Graves’ 100th birthday –
members of the Lodge will conduct a séance in the community room of the
Tashiro Kaplan Building. Presided over by master medium Kirk Charles
with a special Theremin performance by Aja West, this event is sure to
be both entertaining and enlightening. For membership information
gaining access to this unique experience, attend the exhibition on
opening night or visit the Nancy boutique at 1930 2nd Avenue, Wednesday –
Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m
Do you know the lyrics of the Mystic Son’s theme song?
To the tune of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” lyrics by Charles Krafft: “Come and listen to our story/ About a man named Morris,/ An artist who flung ink/ On papers that were porous./ He lived in the woods/ On a lake that looked Chinese/ And every time the moon came up/ He dropped to his knees./ (Big gnarly ones. They looked/ Like a couple of redwood burls.”
I was a fly on a wall at the filming of a video piece made for the show. Definitely urban, mystic, and hot. Should be an interesting exhibit.
This is a delightful video about Morris Graves and his mystic pals who gathered at the Callihan house at
2407 E. Ward St. on Capitol Hill in Seattle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQvey1EzTe8
The Mystic Sons Theme Song lyrics
…Well, one night when he was gazing/at the stars overhead,
He slipped into a trance/And thought he was dead.
He saw a twinkling Buddha/ In a shiny Cadillac
And when he came to he said, “I like it like that!”
(It was the Diamond Vehicle. /Perfect consciousness.
None of that 2% stuff.)
So ever since the night/ When Morris saw that Buddha/
He’s been living like a yogi/And eating lots of gouda
He’s got a little garden that he’s stocked fullof chives
And he never had to worry now/About breaking out in hives.
(Hey, ya’all come on back real soon now.)