Diversity Is Becoming the Dementia of the People: A Jack Keating Joint
By D Young V
The title of this article is only the first of several Jack Keating quotes (JK joints) that you the reader are soon to be blessed with, enjoy!
Jack Keating is one of six artists showcased in The City That Knows How exhibit curated by John Vochatzer and Emily Fromm at Moth Belly Gallery opening on February 2nd, 2023...
“The City That Knows How” was dubbed by President William Howard Taft in 1911 during his stay at the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill. Taft was a BIG man with BIG words. He was amazed at the speed in which this city was able to rebuild itself just after the great fire of 1906. The relation of this quote to the title of the show is purely accidental.
“Some people say that this is “The City that Forgot How”, but I believe this is still “The City That Still Knows How.” - a JK joint
I first came across Jack Keating’s work at the now defunct Look Gallery in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district a decade ago. I was immediately attracted to his distinct and carefully placed line work combined with the historical context of his imagery. It was as though Jack was able to capture the movement and essence of his neighborhood and this city much like the way a skilled photographer captures the soul of a moment. I would later learn that Jack possesses what many would define as a “photographic” memory. Whereas this trait is usually defined with an individual’s nearly uncanny ability to memorize names, dates, words, and other information at a single glance; Jack’s ability lies in his ability to memorize moments and portray them shortly after with his line work. I learned this of Jack after having the process of some of his 38 Muni Bus drawings explained to me by Nancy Bliss, owner of Look Gallery. Jack would literally sit at the gallery which was located at a 38 line bus stop on Geary street, with pen and paper in hand he would watch the passengers pour off the bus, capture their physical details in his mind and then soon put those details to paper. Thus capturing that exact specific moment through his line work. Additionally, Jack does possess the ability to memorize and retain specific dates, times, numbers, quotes, etc. with little or no effort. He’s one of those “types!”
“I only see in line.” - a JK joint
Over the years I have looked upon and studied virtually thousands of Jack’s pieces ranging from pen & ink drawings, paintings and hand illustrated books. What I’ve seen is only the smallest fraction of his work. Though he finds inspiration in a variety of everyday people, celebrities, scenery, neighborhoods and moments; the one thing that remains constant is that the majority of his work represents the people and essence of San Francisco. His renditions of city life date back to his arrival in San Francisco in 1975. His drawings depict people hanging out in locations and establishments that no longer exist but remain within the heart of the city. People eating breakfast at greasy spoon diners in Lower Nob Hill in the 1970s, punk rockers getting drunk at a dive bar in The Tenderloin in the 1980s, locals having their morning coffee at cafe in the 1990s, commuters on their way to work on any given Muni line in any recent decade (or today) and all are labeled by date and location within the piece; thus giving the viewer a highly accurate depiction of the energy of the people in that location and time along with a glimpse of local SF history.
“I’m as prolific as Picasso and as naive as Grandma Moses.” - a JK joint
Much like his inspiration Pablo Picasso, Jack defines himself as a ‘drawer’. The power of his work resides in his line. It’s of no surprise that his primary influences from childhood until now are Picasso, Aubrey Beardsley, David Levine and Vincent van Gogh.
Jack began his love affair with San Francisco on October 3rd, 1974 after driving over the Bay Bridge during a road trip to SF. He was attracted to all the “young people that were different who embraced a progressive life”. “Anything can happen in San Francisco,” he says. He immediately enrolled in San Francisco’s Art Institute in which he attended from 1975-77 before transferring to The Academy of Art College (now AAU) in 1978. In regards to his fellow art students, Jack often says “they wanted to make a living out of their art, but I was living to make art”. He often states “some people are born artists and others study to become one, I am the former”.
Partial view from Jack’s Lower Nob Hill apartment window.
He has resided in The Lower Nob Hill area since his arrival in SF. An east coast expat like so many of us San Franciscans, Jack was “born in the doorway of Independence Hall” in 1953 as he likes to say, which translates to Philadelphia, PA. Prior to moving west, he spent his youth in Bucks County, PA where he studied at Bucks County Community Art School. Though an SF local recently dubbed him “a treasure of the neighborhood” after 47 years of depicting life here, he still has a little east coast in him still!
