Brilliant, radical, genius, outrageous, original, subversive, Satanic, sexpressionist, the last American painter; these and many other disparate labels have been applied to
Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba. He is an artist who has been the focus of much controversy, he was appointed as a Reverend of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in 1992, and in 1997 he had his “Wounded Knee Decomposition” painting censored at a Native American fundraiser at the KiMo theater in Albuquerque. Two months later he performed his infamous “Apache Whiskey Rite” at San Francisco politico Jack Davis’ fiftieth birthday party, gaining national exposure and front page headlines in newspapers like the New York Times, because the performance included Leyba being sodomized by a woman wearing a bottle of Jack Daniels in a harness. In many ways Leyba is the artist’s artist and the rebel’s rebel, a true outlaw at the height of his powers, one could say that Dillinger had banks, and Leyba has galleries. You can and will think what you like about Leyba and his art, the one point that we can all agree upon is the fact that here is a committed and uncompromising master of his craft. An artist who has created an immense body of work in not only painting, but also performance art, film, music, literature, totem, and taboo. He goes beyond most of his contemporaries by leaps and bounds, for here is a man who makes art not only on the canvas or page, but of his very life, the living aesthetic. Leyba is currently embroiled in a censorship battle with Artspace Projects, Inc. (a national nonprofit organization specializing in housing for creatives. The supposed goal of Artspace Projects is to serve as a catalyst for community transformation by providing affordable live/work space to artists.) over his use of the Swastika in some of the work that they invited him to display in the live/work where he resides in Everett, WA. Leyba maintains the point that it is ridiculous for Artspace Projects to take issue with his work, censor it, and demand its removal from the exhibition (all of which they did do), because he is an artist of a culturally diverse ethnic background. (Leyba is of Mescalero Apache, Navajo, Cherokee, Paiute, Menominee, and Jewish ancestry.) He says that his use of the symbol is an act of reclamation, that he is taking the sacred symbolism of his culture out of the hands of fascists and hate groups, and by extension of that he is taking an arrow from the quiver of the fascist corporate Amerikan newspeak. He is an artist who sees the infinite potential and power of art’s ability to develop dialogue and foster change. Although it’s effect may not always be felt immediately on a larger political or sociological level, it is felt on the immediate plane of the existence of the viewer. Perhaps this is the quality which makes it truly subversive, and perhaps this is why the powers that be find him a threat that they feel needs to be silenced! Leyba, however, will not be silenced. He knows that this is do or die, this is #ARTWAR, and “In #ARTWAR there will be casualties”! We are deeply honored to present this month’s artist. In preparing for this month’s Spotlight, our subject allowed us rare access into his archives that span nearly 30 years in the life and work of a master painter. We proudly present the unspeakable artistry of a true artist, subversive, and living legend, our October Spotlight: Steven Johnson Leyba. 
WATER
Book 16 The pages in WATER my 16th hand made book are the most personal and most feminine book I have ever done. Depths of animistic water protectors and 12 years of dreaming of floods. At first it may seem this book is apolitical but in many ways it is my most political. Crass' drummer told me that my work "is some of the most political art being created today. The personal is political. The more personal the more political. Your work is the most personal I have ever seen." Consider if you will the human body as landscape and what man has done and is still doing to the earth and woman's bodies, minds and spirits. What the corporate mind set has done to decimate the earth is a murdering. The woman painted in this book are the earth and are feeling the darkness of change in the world and in their bodies. A transformation beyond the decimation to a level of evolution of the species. An evolution that will happen once we all embrace femininity in actuality and beyond rhetoric. We are all nature and this is what I have painted in the WATER book. Leyba
Steven Lee Matz: What is #ARTWAR and what is its functionality in, not just the art
world, but the greater social and political landscape of America? Steven Johnson Leyba: #ARTWAR is designed to give the language of art back to the actual artists. We have been told for too long by the art system to shut up and be pretty. Artists have been bullied into keeping quiet while the art system: which is the museums, the auction houses, the universities, museums, top galleries who control the language and commerce around art. Artists have been silent for so long almost all the art propped up in the western world is stillborn. One can look at the so called “postmodern art" and compare it to modernism which wasn't initially controlled by the market place. But also, many careerist artists who I see more like business politicians are also to blame. They are so far down the sewage system they couldn't even be called, as Warhol would say “business artists” they are more like fraudulent propagandists, yes, men and women playing politics for crumbs. Art slaves basically. Basically, the