welcome home Marc

Yay! Marc's back home! Almost one month to the day, Marc has made it back to his familiar surroundings in Aptos. After under going rehabilitation for 16 days in Oakland, Marc has successfully recovered to the point where he's able to function almost completely on his own. He continues to be diligent about his daily rituals surrounding his skin care and his range of motion exercises. We continue to be impressed with Marc's ability to heal himself and his ability to manage the uncomfortable nature of his wounds, all without the benefit of medication. As I write this, Marc is planning the next work to be produced with his son/partner in art crime Noah, who together form the dynamic duo known to the greater community as ArtEnemies. It is very inspiring that Marc has returned to form, never deterred nor discouraged, ever eager to produce and continue doing what he does best, create art.

Marc and Betty Back in Aptosia

Hey All,

Marc and Betty arrived back last night to much fan fair, and full musical reception by The Aptosians

They are off now to San Jose to file paperwork for the afternoon.

Thank you all for the continued support.

Noah

Burn Recovery Benefit For Marc Gould

Burn Recovery Benefit For Marc Gould

Friday Aug. 6th

6-10

The Mill Gallery

131 Front St.

Santa Cruz, CA

Marc at home soon!!

Our thoughts and prayers are with Marc and Glen as they need us in this time of healing.

Marc at home on thursday!!!

Thanks to Jeff and Zeva!!! and all who are out there sending love.

I hope you all can make it to the benefit on Aug 6th at the Mill Gallery

131 Front St. Santa Cruz

All the best to you...

Textural Feelings

I visited Marc yesterday at J & Z's and was surprised to see no bandages on his hands and arms. The major extent of injuries are now under what looks like lizard skin. He's down to one pain med every 6 hours. His left arm and hand that received most of the grafts have a patterned, pinkish texture, not unlike a newborn's skin. With Zeva's help, he's able to keep it clean and function almost normally. Fresh air, rest, ambient light, good nutrition, positive vibes and all the support of friends and family has helped make his recovery swift and steady.

Marc said that anything coming close or in soft contact is highly intensified. A washcloth feels like stucco, a corduroy covered couch like a rasp, and air and temperature are experienced, not just felt. Marc always had extra sensory perception, so it will be interesting if these textural feelings will be expressed through his art.

Marc is released into the wild

Here's the latest update on Marc: He has been released from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and is continuing to recover at the home of Jeff And Zeva Williams. It's a testament to Marc's recuperative powers ( and possibly from all the love and affection being focused his way) that he's doing as well as he is. It's unbelievable that in the 2 days since I visited him at the hospital to when I saw him yesterday how much his burns have healed. He's 70% less bandaged and you would never know it to look at him that his face was burned at all. He continues to do more and more on his own and his spirit is undiminished and undeterred. Marc is only slightly disappointed over the lack of visitations from the Morphine Angels and the cute nurses from the burn unit. Zeva is doing a fabulous job in their place so there is little to no slack in the quality of care. Marc's appetite is strong and he's doing his hand exercises regularly. He is also enjoying being outside for the first time in over 2 weeks, breathing fresh air and relaxing in the warm shade. Everyday he progresses and it's encouraging to him and to all his caretakers to witness his remarkable recovery.

Update

Is Marc really out of the hospital as of today, or did he elope with Betty Boop?

Thanks to all!

Thanks to all. You have all been so wonderful!

I look forward to seeing some of you at the fundraiser and Art show!...

all the best!

and stay strong.

-Noah Gould

Marc on Sunday 7/11

Here is a couple of photos I took on Sunday 7/11. Marc is doing great and will be out of the hospital soon.

How this works

A small number of close friends and family have been designated "authors" for this blog, meaning they can post here. The public is able to read and comment on posts, but in order to write a post you'll need to be invited.

If you would like to express some thoughts please email us by clicking here. Include your name and your relationship with Marc (friend, family, fellow artist, musician, fan, etc.) and an automated invitation will be sent to your email. Follow the instructions on the email.

