The syndrome of Alfred Leslie

Who's Alfred Leslie? 

by ANTÓNIO CERVEIRA PINTO

Alfred Leslie (b.1929) and Robert Frank (b.1924)

Pull My Daisy, 28 min., 16mm (1959)

Made with writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Pull My Daisy is a 1959 short film, a classic look at the soul of the beat generation. It starred Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers, Peter Orlovsky, David Amram, Richard Bellamy, Alice Neel, Sally Gross and Pablo, Frank's then-infant son. Pull My Daisy is recognized as one of the most important works of avant-garde cinema — in Virtual Circuit.

Back in 1989, I drew and painted several red sentences on paper that I named propositional images. One of these sentences says The syndrome of Alfred Leslie. These propositional images are either enigmatic, nasty or funny. A few weeks ago, a potential buyer of these drawing paintings asked me what the meaning of "the syndrome of Alfred Leslie was". I was speechless because I couldn't remember any more why I did compose that sentence!

Now I remember: Alfred Leslie is a living American artist almost unknown in the art world. However, he has been a crucial presence at the core of such cultural moments in America as abstract expressionism, the beat generation and even pop art. His biography says, “born in the Bronx, New York, on October 20, 1927, multidisciplinary artist Alfred Leslie gained notice in the postwar period on the strength of his early abstract paintings, later figurative works, and independent films. An outgoing personality with close ties to Abstract Expressionist artists, Leslie turned his studio into a lively gathering place for New York’s avant-garde.”

Alfred Leslie. Telephone Call, 1971

Alfred Leslie.The Accident,1969-70

From abstraction to urban and almost photo-realism, from beat to pop. Alfred Leslie's longevity has not been enough to give him the front pages in art exhibitions and magazines as he surely deserves from at least a historical point of view. What is missing? Some explain this odd situation as being behind the curve. I prefer to call it the Alfred Leslie syndrome.

Alfred Leslie. Casey Key, 1976

Alfred Leslie. Brenna Gordon, 1976

Alfred Leslie. Laura Apastalou, 1976

Alfred Leslie | Wikipedia | Sotheby's |  Bruce Silverstein Gallery