|
 I
was born in Brooklyn to a family for whom
snake oil and sideshows were normal. My
father’s family was involved in Coney Island
at the turn of the 20th century; my
grandfather was acting battalion chief of
the Coney Island District until his death in
1924. My Uncles Harry and Guy were at
Dreamland the night of the fire. I have an
uncle buried in the Gravesend Cemetery. My
father claimed he never got out of the 6th
grade because he was too busy watching the
horses cross the finish line at the
Gravesend track. My Uncle Lester was the
talker for the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in
the 1920’s.
My earliest memory is sipping Nathan’s
coffee from my father’s cup, sitting between
my parents in the DeSoto parked on Stillwell
Avenue. So immersed was I in the old stories
Zip What Is It and The Armless and Legless
Wonder were palpably real to me, no matter
that they were deceased many years by the
time I was born. Peopled with ghosts and
memories, there is no place in Coney Island
that is totally mine, except for Coney
Island USA.
That not for profit arts center is a haven
where both sides of my life can co exist –
the academic and the sideshow. It is the
only place in the earth where I feel back at
home, with my (deceased) family and my
(alive) sideshow family gathered around.
Coney Island USA lets me paint as much as I
want. The corner of West 12th and Surf is a
testament to my family, and a challenge to
my present as an artist.
Ringling
Brothers & Barnum and Bailey commissioned
Marie Roberts to paint the above painting to
commemorate the 2009 season in Coney Island,
the first tent show since 1954. The
painting will be hang in their New York City
office.
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Serpentina 2007 |
Angelica |
Master of the Bally |
Sword Swallower 2007 |
Wolf Man Chuy |
Dick |
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Jackie Human Tripod |
Mme.
Twisto 2008 |
Serpentina 2008 |
Sword Swallower |
Electre 2008 |
Blockhead 2008 |
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Black Scoprion 2008 |
Mme.
Twisto 2008 |
Serpentina 2008 |
Sword Swallower |
Electre 2008 |
Blockhead 2008 |
bitterwonder@hotmail.com
www.bitterwonder.com
Images courtesy of Marie Roberts
Norman Blake © All rights reserved
Laure Lieber © All rights reserved
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