Also, if you are considering visiting Marc at Valley Medical, please call ahead and ask if he is able to receive a visit as he may be undergoing procedures. The phone number is (408) 885-6666. Visiting hours are from 12:00 to 8:00 PM everyday.

Thank you for your love, healing thoughts and support.

Meeting Marc

I first met Marc in the fall of 1976 in Santa Cruz. We were introduced by another artist, Anders, who rented me studio space in an art-deco flat above a used record store. He called it "Rubberbandland" because it was also used as rehearsal space for a fusion band he jammed with called The Rubberband. Because the space was being used more and more as an art studio than for playing music, we decided to coin Rubberbandland as 'an elastic alliance of artists' to accommodate a wider array of creative collaborations.

The first art show of any consequence was one that Marc produced called "Post-All Art" or Postal Art or Mail-All-Art. The premise was to use the postal system as a medium. Mail artists typically exchange ephemera in the form of illustrated letters, zines, rubberstamped, illustrated envelopes, art trading cards, postcards, faux postage, three-dimensional objects or naked mail, which was Marc's preference. In the tradition of Dadaism, the show was a snub of gallery art, juried shows, and the general exclusivity of establishment art. The only rule was that work submitted had to be stamped; no package or envelope could conceal it. Pieces began to arrive in the form of a book (a page mailed per day), painted gourds, a melted baby doll head, cardboard box dioramas, and paintings using actual postage as the subject matter. The post office began to get suspicious. One day a postal worker quietly sneaked upstairs to find out what was going on. Marc and I were taking a break, burning some sweet local agriculture (if you know what I mean), when we heard a knock. Seeing his uniform, we quickly sucked in as he said, "Sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you guys had any rolling papers to spare?" We were caught completely off guard. All we could manage was to shake our heads no. He said, "That's too bad because I have some pot for you." Then he pulled out this cast iron pot from behind his back with official USPS stamps taped to the bottom next to the address. Inside, painted in white letters was "Some pot for you." The show created quite a lot of local controversy giving Rubberbandland its oddball curiosity as a refuge for renegade creative types.

Marc's interest was (and still is) in anything underground and unusual. The next event I remember we participated in was coordinated by a like-minded photographer, Gary Ruble. It was called Power Flick #15, an art happening held on the edge of the Big Sur coast. It's a story that really needs a blog itself. A group of brave but crazy creative-types were solicited to run around slippery mountains of coastal rock in the dead of night,  carrying flashlights, torches and strobe lights to help with filming ethereal landscape time-exposures. The location and experience inspired Marc to paint surrealistic, visionary themes which identified his early work.

Around 1978, Marc moved to the Aptos, CA  hills to live among some friends on a former 11 acre chicken ranch. He converted an old barn into his art studio which enabled him to  work without distraction. As Rubberbandland was phasing out, a new group emerged as The Aptosians. By adding home made instruments, play toys, and found-object percussion to the typical rock & roll guitar, bass and drum set, it was less structured. In fact, structure was highly discouraged. All you needed was a sense of rhythm, intuition, and a desire to abandon inhibitions and preconceptions of what music is supposed to sound like.

Throughout the 34 years I've known Marc, he is one of the few creative practitioners who truly deserves the title of artist. He's taken an ambitious effort at being true to his vision.

If you haven't had the pleasure of knowing Marc, there's an opportunity to meet him, his work and his friends at a benefit art reception in Santa Cruz on August 6th. Hope to see you there.

Update

I visited Marc Saturday night just as visiting hours were closing. Fortunately a nurse let me in because Andy Wolpert and his wife were already visiting. He was moved from the intensive care ward down the hall to a shared room on same ward. There was concern about this move being too soon, but the staff said they needed to free up his private room for more critical patients. When Marc was airlifted to emergency he had to wait 6 hours for a room in intensive care, so he understands why it's needed.

Andy brought his guitar and was serenading us with blues licks as we talked. Part of Marc's right arm bandages are now removed, and he is finished with skin grafts which is a good sign. He's handling pain much better and can walk around independently.

Marc is very appreciative of all the love, support, and also the great food being brought. If you are going to visit him it's a good idea to call beforehand and find out if he's available and if bringing food is OK.