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ARTS & CULTURE
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Audience members at an art talk view the new exhibit "Freak Power," created by curator Daniel Joseph Watkins
SAMANTHA SEXTON/KANSAN
Arts Center exhibit explores Hunter S. Thompson's 'Freak Power' 1970 Aspen, Colo., sheriff campaign
SAMANTHA SEXTON
@SamBiscuit
"The highest form of patriotism is dissent," artist and curator Daniel Joseph Watkins said of his newest exhibit "Freak Power," referencing a historical quote.
On Monday night, Watkins lectured on his most recent work: a carefully curated display of art, writing, articles and photographs surrounding the Aspen, Colo., County Sheriff election of 1970.
In the election, Hunter S. Thompson, the well-known author of the classic,"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream," campaigned on his infamous "Freak Power" platform.
"It all happened when I saw an antiwar poster in a store," Watkins said.
Watkins remembered seeing an art piece decrying the nation's involvement in Iraq in a storefront. When he said he liked the art, the store owner introduced him to the widow of Thomas Benton, who had created the piece.
"Benton had been the artist behind all the Thompson posters," Watkins said. "So because I had shown so much interest and had been an artist myself, I had been asked to find the works Benton had made."
The only catch: Thompson had notorious dealings with the Aspen drug underworld, and the only way to get the art back was to bargain with dealers directly, Watkins said. Watkins described in detail how harrowing the whole situation had been and how he later considered it hilarious.
"[The dealers] wanted to trade their collections of "Thompson for Sheriff" works for other [works], and I made deals left and right". Watkins said. "All legal, of course."
It would make sense that Thompson's propaganda ended up on the "freaky" side of town after the way he ran his campaign. Based on the antiwar messages, marijuana anti-criminalization movement and the loving acceptance of the "hippie," Thompson's "Freak Power" campaign was one that would be considered radical even today.
"Thompson wanted to change the system the best way possible — by rousing the youth and the freaks and getting them to register to vote, get involved and
Watkins, an Aspen resident, is friends with Sheriff Bock Braudis, who served for 24 years before retiring in 2011. Watkins said Braudis's work was based on the principles Thompson advocated in the 1970s.
"The police trust the people, and the people trust the police," Watkins said. "They've built up a relationship of communal understanding which allows the police to do their job effectively
make a difference from within," Watkins said.
Even though Thompson wasn't elected, his passion and message resonated throughout Aspen. In his book, Thompson wrote: "We cannot expect people to have respect for law and order until we teach respect to those we have entrusted to enforce those laws" — a sentiment still felt today in Aspen.
and the people to feel confident that their rights aren't being stripped away from them."
The audience at the lecture, about 30 people, seemed shocked at the radical and unconventional methods for advertising Thompson's ideas. From a fully nude woman cupping her breast, to comparing Nixon to a bloodthirsty Nazi, Thompson's campaign was anything but mild.
"When hearing about counterculture revolutions, the first places you think of are New York or Los Angeles, definitely not Aspen," said Ashley Cervantes, a sophomore from Wichita who attended the lecture. "Thompson really was the definition of an underground revolutionary, fighting for modern ideas in a government that was telling him to keep to his place as a dirty
hippie."
Watkins's mission in putting together this collection of extreme campaign art and articles was to imprint the lessons taught by Thompson and Benton: "Get involved, get registered to vote and make a difference."
Cervantes said she definitely took the exhibit to heart.
"I think it's important to remember that we as the young generation have a voice that can change the world around us," Cervantes said. "We can call out injustice, we can fight for what is right and even though we may be silenced, our message will make its way through history."
The exhibit, "Freak Power," is on display at the Lawrence Arts Center until Jan. 2.
Edited by Kate Miller
Unlikely duo Big Boi and Phantogram's fascinating debut
JARRET ROGERS
@JarretRogers
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
From there, the three started collaborating and decided to make an album.
An electronic rock duo from Greenwich, N.Y., and a southern rapper from Atlanta met because of a pop-up ad on the Internet.
Enter Big Grams, a group made of rapper Big Boi and the Phantogram members Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter.
This isn't something that could've happened 20 years ago when Big Boi was touring the country with Andre 3000 as Outkast because the world we live in is more connected now than it has ever been.
different sides of the world is the product of 2015, and it's something we should not only accept, but embrace.
Big Boi found Phantogram because of an ad that came across his browser one day. When you're a member of one of the greatest groups of all time, anyone in the industry is only a phone call away.
As listeners, our ears are trained to expect certain collaborations. The thought of two distinct musical talents who might as well come from
The concern with any collaboration album is: Who will emerge as the leader? Think about "Watch the Throne." It was a great album, but the first thought after listening through is that Kanye carried Jay Z across the finish line, giving the
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album less blended styles. On the group's album "Big Grams," Big Boi and Phantogram avoid one artist's style interfering with the other, and the result is something we haven't heard before.
With "Lights On." Barthel's vocals and Big Boi's flow come together to give us both pop and hip-hop vibes in a sophisticated, meditated way that avoids the radio sound of Fetty Wap and others.
"Fell in the Sun" is Big Boi's time to shine as he brings a distinctly Atlanta sound and features him talking about vitamin D, which feels like an interlude on Outkast's "Stankonia."
But, while he's the star of the song, it's not all by his doing. Barthel hitting the high notes on the chorus contrasts the aggressive style of Big Boi, making the song the clearest representation we have of proving that the artists aren't sacrificing style, but rather bringing out the best parts of each other and making a new sound.
The album features Run the Jewels (rappers Killer Mike and El-P) and Skrillex, two artists who, like the main acts, might as well not even live in the same world. But it all works on "Big Grams." The album is a masterful collaboration of sound that takes listeners to new places that we didn't even know we wanted.
At the end, the question isn't who won the album — but instead, who's next?
ASAP Rocky and Panda Bear?
Kendrick Lamar and Passion
Pit?
Whoever they are, they'll be following a tough act.
Big Grams made the best kind of record possible. They didn't make a rap record, and they didn't make an electronic rock record. They made a Big Grams record. It's distinctly theirs and hopefully a sign of more things to come.
- Edited by Derek Skillett
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