5. Besides the well known AIM (American Indian Movement) which other political-social movement has influenced you?
The Black Panther party, Abby Hoffman and the Yippies have influenced me. Some of the ideas that the Surrealists had were very socio-political just read the Surrealist Manifesto and much of what Andre Breton wrote but that was all lost when the US advertisers got a hold of Surrealism and look what the internet and the media do to any new progressive groups now- it’s all made into a joke. Post Modernism has not only destroyed revolutionary thought in art it has infiltrated politics and created markets for sanctioned rebellion and so called “radical ideas” but no one wants to push forward on a personal level. The FBI and CIA learned a lot about cutting to the chase when they infiltrated A.I.M and the Black Panther Party and now they destroy socio-political groups the second they take action by promoting them and setting up structures that mimic the ones they seek to dismantle. I was lucky enough to be friend William S. Burroughs and spend time with him and he taught me a lot. His socio-political ideas in his works were about sabotaging systems of control and that meant personal internalized systems of control as well as man made systems especially in Naked Lunch. These ideas are very important at this moment of time. The other Beatniks that did not have the vision and depth he had only the celebrity fame. Ginsberg only wrote maybe 3 poems that were any good bring lumping Burroughs in with all the Beatniks tends to trivialize the genius of his vision by relegating it to some categorized movement of the past. I have had this experience with the Satanic movement so I am pushing forward out of that box. I like some of what the Anarchist movement is doing and I like much of the work of Chomsky and Hakim Bey’s idea of the Temporary Autonomous Zone; you cannot destroy free radicals that gather in groups at key points in time as a cabal then disperse into the world and make things manifest because there is no power structure or leaders of authority. If the power is personal the powers that be cannot destroy the power structure. Hierarchies and groups lead by cult of personality figureheads are a tired 20th Century concept even puppet governments and political groups the US government creates or props up fail in the 21st Century. The personal cannot be controlled. I appreciate co-ops and collectives and Unions but I feel the personal is the political. Groups tend to define themselves against the dominant social structure and to me that is a form of blasphemy. It means you are still a believer in the system because you are reacting against it. I feel that the powers that be have figured this out and use it to de-politicize actual radical ideas and groups. Today they are now using the whole “Green Speak” to define and control the environmentalist movement and guilt us into submission with our fear of environmental collapse. Why are we letting Green Peace and the United States government define environmentalism for us all? Since when did the U.S. government care about the environment? To a Native American this is insane! No one can tell you about the environment YOU ARE THE ENVIRONMENT. To be personal –human and to have a spirituality you made manifest and to create a life from that and to live as an example is far more powerful and long lasting than socio-political movements. People tend to be consumed by groups on all levels and personal authenticity is lost. Authenticity cannot be crushed or assimilated or copied or trivialized just as almost everything has been made harmless by media, the internet, governments and the multi-nationalism. You cannot sell someone their own spirituality, their own creation and their own lives. I don’t believe in burying my head in the sand and thinking everything will be all right if I make art. I believe in speaking up and supporting those who do push forward politically but we are human and we must create if we don’t create we do not grow and that is why I feel society is making the same mistakes. America and most of the world is still obsessed with the so-called “individual” but hardly anyone knows who they are nor takes the time to find out. It’s not enough to form groups to dismantle systems of control we must create new possibilities with what we visualize, create and manifest.

8.- In your opinion, have you ever feel that maybe your biographie has gained more attention than your art?
Yes, it has been a great challenge and that is why I wrote my memoir “The Last American Painter” (you can purchase a copy at http://www.lulu.com/content/4541971) a memoir exploring my underground fame as well as being critical of the culture trap of celebrity. In my documentary “What is ART?” I asked the question “What is more important the artist or the art? It was surprising what people said. People feel fame is a necessity to survive as an artist but feel it is also a trap. I am very interested in exploring my fame as well as exposing the fame game but going beyond it. The trick is to not let that fame destroy who you really are and not get stuck in repeating what you have done just for a market created because you became famous. I believe one can use fame to go deeper into a culture that refuses most paths to enlightenment. I don’t believe my own press but I do use it to put up the mirror to society which often times seems more insane than any artist could ever be.

9. Are you familiar with the struggle of Native Mexicans?
I did a book cover for South End Press about the Chiapas. I think their struggle is genuine and important and similar to what the North American Natives did. I wish more people could see that the struggle indigenous peoples have today is the struggle against the globalism that is corporate fascism. To ignore their struggle and all suppressed cultures is to embrace world corporate fascism. These people are fighting for personal freedom and the globalists are fighting for resources and control.