The day I met Joe Coleman

Once upon a time there was a Madman... or... a Visionary who lived life by his own rules and created paintings that delved into the deepest and darkest desires of humanity.

His name was Joe Coleman.

An intense and mischievous creature that reveled in peoples fears and phobias. Never to be pigeon-holed into being just one of anything Mr. Coleman was an all round Artist. His art is meticulous and his past performance works have been met with Great Adoration and Scorn.

As his alter ego, Professor Mombooze-O.... he has brought CAOS to the world of normality striking out in a most Explosive fashion. Did I say Explosive? YES.... he has an insatiable love for Pranks.... or more profoundly 'A Public WAKE-UP call'!

Quote from the book 'Original SIN: The Visionary Art of Joe Coleman'.

'Posing as a member of the class named Doug Sprag (who, unbeknownst to most of the attendees, had actually died in a car accident five years earlier), Coleman showed up at the reunion with a load of explosives concealed beneath his shirt. After spending most of the evening antagonizing the crowd by spouting neo-Nazi comments and making crude sexual come-ons to the woman, Coleman grabbed the school president, pulled him onto the stage, and started dancing to the strains of the school's alma mater.

What happened next is described in an interview
with RE/Search publisher Andrea Juno:

At this point everybody was thinking, "It's a little bit easier to take this guy now because he's drunk." So they surrounded the stage, laughing---- it was just me and the president doing these crazy Egyptian hieroglyph dances. When the song was ended he started walking off, and I started to open up my shirt. They thought it was a striptease and said, "Yeah, yeah, Doug, take it off!" But what I was really doing was exposing my explosives. So I took a big puff of my cigar, and they're all laughing, and then it was like the movie Carrie----- I started going off! Everybody started running for the hills, screaming and crying--- they thought it was the end, that they were going to die..... The place was covered with smoke and I just started walking over the bodies laying on the ground, and I said "Yeah, it was a great high school reunion ---- we should do one of these every year! Take care, and so long, folks!" and walked out the door before the cops could get there.

THAT is what I call a Great High School Reunion!

Joe's performance as Professor Mambooze-O has also delved into the realm of the GEEK (A sideshow performer that bites the head off of live animals)

In 1988 I viewed for my first time 'Mondo NewYork', a movie about the subculture of New York city. THIS is where I first encountered the strange world of Joe Coleman!

I still have memories of seeing him as Professor Mambooze-O.... how he squished and ate two white mice. My first time witnessing a REAL GEEK act!

During the filming of the movie 'Mondo New York', Joe went to a gallery premiere with explosives strapped to his chest.... and set them off. This was all caught on film... but what wasn't shown was the fact that he was charged with a very obscure law....

Joe Coleman was charged with using an 'Infernal Machine', when he set off explosives on his body!

Now, here is why I have spent the past few paragraphs getting you up to speed with WHO Joe Coleman is.... I have had the pleasure of meeting this ICON on June 17th 2006 at the Northern Ink Exposure annual tattoo convention in Toronto. I have been a fan of his for 18 years and I couldn't believe it when I saw him walking through the front doors of the Convention Centre!

I walked up to him and introduced myself and handed him my card. When Joe realized that I was not just a fan, but a Sideshow owner, he asked me to meet him at the after party that night. I went to the party at the Museum of Contemporary Art and enjoyed the exhibition called 'Darkness Ascends' and purchased a DVD of Joe Coleman's about his life. That evening he came in and we chatted for a bit and then I asked him if he would sign the DVD sleeve for me. He pulled the sleeve from the jacket and turned it over.... and then did something I never expected... he started drawing a sketch of me! and then graciously signed it.	Joes drawing of me
We chatted about life and Sideshow and I told him about Carnival Diablo's World of Wonders and that we would be set up the next day at a Festival to which he replied, 'I would like to come and see your Attraction if I can'. I told him that I would get him instructions and hoped that I would see him again the next day.	Me and Joe Coleman
The next day Carnival Diablo's World of Wonders was set up at a large Italian Festival in Toronto and at around 7pm Joe showed up with his wife and a few friends. It was a real pleasure having Joe Coleman come and visit the FREAKSHOW while it was open at the Festival. I showed Joe and his entourage the World of Wonders and we chatted about many of the exhibits.	Joe and I
Joe and his wife Whitney enjoyed the exhibits and liked The Homicidal Ventriloquist Dummy alot. He spent a good 20 minutes soaking up the ambience of the Freaks...	Joe in World of Wonders
Being that Joe Coleman is the quintessential story teller and Showman... I thought that it would be appropriate to get a pic of him at the Carnival Diablo World of Wonders Ticket booth... he seems to fit in just a little too well....	Joe at WOW booth
Joe had asked if he could have a copy of our promo on DVD and I had brought him a DVD and poster as a souvenier.... and in return I remembered to bring with me to the festival, his book 'Original SIN the Visionary Art of Joe Coleman'... I asked if he would sign the interior for me. Once again, I was taken aback as Joe commenced on making a full drawing of The World of Wonders on the two blank white pages at the front of his book!	Joe's rendition of WOW
All in all it was wonderful meeting one of my favorite Artists and an inspiration to so much that is the World of Diablo! Joe Coleman was warm, articulate and gracious with his time and I am hoping that we will meet again in the near future.