Here’s a photograph taken by camera whiz Art Elkon at the opening. It’s Francis photographing Shirah Apple. A man and his camera are never far apart…
Francis Ford’s photography exhibit opened Friday night, Sept. 16 at the Portrait Society Gallery on floor five of the Marshall Building. Packed to the rafters with smokers and drinkers ogling the work cheek to jowl, by night’s end some were gasping for air in one of the three small galleries where the windows had been thrown open and a fan set up so people wouldn’t expire before the final bottle of red was popped. Ford’s work, both black and white and color, featured the antics of his longtime buddy, Jack Eigel, who costumes himself and does nutty things. If you know Jack, you’ll get my drift.
Screams of delight echoed through the halls and bounced off the walls to the tunes of Mrs. Fun. Artists who hadn’t seen each other for decades careened and caressed like they did in the good old days back when Walker’s Point was THE place for artists to be seen and heard. Ford had a studio in the Bern Boys Building on Fifth andNational, and well, his Studio Galactica parties rocked the ‘hood. Art Muscle magazine was being churned out down the street, and Chip & Pys was martini heaven. La Cage featured Holly Brown and BJ Daniels, the doll dude who writes the staff fashion blog for insidemilwaukee.com. The magazine’s current editor, Bruce Murphy, and Rose were making the scene in the Way Back when Theater-X was alive and well, fueled by John Schneider, Kish, Deb, and Flora. Poets were doing their open-mike thing at Melange in the Wisconsin Hotel. We were on fire back then, and many of the same faces, older but not necessarily wiser, showed up for Francis’ blast from the past. It was also his 66th BD, another reason to down a few before fleeing into the cool night air to smoke a final cig and bid adieu to all things swell. Carrie, Demetra, Art, Julie and Johny, Fred, Jimmy Von Milwaukee, Brozek, Kent, Reid, Jilian, Richard, Tim, Tom, Ragir, Deb, SRJ, Rose, Kish, Mulhern, Kat and Jeff, plus et al.
The great one’s work will be up now-through October. I want a Ford in my future.