Jack often sees himself as a misfit amongst misfits or an outsider wherever he is. In truth, Jack (like most artists) is no stranger to living a highly unique artist’s life in which he carves his own path. Jack began his 30 year career as a bellboy after living at The Granada (1000 Sutter st.), a residential hotel catering primarily to the elderly in Lower Nob Hill. At the time it was common for younger folks looking to get ahead in the city to work there in exchange for a shared room/board and meals. He lived there while attending the Academy of Art in 1978 after taking his first bellboy job at The Canterbury (750 Sutter st.). He was excited to make real money and be a part of a union. Equally as exciting was the opportunity to surround himself with the patrons of the hotel who gave him much desired artistic inspiration; some of whom were celebrities. He even came across Harvey Milk at one point! After two years of employment at The Canterbury he then transferred to the now defunct Raphael Hotel (located at 386 Geary st.) in which he was employed as a bellboy working the graveyard shift for the following two years before switching to the afternoon ‘swing’ shift for the next twenty eight years.
“I’m an artist fighting my way out of a brown paper bag” - a JK joint
In 1996 San Francisco hotel tycoon Chip Conley purchased the Raphael Hotel and renamed it The Maxwell Hotel. After years of rejection (Jack’s version of the term), Mr. Conley commissioned Jack to draw his unique depiction of a sculpture that stood prominently at the hotel. The sculpture itself was a life size rendition of a woman resting after an exhausting day of shopping. Mr. Conley then had over one hundred and fifty prints made of Jack’s rendition. He had them framed and hung in every single bathroom of the establishment along with the hotel's two elevators. Jack was then commissioned to create original drawings set in a 1920s theme to decorate the mezzanine of the hotel. Over the years following the original commission, thirty five prints were stolen along with four originals. Jack saw this as a complete honor!
Jack’s mezzanine work at the The Maxwell Hotel caught the attention of Al Marquez, the former head heart surgeon at Stanford University. After seeing his work, Dr. Marquez insisted on meeting Jack. This meeting at Jack’s apartment led to the purchase of thirty original drawings. He said to Jack, “John (Jack), I can open up hearts, but I can’t do what you do”. He also said, “John, when I’m about to perform surgery and I have a knife in my hand, I know there is no one that can do this better than me; and that is how you should feel when you do your art”. Dr. Marquez would continue to follow Jack’s work over the years and even attended The Painted Word exhibition, a prominent show featuring his work amongst famous poet-artists (Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirchman, and Henry Miller to name a few) at The Meridian Gallery in 2012.
Like all things paradoxical, coincidental and uncanny in Jack’s long life (and there are so many of them); Al Marquez studied under C. Everett Koop, who served as the 13th Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982-1989. Dr. Koop performed surgery on Jack on September 12th, 1966 at the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, where Al Marquez was studying directly under Dr. Koop at the time. True story.
“If it moves, draw it!”
“If it’s stationary, get some stationery and draw it!” - a JK joint
In 1997 Jack was commissioned by the Hotel Rex to create a full installation of large scale drawings done in his signature dynamic hand style to adorn the hotel’s famous Rex Cabaret Room. These drawings are depictions of primarily SF writers. Those depicted in these drawings were Jack Kerouac, Jack Steinbeck, Robert Frost, Jack London, Isadora Duncan, Dashiell Hamett, Lillia Hellman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, James Baldwin and Edgar Allan Poe. To gain the creative fuel he needed, Jack would not read the works of these artists, but study their lives in order to get their essence on paper. Patrons of the Rex would enjoy Jack’s drawings every Friday and Saturday evening when the Cabaret Room was open, no photographing was allowed those evenings. The full installation hung from 1997 until 2018, how many of us artists can boast a 21 year running installation?! In the final paragraph of his book ‘The Rebel Rules: Daring To Be Yourself In Business’, book author and The Maxwell Hotel owner Chip Conley writes about Jack’s Hotel Rex installation.
Jack’s aptitude for portraying artists of the written word led to his invitation to participate in The Painted Word curated by Sue Kubly and her dear friend Peter Selz at San Francisco’s Meridian Gallery (which grew out of SAPA: Society For Art Publications Of The Americas) in April of 2012. Here Jack’s work was featured alongside visual art created by artists best known for their literary works (aka poet-artists). This prominent roster of artists included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, William Saroyan, Kenneth Roxroth, Jack Hirchman, Jess, Robert Duncan, Michael McClure, Jack Micheline, Henry Miller, Kenneth Patchen, Christopher Felver, William S. Burroughs, David Meltzer and Jack Keating!
“I’ve got more chins than a Chinese phonebook” - Though not originally a JK joint, this term was common in 1980’s and recently introduced to me by Jack when he often laughingly says it to describe his “all neck” or as I like to say “neck-less”.
