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Day #1 of 31 Days of Halloween
It's finally here!!!
I don’t quite know where this year will take us yet, but I wanted to start with a recap of sorts. We will ease into things.
Gently.
Let’s talk about some art. We all have our own opinions on Ai art and I won't even touch that.
I make some “Art” and sometimes vocally even exclaim it as such.
It's not universal.
It's not everyone's taste.
It's what comes from my brain, or even daily life. If you have ever checked out my art page on FB you will have seen me proudly state “If you can’t say it your sticker will”. Everyday sayings and interactions have the ability to be immortalized into what I call artwork.
Take a look at some of these images, the serene backdrops. The rolling hills. The techniques and skill are hard to ignore for the most part. It's art that has levels and most certainly appeals to someone as one of these pieces sold for $4895 and it was only a signed print.
Charles Ng "Stolen Hearts" Dorathea Puente " Flower Card"
Richard Clarey "Passtures"
You may even call them…pretty?
Pretty deadly.
Every one of these images was created by a known, convicted serial killer.
Charles Ng,11 convictions, 25 suspected. Currently serving 25th yr on Death Row.
Dorathea Puente, 3 Convictions 9 Suspected. Life without Parole.. Died in Prison in 2011
Richard Clarey 3 convictions, 102 Suspected. Life without parole plus 25 yrs, currently incarcerated in the general population at Ionia Correctional Facility.
Ottis Toole Convicted of 6 confessed to killing more than a hundred people with his partner Henry Lee Lucas. Toole murdered 'America's Most Wanted' host John Walsh's son. Died of cirrhosis at the Florida State Prison on September 15, 1996
The mysterious allure of serial killers and mass murderers has led to the creation of an entire clandestine industry in which dealers trade items created by and from criminals, and sometimes, the cost of these nefarious goodies, nicknamed "murderabilia," reaches astronomical prices. The history and scope of the murderabilia industry remains shrouded in mystery: These operations used to exist largely through underground channels and has long since moved from the online fringe to bona fide auction houses.
An auction in Sacramento,in 2021, sold Al Capone’s favorite pistol for over $1 million as part of a sale of items associated with the late Chicago mob boss.
The items were offered by members of Capone’s family. With authenticity cards and even images of the aftermath.
As of recently it was overturned due to infringement of Freedom of Speech and expression, but at one time many states introduced so-called “Son of Sam” laws Named after a notorious serial killer in New York State,(David Berkowitz) the laws require any profits earned by works about a crime perpetrator to be shared with the victims.
No such barriers appear to exist in the murderabilia business. Its estimated to be a 2 million dollar plus a year of a genre of business.
However there is a flip side.
Many notorious criminals are often clueless that their items are being sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars.
Let’s do a brief introduction to Keith Jesperson, who agrees the commercialization of objets d’crime raises some concerning issues. He speaks with some authority.
Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer, murdered eight women across the United States in the 1990s.
In the Oregon prison where he is serving a life sentence, he has become an artist, whose vibrant color pencil drawings are among the hot items in the murderabilia market.
Ever since the start of his incarceration, Jesperson was bombarded with mail from people all over the world, at one point, receiving about 50 letters a day. Most of the letters asked about the details of his crimes, but some bluntly requested specific items such as artwork, a spare pair of eyeglasses, fingernail clippings, hair and even body fluids.
the Happy Face Killer was quoted to say.
“If I send a letter to someone, they cherish it because I signed it with my name and it’s coming from a serial killer,” he said.
“They want to say, ‘Look who I’m talking to,’ and it makes them feel important, I guess, but at the same time, I feel like I’m being used, and I’m not really cool on that. *Crime-report.com
“I’m a commodity to them. I’m not something of value to them as a human being.”
Jesperson said it had made him suspicious of forming pen pal relationships, as he discovered that some would-be “friends” had been selling his letters and drawings behind his back.
“When someone sells my work, I think, well, that’s personal…when they do that, I don’t care too much for them.
I just quit writing them,” he said. “Don’t steal what isn't yours”
Interesting choice of words. 🙂
Sources and citations. www.biography.com/crime-figure The Grunge, Crime Report, Murderpedia, Bach Auction Houses. Allthatsintresting.com
Jack Smith/Happy Face Killer:True Serial Killer. Oxygen.com. TrueCrimes. FBIFiles. Truecrimecollective (Sites) Redrum.com
Keith Hunter Jesperson Artwork
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