art system and brain washed so called artists who do not create from the heart or have any instinct whatsoever. They are Ok with recycling and making stillborn art that references stillborn art. To me art is about freedom. It is the last place in the whole world where a person can be free and artists need to start removing the parasites from their creations or face the fact that they are also THE ENEMY. The enemy of all art, of all art history and freedom and the human spirit. It is not just the American landscape it is the world landscape now and generally, people believe everything they read on the internet especially about art and especially from the ivory towers of the New York art magazines. The functionality of #ARTWAR is to call the art pigs to the mat. It doesn't matter what the world thinks or the art officials it is what passion TRUE ARTISTS have and their drives and visions. #ARTWAR is taking back art from those that control art and the artists. Be they the art world, art schools, galleries, museums, American media, Hollywood and the US Government. True creators are fed up and have been making amazing art that is marginalized and suppressed by the system. Whenever an #ARTWAR warrior speaks out against the corporate control grid machine they ignore or say, “You are just jealous. Go back to school and get your master’s degree then maybe you can go somewhere.” Lol basically they are saying “give us money” shows what their priorities are. Vital art does not fit in their corporate business model. It is without doubt a BANKRUPTCY OF THE IMAGINATION. For me the bullshit bully system is not unlike the BIA on many American Indian reservations, where the official story is like for instance with the Navajo and Hopi tribes are supposedly enemies, but in reality it is the christian short hair Indians of both tribes who work for BIA and have business dealings with Peabody oil that is mining natural resources on both reservations at odds with the rest of the tribe and elders. The corruption you see in business and politics is also part of ARTWORLD. Some of us who must create art, always will create art and what we create is not mutable, not negotiable and created from the human spirit that will not be broken. There are tens of millions of us and we are sick of the art slave plantation system. We are coming for you, We know your addresses, names and institutions. Your bureaucracies can not shield you. #ARTWAR THERE WILL BE CASUALTIES! Matz: I’m sure most of our readers are aware of the recent censorship of your work by Art Space Projects Inc. for displaying art which featured, among other symbolism and imagery, the Swastika. How does the standard contemporary interpretation of that symbol correspond with the censored art? Leyba: I live inside an American corporation just as if I lived in a shopping mall. I live at Art Space Everett Lofts in Everett Washington. Art Space Projects Inc. has many live work lofts across America and they have a mission statement of free expression which is a complete lie. If you go to their website www.artspace.org they have the clean slick look of a cult or church. They claim to give discounted rent to artists to help facilitate creativity but in reality the amount of discounted rent isn't worth the hassle as they are a self policing organization. The irony is it is an art ghetto that doesn't promote creativity, it regulates it. It beats down nonconformity and creativity because that infringes on their corporate rights. It is like if you lived inside Facebook. For rules they constantly change and make up. THEY CENSOR. Art Space Projects Inc. has mastered the art of bullying creative people. It is a bully system. It is domestic abuse. It is also an actual factual bonafide ghetto and they have some dubious deal with the U.S. Government that is part of HUD Department of Housing and urban Government. Which also means to get a lease you have to sign away certain rights most Americans have. The first Amendment and Second Amendment do not apply. Art Space is a non-profit that makes a shit load of profits and even gets over 3 million a year from arts organizations. To legally cover their ass they have managing companies that own the properties and that is who you sign your lease with. They act like they are untouchable and they treat artists like shit. Even worse they create a hostile environment between tenants. Censorship is the excuse and they are OK with that because they are a private nonprofit so it is out of the jurisdiction of the ACLU. I was instructed by management to take my art down; “Dear Steve Leyba, It has come to our attention that as one of the two artists exhibiting in the Artspace Everett Lofts Lobby this month some of your work contains swastikas. I recognize that your stated intention with the swastika is to reference its ancient connection to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. But like all living symbols and language, meaning changes over time. Today the swastika references Nazism, racial hatred, and mass murder. For many it has become a part of hate speech. I am sure you are familiar with the recent incidents in Charlottesville and the pro Nazi and counter demonstrations that continue to occur around the Country. It is a very hard time for many. Artspace and Quantum Management have a committed to non-discrimination. This means we comply with the Federal Fair Housing Act which requires that we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status. Because of this, Artspace cannot allow swastikas in our lobby. We request that you remove the work that contains swastikas from the