Art Bum is Not as Cool as Raymond Pettibon? (Comic)

artbumthesublime

From Lawrence Swan’s evolving Art Bum Comix, and posted with permission of the artist.

Btw, for those of you unfamilar with Lawrence’s work and oeuvre (I love that word)…here’s a brief bio:

Lawrence Swan has a BFA in painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he studied primarily with Op master Julian Stanczak and Edwin Mieczkowski (“It all started with Mieczkowski,” as Joseph Kosuth once said).

He acquired an MA in philosophy at Cleveland State University, where he fixated upon, but did not necessarily comprehend, Wittgenstein. He is a veteran of the Semiotic Liberation Front, a Cleveland-based art band who performed in various ways in the 80s, and who put out a zine called SLF.

Since 1996, Swan have been contributing his vocal apparatus to the Audio Artists, a New York-based music combo that combines homemade electonics with normal store-bought instruments in largely improvised endeavors. They have released three CDs, and perform publicly every once in awhile.

Early in the 21st century, Lawrence Swan rearranged the letters of his name to form newcLeanwarS, an Internet-based project that includes Newcleanblog, a YouTube channel, and Art Bum Comics. He also paints.

4 responses to “Art Bum is Not as Cool as Raymond Pettibon? (Comic)”

  1. Leslie Roberts Avatar
    Leslie Roberts

    I’ve been a fan of Swan’s work for some time. Glad to see it on your site. Maybe semiotic liberation is not a lost cause after all.

  2. lori ellison Avatar

    When I was working at Posman’s Books on University Place after first arriving here in New York, there were three of us who were kind of dark haired bookclerk gals who realized we were going to have different taste in men very very young when we played The Dating Game with other girls and were thrilled when we got “the bum.”

    What an icon for Bohemian everyman and everywoman, everywhere, brought absolutely up to date.

  3. joe connor Avatar
    joe connor

    Glad to see the “Bum” here. He is the quintessential artist’s artist. A philosopher for this age. Lets get this man working.

  4. scott williams Avatar
    scott williams

    Swan seems to hit the nail right on the head with Art Bum. Or more accurately to hit his head on a nail. (predictably, that was Swan’s own witty inversion of the phrase,, not mine)

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