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JACK SMITH (1932-1989)
Roach Farts of Shark Stampede.
Mixed media collage with one photocopy and two silver prints, the overall object measuring 342.9x279.4 mm.; 13½x11 inches, with Smith's title, in ink, on recto, and one silver print with a typed legal caption, on mount verso. Circa 1969.

[2,000/3,000]

Ex-collection Jonas Mekas, New York; private collection, New York.
"Jack Smith: Wait For Me at the Bottom of the Pool,", Boo-Hooray, New York, February 15 - March 1, 2013.

Jack Smith's mysterious and experimental style often manifested in the use of seemingly unrelated found objects and humorous, creative language. At times Smith created mock covers for novels, which gives a possible explanation for the collage.
This work includes a silver print ripped out of a legal brief from the lawsuit New York State vs. Ruben Ortiz (1969). The briefing details a first-degree murder trial that found Ruben Ortiz guilty of stabbing to death an elderly man named Alexander Helmer during a petty robbery in 1964.