Bohemorama

Bohemorama. Legends Of Greenwich Village. , This painting is dedicated to all aspiring dreamers, outcasts, and gypsies drawn to Greenwich Village life., “The mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time.” On the Road…..Jack Kerouac, Vicki Khuzami , khuzamistudio.com, 1. Edgar Allen Poe. 2. Edward Albee. 3. Jack Kerouac. 4. Edna St. Vincent Millay. 5. William S. Burroughs. 6. Allen Ginsberg. 7. James Baldwin 8. Mark Twain. 9. Elaine deKooning. 10. Willem deKooning. 11. Edie Sedgewick. 12. Andy Warhol. 13. John Sloan. 14. Jackson Pollack. 15. Lee Krasner. 16. Mark Rothko. 17. Marcel Duchamp. 18. Charlie Parker. 19. Billie Holiday. 20. Miles Davis. 21. Patti Smith. 22. Thelonious Monk. 23. Joan Baez. 24. Bob Dylan. 25. Woody Guthrie., You won’t be alone when you sit outside lunching on your sushi or salad bar delights. , Not with the likes of Thelonious Monk, Jackson Pollock or Edgar Allen Poe poised just a few feet away!, Commissioned by MortonWilliams Supermarket, this spectacular acrylic on canvas mural titled “Bohemorama” was designed and executed by neighborhood resident Vicki Khuzami. No stranger to the art world, during the last 15 years Khuzami has painted over 50 murals, from the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C., to Tibet House and the Botanical Gardens here in New York, and several in Japan, including Disneyland, Tokyo., Bohemorama is divided into three sections: one featuring writers, another, artists, and the third, musicians. Defying chronology but not geography, Khuzami has chosen to depict her subjects in most cases, prior to their notoriety and success, focusing instead on their connections to each other’s work, and the environment of Greenwich Village. They were all artistic geniuses, many grappling with addictions, poverty and homosexuality forced into the closet by an uncompromising society. Greenwich Village was the only place they could live the lives they needed to live., See Albee clutching a glass of wine? (Remember the alcoholic protagonist of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) Notice the drinks, cigarettes and marijuana joint on the table. Can you spot a young Ginsberg, looking admiringly at Jack Kerouac whose work Ginsberg later promoted? Look carefully and you will see Kerouac’s words: “The mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time.”, Move on to the artists panel. There is John Sloan, holdover from the School or Realism, with his hand on his chin, surrounded by artistic expressionists. See Willem deKooning and his wife Elaine? Behind them is Edie Sedgwick, artistic muse for Andy Warhol, who is holding polaroid portraits of people he will immortalize in his works. Behind him is Jackson Pollock, holding a bottle of beer, and Lee Krasner, his long suffering artistic wife. The splatters of paint on his T-shirt reflect his artistic style. They’re sitting with intellectual surrealist Marcel Duchamp who is challenging Pollack to play a game of chess. (What’s Greenwich Village without a chess game?), Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk sit with instruments and sheet music, working out a tune. Billie Holiday is there too, looking warmly at Woodie Guthrie, lipstick on her wineglass. Poet and musician Patti Smith sits beside her, with an arm on Holiday’s shoulder. See her “Free Tibet” button (an anachronistic touch); in front of her, she is jotting down the words to her song “Power to the People.” Next to Patti is Joan Baez. Bob Dylan, guitar in hand, looks up at his idol and our folk hero Woodie Guthrie, eyes cast upward, searching for words to a new song., ”Of all the murals I have ever done, “Bohemorama” is a favorite, since the subject matter was infinitely inspiring, especially during these times of excess when the importance of the ‘bohemian’ artist’s contributions to society appears to be in question” says Khuzami. “I have tried to express the creativity, struggle and overcoming of obstacles that are the common bond for these renegades who were trailblazers for so many others.”