Description

JUNK: The MetaLphysical Art of Cowboy Ray Kelly, a bionovel by Istvan Kantor

JUNK features the realm of the rough, heavy-weight, metaLphysical art of Cowboy Ray Kelly and the Rivington School, Neoist comrades of author Istvan Kantor — welders, graffiti artists, anarchists, noise makers, punks, poets, painters, drug users, performance artists, photographers, film and video makers, writers, journalists, refugees…

In 1985 they took over an abandoned lot in New York’s Lower East Side and turned it into a monumental scrapmetal garden and free community space. It was built and rebuilt three times due to being bulldozed down by the city under false accusations of endangerment, obstruction, illegal undertakings, constant noise, fire hazard, use of drugs and other criminal activities.

A pioneer of social street art, Cowboy Ray Kelly’s work is in certain ways analogous to that of Joseph Beuys’ ecological activism and social sculpture concept, but while Beuys communicated through overly dramatic gestures and loud theoretical talks, the Cowboy remained intensely silent holding up a hammer with a relaxed ironic smile. He brandished welding torches to illuminate his scrapmetal narrative and to grasp the vision of urban corrosion, the growing heap of ruins of NYC reduced to trash. However, the most striking difference between Beuys and Cowboy Ray was the style of their hats: Wool Trilby Hat vs Cowboy Hat.

JUNK is the fourth in a series of bionovels by Istvan Kantor aka Monty Cantsin, best known in underground art circles as the initiator of Neoism, author of the bible-sized Book of Neoism?! and for his blood-fuelled guerrilla interventions in museums. A compilation of his inflammatory essays, OVERTHROW!, was published in 2024 also by Autonomedia. His previous bionovels featured the life stories and creative accomplishments of Rivington School artists Richard Hambleton, E.F. Higgins III and Kevin Wendall aka FA-Q.

ISBN: 978-1-57027-443-5, paperbound
4.5 x 7 inches, 336 pages, $17.95