Joe Coleman (painter)  

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Joe Coleman (born November 22 1955) is an American illustrator and painter.[1] [May 2007]

Contents

Biography

He was born Joseph Coleman, Jr. in Norwalk, Connecticut to a World War II-veteran father and the daughter of a professional prizefighter. He was raised Roman Catholic.

Work

Coleman's subjects are pop icons of a sort who are often transgressive, criminal, and "outside" the mainstream radar. In some ways, much of his style makes reference to the Spanish-Mexican religious tradition that Frida Kahlo also drew upon; Coleman's work is sometimes reminiscent of Basil Wolverton's.

Pranks

His pranks — including appearing to blow himself up and medieval-style geek antics — have been documented in the Pranks! volume of Re/Search Books, along with the works of some of his contemporaries such as Boyd Rice.Image:JoeColemanMouseGeek.jpg

Interests

Coleman is an avid enthusiast for weird, dark American culture and a serious collector of sideshow oddities. He's a patron of Johnny Fox's Freakatorium in New York City (where he lives) and was a supporter and good friend of the late rockabilly eccentric Hasil Adkins. He also acted in "Black Hearts Bleed Red", a 1992 film adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find, made by New York independent film director Jeri Cain Rossi.

Subjects Coleman has portrayed

Book Covers

Coleman's work has been featured on the covers of many books including:

References

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