"Let's shake some dust."- The carnival moves on.

Carnivalesqe: A Grim Guignol is officially closed. I have to consider my first experience with curating to have been a success. No one got hurt, none of the art was damaged, I helped generate publicity for the gallery, we sold some stuff, and both the opening and the closing were well attended. From beginning to end I have felt satisfied with the efforts of all involved. And most importantly, despite the large amount of work, I didn't procrastinate at all. There is still magic afoot.

I was a bit nervous giving my first gallery spiel. Sus, who hung the show so well, tried to relax me by noting that she hadn't seen such a well attended artist's talk. I had a bottle in hand and I started a mostly improvised monologue about Guignol and traveling dust-bowl depression era carnival outfits, and was interrupted by a well-meaning attendee's interjection about the French monarchy in the late 1700's. Having regained the thread of the story, I was stalled by my friend Al, who approached me mid-sentence to get my car keys so he could grab his bag and take off. That added a touch of carny color certainly. John related a story of his buff stock broker, and Florence Barry helped me get everything back on track. I fielded a couple of questions, received a generous shill-inspired hand, and ducked outside for a cigarette. No one threw shit at me. I felt alright.

I feel blessed that I was able to involve the efforts of so many great people during this show. Old friends, new friends, the artists, gallery attendees, John, Sus, etc. ... Everyone worked so well together to bring this off. That's really all I can come up with at this late hour. It just amazes me.