M'bwebwe
Encyclopedia
The M'bwebwe painters and poets originally met while attending Kent State University
in the U.S. state
of Ohio
in the mid-1970s. They include painters David Wayne Cole, Thomas David Little (1955-2006), and James F. Quinlan, sculptor Christopher Cosma, computer artist Jeff Brice, and multi-media artists Peter Brill and Mark Bloch
. The group soon grew to include others including Douglas Ferguson, Sylvia Sherry, Susan Cole, Lauren Silver, Nan Truitt and John Fletcher, among others.
The word M'bwebwe does not in itself mean anything. It was uttered at random one day, although who uttered it is now forgotten, when it was time to select a name for a particular event and it stuck. It has since come to represent a place, and more notably a group of artists.
In 1978, M'bwebwe began as an art space at 23 Second Avenue
on Manhattan
's Lower East Side
. The living quarters and studios, located above a Jewish monument store in a former B'nai B'rith meeting hall, soon became a defacto exhibition space, dance club and neighborhood hangout that garnered attention by hipsters and cognoscenti around the rapidly changing area soon to be known as the East Village
.
While the M'bwebwe painting style held craftsmanship in high esteem, the subject matter could be described as irreverent, Dada, tongue in cheek and funky. A number of musical projects, most notably by Quinlan, Brill, Little and Bloch
, took the funk idea back to its roots as a musical style (see George Clinton
, James Brown and Robert Wyatt
) that was blended with elements of Devo
and Pere Ubu
that had also come out of northern Ohio. M'bwebwe is also linked to predecessors such as Dada
, Surrealism
, Fluxus
, Concept Art
, punk
, industrial music
, and electropop, and most importantly, pataphysics.
The M'bwebwe group is less a style of art or music than a loosely-knit group of artists from the midwest with a likeminded penchant for the Gabba Gabba Hey sensibility that could be heard emanating from the club CBGB
located just behind the M'bwebwe space on Second Avenue. M'bwebwe the geographical location existed from 1979 to 1982. Most of the original participants still reside in New York City. One of the founders of the group, Tom Little, a painter musician and master printmaker, died in 2006 due to natural causes.
Mbwebwe is an African surname. Mbwebwe Province is the home of George of the Jungle
.
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in the mid-1970s. They include painters David Wayne Cole, Thomas David Little (1955-2006), and James F. Quinlan, sculptor Christopher Cosma, computer artist Jeff Brice, and multi-media artists Peter Brill and Mark Bloch
Mark Bloch
Mark Bloch , also known as Pan, P.A.N., Panman, Panpost and the Post Art Network, is an American multi-media artist from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Since 1982 he has lived in New York City...
. The group soon grew to include others including Douglas Ferguson, Sylvia Sherry, Susan Cole, Lauren Silver, Nan Truitt and John Fletcher, among others.
The word M'bwebwe does not in itself mean anything. It was uttered at random one day, although who uttered it is now forgotten, when it was time to select a name for a particular event and it stuck. It has since come to represent a place, and more notably a group of artists.
In 1978, M'bwebwe began as an art space at 23 Second Avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
on Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. The living quarters and studios, located above a Jewish monument store in a former B'nai B'rith meeting hall, soon became a defacto exhibition space, dance club and neighborhood hangout that garnered attention by hipsters and cognoscenti around the rapidly changing area soon to be known as the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
.
While the M'bwebwe painting style held craftsmanship in high esteem, the subject matter could be described as irreverent, Dada, tongue in cheek and funky. A number of musical projects, most notably by Quinlan, Brill, Little and Bloch
Bloch
Bloch is a surname.#Jewish : regional name for someone in Eastern Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" .#German and Swedish: Variant of Block...
, took the funk idea back to its roots as a musical style (see George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, James Brown and Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
) that was blended with elements of Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
and Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu (band)
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite many long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant...
that had also come out of northern Ohio. M'bwebwe is also linked to predecessors such as Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
, Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
, Concept Art
Concept art
Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
, and electropop, and most importantly, pataphysics.
The M'bwebwe group is less a style of art or music than a loosely-knit group of artists from the midwest with a likeminded penchant for the Gabba Gabba Hey sensibility that could be heard emanating from the club CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
located just behind the M'bwebwe space on Second Avenue. M'bwebwe the geographical location existed from 1979 to 1982. Most of the original participants still reside in New York City. One of the founders of the group, Tom Little, a painter musician and master printmaker, died in 2006 due to natural causes.
Mbwebwe is an African surname. Mbwebwe Province is the home of George of the Jungle
George of the Jungle
George of the Jungle was an American animated series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The character George was inspired by the legend of Tarzan. It ran for 17 episodes on Saturday mornings from September 9 to December 30, 1967, on the American TV...
.