Steven Johnson Leyba
Encyclopedia
Steven Johnson Leyba is an artist, painter, fine art book maker, author, spoken word performance artist, and musician, who claims Mescalero
Apache ancestry. He has been called the father of “Sexpressionism” by art critic Carlo McCormick
.
His work has been criticized for using the swastika
symbol and sexual imagery for the purposes of shock and controversy.
In 1994 he was made a Reverend in the Church of Satan
by Anton LaVey
.
paintings utilize photographic collage
, acrylic paint
, oil paint
, beadwork
, as well as human blood. Leyba’s work attempts to 'liberate' human sexuality from commercialism
. Using recontextualized images of human genitalia he emphasizes aesthetic notions of beauty and the politics of sexuality.
His hand-made fine art books which can weigh up to seventy pounds consist of bound pages of paintings on canvas.
His public performances consist of spoken word
rants, cutting, piercing and extreme acts of degradation and sadomasochism.
He has released two albums of spoken word and music on Adversary Records: The Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba Presents: The United Satanic Apache Front, and Fuck Your Freedom.
He has produced album covers for the bands Unveiled and Faggot.
, Apache Gahn Dancers, images of Native American
warriors such as Geronimo
, as well as the landscape of the human body.
In 2002 he was the subject of the film documentary "Unspeakable:The Life & Art of Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba" by Marc Rokoff.
, H.R. Giger, Poppy Z. Brite
, Clive Barker
, and others. His memoir The Last American Painter, with an introduction by Genesis P-Orridge
was published by Coyotel Press in 2008. In 2009 Coyotel Press published his fine art book, Sexpressionist Portraits, and a collaboration with Dave Archer, Steve Hapy, and Will Taylor, The Trickster’s Bible.
Mescalero
Mescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
Apache ancestry. He has been called the father of “Sexpressionism” by art critic Carlo McCormick
Carlo McCormick
Carlo McCormick is a culture critic and curator living in New York City. He is the author of numerous books, monographs and catalogues on contemporary art and artists.-Pedagogic Activity:...
.
His work has been criticized for using the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
symbol and sexual imagery for the purposes of shock and controversy.
In 1994 he was made a Reverend in the Church of Satan
Church of Satan
The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
by Anton LaVey
Anton LaVey
Anton Szandor LaVey , born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician...
.
Work
Leyba’s mixed mediaMixed media
Mixed media, in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed.There is an important distinction between "mixed-media" artworks and "multimedia art". Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct...
paintings utilize photographic collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
, acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
, oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
, beadwork
Beadwork
Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another or to cloth, usually by the use of a needle and thread or soft, flexible wire. Most beadwork takes the form of jewelry or other personal adornment, but beads are also used in wall hangings and sculpture.Beadwork techniques are broadly...
, as well as human blood. Leyba’s work attempts to 'liberate' human sexuality from commercialism
Commercialism
Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
. Using recontextualized images of human genitalia he emphasizes aesthetic notions of beauty and the politics of sexuality.
His hand-made fine art books which can weigh up to seventy pounds consist of bound pages of paintings on canvas.
His public performances consist of spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
rants, cutting, piercing and extreme acts of degradation and sadomasochism.
He has released two albums of spoken word and music on Adversary Records: The Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba Presents: The United Satanic Apache Front, and Fuck Your Freedom.
He has produced album covers for the bands Unveiled and Faggot.
Inspiration
Leyba is inspired by Native American motifs such as the swastikaSwastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
, Apache Gahn Dancers, images of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
warriors such as Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, as well as the landscape of the human body.
Censorship
In March 1997 his painting “Wounded Knee Decomposition” was censored by the KiMo Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico during a Native American art exhibition held to raise money to allow American Indian prison inmates to hold and attend sweat lodge ceremonies. A special screen was set up to segregate his painting from the rest of the exhibit.Fame
In 1997 he performed his “Apache Whiskey Rite” before an audience of the San Francisco political establishment at the political consultant Jack Davis’ fiftieth birthday party. During the performance Leyba was sodomized by a woman wearing a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey in a harness. The performance resulted in national media attention including the front page of the New York Times, references in scholarly articles, and public debate.In 2002 he was the subject of the film documentary "Unspeakable:The Life & Art of Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba" by Marc Rokoff.
Books
Leyba’s first book Coyote, Satan, Amerika was published by Last Gasp in 2001 and featured reviews of his work by William S. BurroughsWilliam S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
, H.R. Giger, Poppy Z. Brite
Poppy Z. Brite
Poppy Z. Brite is an American author. Brite initially achieved notoriety in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s after publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections...
, Clive Barker
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
, and others. His memoir The Last American Painter, with an introduction by Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
was published by Coyotel Press in 2008. In 2009 Coyotel Press published his fine art book, Sexpressionist Portraits, and a collaboration with Dave Archer, Steve Hapy, and Will Taylor, The Trickster’s Bible.