~SIMON CERIGO . . the other ‘fake’
SIMON CERIGO, RIP . . 1952-2013
was funny. he wasn’t a forger like Alfredo, but he was a real fake – in his own way.
he was kind of a pretender. aspiring to be a major player / collector / dealer . . which he actually did nail on many occasions, though he just lacked the discipline & deep pockets $$$$ to be really successful.
when what he really was . . was an incredibly vibrant, deep soul-ed & visionary artist.
if you saw ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ .. then you know he was also a pretty fake hubby, who was willing to throw me under the bus without a moment’s hesitation, when it was he – who set up the ‘taunt’.
top: Gun / watercolor painting with hand-made paper surface collage, on found cardboard pizza box, 24 x 28 in., Sept 1, 2017 . . by ALFREDO MARTINEZ aka “THE REAL FAKE” #Basquiatforger
bottom: Found painting with hand-scribbles & bits of collage, 18 x 18 in., ca. 2004 . . by SIMON CERIGO . . #underthevolcano.
it was somebody’s rather primitive, but very charming acrylic painting / canvas on wooden stretcher bars, no less. that he picked up off the street, & probably saved from the garbage dump.
this collage bit – was an Artforum ad he looked to have cut out, from a newspaper ?
that was another element of his ‘real fake’ persona.
though he constantly pooh-poohed Artforum,his whole entire life – he would have given his eye teeth to have seen his name in print on those pages, even just once.
*though JOSH HARRIS . . did get to see his name in Artforum because of some Euro-chick, who wrote up . . ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ as her top 5 . . whatever.
though quite a few years after the fact. the film, which focused on the bonafide, real time . . hardcore / underground art scene in NYC / at the time of the Millennium (Dec 1999-Jan 2000) won BEST DOCUMENTARY (USA) at SUNDANCE, in 2009, so really I don’t find that very impressive at all, re Artforum. because otherwise no mention – at all.
yeah, SO don’t get me started on Artforum.
I’d rather be entombed forever, Under The Volcano – than dead, bought & sold all the way . . in Artforum.
SIMON was into hand scribbling, before ‘rough’ or primitive / DIY hand-calligraphy was all the rage, or even . . a term. a thought. a thought bubble.
it reads: “MY MOTHER’S BEAUTY WAS MY TICKET TO THE STARS.”
that’s Simon, ca. 1990, NYC. Lower East Side. . . with our young son, Theo.
yeah, that be me . . back in Canada. in the early 1970s.
I was studying with GUIDO MOLINARI at Concordia University, in Montreal, Quebec. in the MFA in Studio Arts / Painting program.
I had a nickname back then, too. before I was artlovers, I was . . Guido-baby !!
go figure. I dunno why – people . . just like giving me labels.
guess it’s my outsider, dorky, intensity sets me apart.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH