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On
April 7th, 2006, we lost an icon and part of our
history. John
Blackburn passed away at 8.35pm due to
complications from treatment
for colon cancer. He was 67.
Born on September 10th, 1939, John grew up in
rural Statesboro,
Georgia, attended Georgia State College, then
transferred to art
school in Nashville, Tennessee during the
1950's.
John's first art exhibit was in 1960 in
Statesboro, GA. Delighted
and encouraged when the local chamber of
commerce invited him to
display his landscapes, John was so excited he
decided to create new
paintings including nude men in the scenery.
Nobody thought about
checking to see what the budding young artist
was planing on
presenting until the actual opening. Thus, as
the exhibit opened at
the public library John innocently exhibited the
first homoerotic art
exhibit in Statesboro and possibly the South.
Sometime around 1962 John moved to Los Angeles
and never looked
back. He immediately immersed himself in the
burgeoning gay
community. John's artwork was on the cover of
ONE Magazine. Founded
by Harry Hay, Jim Kempner, Morris Knight and
designer Rudy Gernriech,
One was the first gay periodical of its day.
John's art was soon
featured in Physique Pictorial, the magazine
created by Bob Mizer of
AMG Studios.
During the late 70's John created the infamous
character of Coley, a
bisexual hedonist whose sexual pleasures were
vast and indulged
often. For this character John incorporated his
own experiences and
memories of what it was like being a young gay
blade in the south
during the 60's & 70's. John also created
artwork for the Meatmen
comic series, including a cover for issue #21.
During 1977 John had two milestones in his life.
He opened
FrameMakers in Westwood, CA, where he designed
and built custom
frames. He also met the love of his life, Jimmy
Kawakami.
John was a close friend of Ted Shawn, a
prominent New York dancer and
founder of the Denishawn dance company. John
painted numerous
portraits of Ted and the company, using the
images of dancers as
prototypes for his artwork. John Blackburn loved
art, spending hours--
sometimes entire days--painting in his studio.
John worked with all
mediums: oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, pen&ink,
pencil and block
prints. John liked nothing better than creating
art, surrounded by
his birds, with whom he also had a strong
affinity.
"John definitely had a Zen philosophy," says his
life partner Jimmy,
"he was very kind and had a non-judgmental
approach to everyone, and
everything. He believed that all in this world
was of equal value. He
didn't place people above other living creatures.
John did had bad
memories of the religious dogma from the area he
grew up, but in
recent years was thinking of moving back. He
longed for a slower
pace. LA was getting to him. We both were
seeking a quieter life."
John Blackburn is survived by his sisters Billie
and Frances, his
three birds Camille, Simone and Carmen, and his
true love Jimmy
Kawakami. John Blackburn will be loved and
missed by the people who
knew him and had the pleasure of experiencing
the art, spirit and
kindness of this true southern gentleman.
Antebellum Gallery will present a memento mori
honoring the life and
art of John Blackburn on July 17th, 7pm. Work
from the collection of
John Blackburn from 1958- 2006 will be on
display. This is a one
evening event only. The public is invited.
The Giger - 1964
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