poems and paintings by FRANK MOORE

Frank Moore's second book of poetry, the beautiful full-color SKIN PASSION, is jam-packed both with his widely acclaimed poems and with striking reproductions of his oil and digital paintings, which have been exhibited around the U.S. and Canada. Moore's powerful and inspiring poetry dates from the early 1990s through 2012, while his big, bright oils date back to 1965, when he first started painting in high school with a brush attached to a helmet. His digital paintings date from the mid-'90s, when he started painting with the mouse keys and his head pointer on the computer. The cover art features an arresting blow-up of one of these vibrant rich digital pieces, "Toni". As Moore wrote for the first edition of Skin Passion: "You don't even need drugs!"

Moore was notorious for exploring and expanding freedom, magic, tribal reality, intimacy and deep human connection beyond the accepted limits, sex and love, play and passion, censorship in all its forms, and exploding the concepts and taboos that fragment and isolate us from each other, from ourselves and from unlimited possibilities. The poems in this collection reflect this full spectrum. Some of his poems have been seen as political, addressing the current state of things, but these pieces always bring the issues of the moment into a universal context (see Boundaries Kill, Locked In/Locked Out and That Goddamn Weed of Life). In the same way, his tribute poems to friends, students, and fellow artists take us deeply through the personal into the essence of being human together. In poems like "Falling Into Skin", erotic human surrender opens vast intimate worlds within worlds. Many of the poems express this common theme, that everything comes from within the "smallness" of human intimacy and "being enough" for each other. "Within small caves/ of love,/ Personal trust,/ And passion/ Beyond taboo." (from the poem Fuse). Moore's paintings take us on the same journey in colorful oils and with digital brush, pulling us into the same smallness: images from childhood, monsters, superheroes, nudes, and even his yearly xmas cards! Moore's xmas poem is included, "The Season of Hidden Hope", which was performed for many years on KPFA in Berkeley. Skin Passion also features a number of poems that condense Moore's basic approach to life and art into a poetic infusion. Poems like Tribal Performance, Art of Reshaping Reality, and River Vision show Moore's deep and uncompromising vision of human liberation and art as a "battle against fragmentation".

DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE

ABOUT FRANK MOORE

Frank Moore was an American performance artist, shaman, teacher, poet, essayist, painter, musician, and internet/television personality who experimented in art, performance, ritual, and shamanistic teaching from the late 1960s until his death in 2013 in Berkeley, California.

Moore is well known as one of the NEA-funded artists targeted by Jesse Helms in the early '90s for doing art that was labeled "obscene". He is also well known for long (5-48 hours) ritualistic performances with audience participation, nudity, and eroticism.

Moore coined the word, "eroplay" to describe physical play between adults released from the linear goals of sex and orgasm. He explored this, and similar concepts in performance and ritual as a way for people to break through isolation, and connect on a deep human level beyond the social and cultural expectations and limitations.

Moore was born with cerebral palsy, could not walk or talk, and wrote books, directed plays, made award-winning films, gave poetry readings, played piano, sang in music jams, lead rock bands, and hosted a live variety show on his radical webstation, which he ran for 14 years. Frank's original oil and digital paintings have been shown across the United States and in Canada. Moore communicated using a laser-pointer and a board of letters, numbers, and commonly used words.

From 1991 to 1999 Frank Moore published and edited the acclaimed underground zine, The Cherotic [ r ]Evolutionary. In addition to his books, Cherotic Magic, Art of a Shaman, Chapped Lap, Skin Passion and numerous other self-published pieces, Moore was widely published in magazines and books.

In the 1970s, Frank Moore created the popular cabaret show, the Outrageous Beauty Revue. In the 1980s he became one of the United States' foremost performance artists. In 1992 he was voted Best Performance Artist by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. In 2001 he began producing shows for Berkeley's public access channel, and these shows continue today. In 2006, Moore became a write-in candidate for President of the United States in the 2008 election, qualifying in 25 states and receiving votes across the country. Since 2011, he has become internationally known for his performance/video archive on Vimeo.com which has been viewed by over 30 million people worldwide.

Frank Moore performed regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area up until his death.

His students and the people influenced by his life/work continue his vision.

"one of the most heroic poets we've been privileged to know."
- Jack Hirschman, poet

"Frank, This is a masterpiece! Someone make a giant print of it and put in the museum of modern art immediately."
- Annie Sprinkle re: Frank Moore's digital painting, "Falling In Love"

"Frank Moore's poetry is a beautiful set of contradictions, full of vulnerability and an irresistible strength, a mixture of frailty and titanium will ... a testament by a man not afraid to acknowledge imperfections, both in himself and in the physical world, but still standing by the human soul with an unshakable loyalty."
- Robert L. Penick, Editor Chance Magazine Press

"I can't find words for how deep a level you take the painting art form to. They are so simple, but deep, like a childhood memory. Rough and raw but at the same time erotic and full of love."
- Mickie Monster, artist Sweden

"I especially liked your poem 'That Goddamn Weed of Life'. You have an interesting ability for being tuned into 'the pulse of the times,' things that people everywhere are thinking and feeling...."
- Joe Verrilli, poet, small press publisher

Order Information

List Price: $25.00

AMAZON

No Kindle/epub available at this time.
But you can download a pdf from Lulu.com

PDF from LULU

You can also read the entire book on The Internet Archive here:
https://archive.org/details/frank-moore-skin-passion/mode/2up

Other books by Frank Moore are available here.

You can receive the book directly from us for a suggested donation of $16 plus shipping. Please email us at fmoore@eroplay.com