peter beard.

I'm still a terrific fan of Peter Beard and remember the good ole' days at his gallery (The Time Is Always Now) on Broome Street. It was an insane, interactive playground full of books, leather, blood, paint, pens, chairs, bikes, hot women, smokes, Rolling Stones music on the system, plants and the smell of art. Since traveling to Africa in 1955, he has photographed zebra, giraffe, elephants, crocodiles and later dabbled in pop culture with buddies Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol. This prompted him to tweak photographs of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy.





Below are some selected "recent" works of art and can be checked out on the Peter Beard website. Beard recently wrote a book (dedicated to his daughter) entitled Zara's Tales about his adventures in Kenya--most notably when he was almost killed by an elephant. If you can't afford his art. Some of his books are NOT to be missed: The End of the Game, Longing for Darkness: Kamante's Tales from Out of Africa, 28 Pieces, The Adventures and MisAdventures of Peter Beard in Africa and the rare Fifty Years of Portraits (my favorite).

Peter Beard: "I need the sun to get really good effects from the blood," then adds, "Ever since art school, I've hated the whole white-gloves-for-handling-photos thing. I like Bernard Berenson's definition of art -- 'whatever is life-enhancing.'"