Poet Arthur Rimbaud (October 20, 1854 - November 10, 1891)

Untitled. 8" X 10" unique photographic print. Fall 1981 (copy)

The original was "stolen" by Performance Artist Lorraine O'Grady in December 1981. It was submitted, along with some speed driven automatic writing,  as my final project for her Surrealist Literature class at SVA - it's in her archive at Wesleyan University now, after decades on her studio desk. I aced the class anyway - back in October of that year -  with my presentation of Cabaret Voltaire and the Dada Poets. Lorraine and I really understood each other and got along great. She is the only Female Performance Artist I have any respect for. She always kept it personal, so much so, that it became political.

I first read Rimbaud's Illuminations in the summer of 1975 when I was 15.  The Doors' Absolutely Live was my companion piece. It worked beautifully and I managed to learn something. Passions arose, when I finally got to study Surrealist Lit, I'd already read and digested most of the required reading. Thanks Arthur!