Eric Strauss began making art and music in the mid-sixties. He was a founding member of the band Zazu Pitts and a collaborator/performer in such memorable groups as A Walk in the Closet, Enema Dog, Half Moon,The Polish Eagle Orchestra, The Motor Totemist Guild, Personal Best, The Wigbillies, Phog masheeen, SMUD, and Skunk Puppet.
After more than 35 years laboring in such exciting fields as retail sales, musical instrument repair, wastewater management, and printing, he finally threw in the towel in 2004 and retired to pursue the life of the mind. He is currently living in seclusion somewhere in Long Beach, strumming his banjo and screening his calls.
Artist Location: Long Beach, CA
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PARTICIPATION
Gallery Show, April 27 – June 1, 2024:
V.O.G. (fragment) [2004]
This piece has grown out of my interests in spirit horns, ventriloquism and the disembodied voice. It conflates the vernacular of the nineteenth century spiritualist with the traditional aesthetic concerns of the freewheeling carnival sideshow mountebank.
The sound sculpture V.O.G. – Voice Of God was originally conceived as a way for the general public to communicate directly with The Deity. Initially part of two works submitted for SoundWalk 2004, it remained operational until November of 2016 when it was partially destroyed in a freak lightning storm.