Most recently Jack was awarded Chinatown’s ‘Hidden Gems Award’ in 2022 for his series of work Chinatown In the Rain. This series was one of Jack’s handmade thematic books of drawings in which he walked through Chinatown in the rain composing loose hand drawings of the people and scenery he encountered. He then spent the month touching up and adding the proper details, introducing colors and all the appropriate finishing qualities he needed. This visual accomplishment led him to achieve the award as one of the fifty local artist recipients of various media.
“I’ve heard of packing a ‘38, but that’s packing a 38!” - a JK joint (circa 1980s)
In his 46th year of living in downtown San Francisco (he’s been here 49), Jack finally discovered that the Geary 38 line Muni bus goes all the way to Ocean Beach (for real!) Now he’s riding it all the time. These days Jack starts his day off at 6:30am where he hops on any given bus to take it to various locations throughout the city. During these hours he fills up his books with anything he sees fit; people on the bus, people off the bus, people he encounters in the numerous neighborhoods he buses to, monuments, parks, small businesses and just about anything and everything that grabs his attention. It’s no wonder that he was one of four San Francisco’s recipients to be awarded the “San Francisco Beautiful” Muni Grant Project in 2021. Jack’s task was to translate eight poems into visual art. His art was then converted to digital prints displaying the art and poems, which were then exhibited on the interiors of twenty five Muni buses throughout the city. This project served as a moving art show for the public to enjoy on their various commutes throughout all parts of SF.
You can read more on this project here.
“His movements are secret and will remain secret.” - Eddie Barker KRLD (now KDFW) Dallas, TX- November 22nd 1963
This was aired when Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as our 36th president on November 22nd, 1963 soon after President John F. Kennedy was pronounced deceased. Jack distinctly remembers watching the report air live on television as a kid. The specific quote stuck with him throughout the years. Jack wishes the reader to know that although this article may divulge the most basic and vague ‘movements’ of his daily routines; Jack’s ‘official movements’ remain secret and will continue to remain secret.
“I know I talk about myself a lot, but wouldn’t you if you were in my shoes?” - a JK joint
Jack continually reinforces the fact that he doesn’t like talking about himself because he doesn’t want to be seen as a braggart, so I’ll do the talking for him. I wanted to finish up this article by mentioning a few other of his accomplishments.
Just like Chinatown In the Rain, Jack has created other thematically based handmade books. Up And Down Market Street is Jack’s experience of literally doing just that on a daily basis for just over a month, drawing everyone and everything that caught his eye. As is the same with Golden Gate Park which Jack created in 2021-22. This book displays drawings and paintings portraying many (if not all) of Golden Gate Park’s treasures over a nine month period. These books are profound in their detail, depictions of SF life, linework, color and passion. Each page exists as its own singular rendered piece out of an entire series that spans dozens and dozens of pages. Each individual book is unique unto itself and exists as only one handmade book!
For you movie goers, Jack’s rendition of Mark Twain is prominently displayed in the final scene of Just One Night (2000) starring Timothy Hutton. The film also stars former mayor Willie Brown who plays a judge in the film. Strangely enough Jack had the opportunity to hang out and converse with Willie Brown for the first time ever at Nob Hill’s Sam’s Grill completely by accident after stopping in for a quick drink the evening before I interviewed him for this article! He told me not to write that in this piece. Better to ask forgiveness than permission!
I believe the reader will agree with me when I say that all of this pretty much makes the illustrious Jack Keating an official San Francisco treasure!
I hope after reading this article, viewing his work and experiencing him in person, you can truly appreciate Jack the way we all do here in San Francisco.
We’re all very excited to see his work coming up in various projects in SF ranging from Moth Belly Gallery, 111 Minna Gallery, Luna Rienne Gallery and others. These new projects will allow a whole new generation of San Franciscans to enjoy and contemplate Jack’s works while simultaneously gaining a greater frame of reference for this city’s beauty and vast history.
To conclude this article,
Jack would like to give a very special THANK YOU to Sue Kubly for her friendship and supporting his work throughout the years.
Additionally Jack would like to thank Carmen Wong. Since 2010 Jack has been working through Carmen via the now defunct Speedway Printing. When the pandemic struck Speedway disposed of their entire archive, Carmen saved all of Jack’s files and art related archives. To this day Carmen continues to archive his work, promote it on social media daily and conducts/submits his proposals for grants and city projects including his recent admission to Chinatown’s ‘Hidden Gems Award’ in 2022.
Thank you Sue and Carmen, Jack wanted to say he loves you both for everything you’ve done for him over the years!!!!
