05/14/2012
Emmett Grogan.
Emmett Grogan was one of the founders of The Diggers, a counter-cultural group in the early 1960′s that went on to influence the Haight-Ashbury movement later that decade. His unique approach to life was unlike any other person I’ve ever read about. In 1965 he established the Free Store, an experimental, three-year art project in San Francisco meant to question the role of “consumer” in a capitalist society. The store was fully functioning storefront, consisting of either donated, found or stolen goods where items had no prices and people could simply take what they wish. As the 1960′s counter-culture became a media frenzy Grogan turned his back on their shenanigans, calling many of the new leaders such as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin false prophets. He was asked to take part in the famous Hippie conference, The Human Be-In, where he delivered a speech on the themes of revolution and social change in society. The captivated crowd of young flower children cheered in applause at the end of his passionate delivery, at which point he quieted the crowd and let it be known that he had just delivered verbatim, a famous speech by Adolf Hitler. Genius.
AaronRose
Aaron Rose is an artist, film director, curator and writer. From 1992-2002, he was the owner of Alleged Gallery in New York which helped launch the careers of many of today's top contemporary artists. In 2003, he co-curated the museum exhibition and accompanying catalog, Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art & Street Culture th
... View moreat toured the world through 2009. Rose was also director of the feature documentary film Beautiful Losers, (ArtHouse Films/Oscilloscope) which began its theatrical run in 2008. He has also directed numerous commercials, short films and movies for television. His acclaimed documentary "Portraits of Braddock" (IFC), won the Golden Pencil award at the 2101 One Show. In 2011 he co-curated (with Roger Gastman and Jeffrey Deitch) the large-scale exhibition, Art In The Streets, which opened to record crowds at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Rose is also editor of ANP Quarterly, a free arts magazine and his publishing imprint, Alleged Press releases monographs by contemporary artists.
In late-2011, Aaron Rose co-authored (with Brian Roettinger and Mandy Kahn) "Collage Culture: Examining the 21st Century Identity Crisis," a seminal book of social criticism published by Swiss company JRP-Ringier. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries internationally including Postmasters, New York, Colette, Paris and Circleculture, Berlin. As a journalist, Rose's writings have been published in i-D, Dazed and Confused, Purple, Self Service, Flash Art, and numerous exhibition catalogs.
