{"id":1843,"date":"2010-08-04T11:03:17","date_gmt":"2010-08-04T18:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp\/2010\/08\/mystic_sons_of_morris_graves\/"},"modified":"2010-08-04T11:03:17","modified_gmt":"2010-08-04T18:03:17","slug":"mystic_sons_of_morris_graves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/2010\/08\/mystic_sons_of_morris_graves.html","title":{"rendered":"Mystic Sons of Morris Graves"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the mid-1990s, Charles Krafft<\/a> and Larry Reid<\/a> decided to do something about the past-tense reputation of Krafft’s personal hero.
\nEnter the Mystic Sons of Morris Graves, Lodge No. 93<\/a>.
 \"mysticsons.jpg\" 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. <\/p>\n

Satire and strategy. Like a Stephen Sondheim stripper in Gypsy<\/i>, they got nothing against a gimmick.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

You can pull all the stops out
\nTill they call the cops out,
\nGrind your behind till your banned,
\nBut you gotta get a gimmick
\nIf you wanna get a hand. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

You can sacrifice your sacro
\nWorkin’ in the back row,
\nBump in a dump till your dead.
But you gotta get a gimmick
\nIf you wanna get ahead. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Krafft:<\/p>\n

We’re taking out the sanctimony and adding a bit of titillation. The
\nNorthwest mystics were an urban movement, not a bunch of remote
\ndreamers. They didn’t have master of fine arts degrees. They learned on
\nthe job.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Graves<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"morrisgravesbird.jpg\"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<\/i>, what has the Mystic Sons done for us lately?<\/p>\n

Reid is glad you asked. <\/p>\n

Thursday night, 5:00 to 8:00 at 3 galleries in the
\nTashiro Kaplan compound (Rock\/DeMent, the Corridor, and Angle galleries
\nat 306 S. Washington St) is a Graves’ tribute invitational, with a Graves s\u00e9ance on August 28, what would have been Graves’ 100th birthday. <\/p>\n

Morris Graves, Self Portrait<\/em>, (left); John Ohannesian<\/a>, Morris Graves<\/em> (right)<\/p>\n

\"morrisgraveself.jpg\"\"JohnOhannesianMG.jpg\"
(Reid’s press release after the jump.)<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n


\nThe Mystic Sons of Morris Graves, a beneficent fraternal order dedicated
\nto celebrating the legacy of its revered namesake, is commemorating the
\ncentenary of Graves’ birth with an invitational art exhibition and
\ns\u00e9ance in August at the Tashiro Kaplan artists cooperative in Seattle’s
\nPioneer Square.<\/p>\n

The art exhibition will feature dozens of homages to Northwest master
\nMorris Graves by accomplished members and friends of Seattle Lodge No.
\n93. The show features work in all media from established and emerging
\nartists including Chris Crites, Charles Krafft, Stephen Rock, Aaron
\nMurray, Ries Niemi, James Dykes, Kelly Lyles, Peter Santino, Tim
\nSilbaugh, Tom Francis, David C, Kane, Art Garcia, Eric Nelson, Galen
\nGarwood, Tom Francis, John Ohannesian, Augie Pagan, Matthew Kangas,
\nRobert Hardgrave, Larry Reid, and countless others. <\/p>\n

Also included in the
\nexhibition will be seldom-seen artworks and artifacts created by Morris
\nGraves specifically for the Seattle Lodge.
\nThe Morris Graves Centenary exhibition opens with a festive reception on
\nFirst Thursday, August 5 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at 3 galleries in the
\nTashiro Kaplan compound: Rock\/DeMent, the Corridor, and Angle galleries
\nat 306 S. Washington St. Following the reception, the exhibition will
\nremain open for public viewing on Saturdays from noon to 6:00 PM through
\nAugust 28.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, August 28 at 9:00 PM – Morris Graves’ 100th birthday –
\nmembers of the Lodge will conduct a s\u00e9ance in the community room of the
\nTashiro Kaplan Building. Presided over by master medium Kirk Charles
\nwith a special Theremin performance by Aja West, this event is sure to
\nbe both entertaining and enlightening. For membership information
\ngaining access to this unique experience, attend the exhibition on
\nopening night or visit the Nancy boutique at 1930 2nd Avenue, Wednesday –
\nSaturday 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/anotherbb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}