7 Fifi, 1975, oil on canvas, 48x48”. One of my earliest surviving works.
In 6th grade (11 years old), one student forgot his math book and got to do his art project instead of math. Later, on walking home after school, I deliberately ditched my math book under a dense pine tree. For the next week, I was in heaven because I worked on my art project instead of math. I vividly recall that it was a mixed media sculpture made from a wood branch, string, and yarn, resembling a colorful spider's web. Possibly influenced by the television series The Addams Family and the colorful hippies invading California beaches.
The following week, the teacher had my math book in her hand; someone found the book and returned it to the school. She looked puzzled, but seeing how despondent I was recognizing my math book, figured I ditched it on purpose. That afternoon, she said to me, “Michael, you are always going to float through life.” Thoughtlessly she was calling me a loser, but considering that I would …