lobby by 6:00pm tonight. If the pieces containing swastikas remain after that time, I will direct management to remove them. If management has to remove your art, they will take the utmost care with the work. However, neither Artspace nor Quantum can guarantee the condition of the work." The NCAC had a stellar and justifiable response; "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NCAC Demands Artspace Restore Native American Artworks Featuring Swastikas New York, NY, 8/24/2017- The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is urging Artspace, an organization that manages artists’ live/work spaces, to restore an exhibition of artworks in Everett, Washington, some of which feature the swastika. Artist Steven Leyba was ordered to remove his paintings despite the fact he was using the symbol to reclaim its original significance in Native American culture. NCAC argues that removing the work gravely compromises Artspace’s commitment to artistic freedom. Leyba, a resident at the Artspace Everett Lofts in Washington, is of Native American and Jewish descent. The swastika symbol is commonly used in his work, as an act of healing and reclamation. In justifying the removal, the management argued that in light of the recent violence in Charlottesville, the swastika can only be seen as a symbol of discrimination and mass murder. NCAC recognizes Artspace’s concerns but argues that removing Leyba’s work only silences a minority artist attempting to reclaim a symbol belonging to his own culture and counter the Nazi abuse of that symbol. The letter underlines that the removal undermines Artspace’s own mission in fostering an environment where artists’ creativity and free expression can flourish. NCAC urges Artspace to issue a public apology to Leyba and to redisplay the artworks by no later than Monday 28th of August. 'By Artspace’s own admission, the swastika has a long and rich history outside of its reputation as a hate symbol,' said NCAC’s Arts Advocacy Associate Joy Garnett. 'We therefore ask Artspace to affirm their commitment to artistic freedom and re-display the artworks, extending the exhibit to reverse the harm caused by the censorship.' " READ THE LETTER ncac.org I have lived here for over four years. The bullying has happened over and over. And ultimately it comes down to prejudice, discrimination and jealousy from management and from other tenants. Keep in mind I am a professional artist whom makes my living from my art. There are over 60 tenants in the building and many of them have axes to grind and are fearful of good art in general. The manager who lives in the building was going up to tenants asking them if they were offended by my use of the swastika. This has created a hostile environment for me. Now I am being called the Red Nazi Jew. The fact that my work was removed from the lobby has sent the message to not only tenants in the building but to the city of Everett Washington that I am a racist. This has created a dangerous situation for me and it is no longer a safe place for me to live. And Art Space Headquarters doesn't care over and over they say, “call the police” It is pretty shitty and insidious and ludicrous. One fellow environ was the first to go on an anti-Leyba campaign claiming my art should not be exhibited in a building where children live. He called and emailed various people in the city government. They said it is “free speech”. He called the Everett police and they initially said the same. By the time of the third censorship attempt I had become friends with the moms in the building and we did a collaboration. They called the police again. Allegedly they made a visit while I was on tour in Europe. When I got home I visited the Everett police but there was no report filed. In my various censorship experiences at Everett Art Space it has been a demeaning and gross place to live with a lot of semi educated left wing dummy do rights. Hicks who are not even artists and they do not produce art. Some make really bad art that is a pain to look at and embarrassing stuff you should only show your art therapist. Many of them think because they live here they are artists. They give art a bad name. Many have fixated on me and obsessed. One came up to me and said, “I saw you eating your shit on YouTube” So you can see I am living inside a really bad performance art project that is an actual idiot artist asylum. It's third grade all over again. Luckily, I have 5 good friends and coincidentally they are actually good artists. Reality is stranger than fiction here however it wouldn't make a good reality show because these things that live in the same building as I do are not very interesting. It hurts to look at their art and it hurts to look at them. They act as if they are victimized by my art while calling me names to my face or behind my back. Making racist remarks and derogatory statements about my religion. I wish these people had depth and self awareness. When I moved in I wasn't told that there was a complaint form for art. I was told several years in 5 complaints and art must be taken down or management will take it down and keep it in the office for me to pick up. Like a forced walk of shame to the principal's office. The complaints came in a couple years ago and it was devastating to be censored by people who claimed to be artists. One of them, a very bad abstract painter who was the ring leader caroling those 5 complaints told me in front of other tenants at a community meeting “Your work is offensive to all women” I replied “How do you know did you show every woman my painting?” The stupidest thing Art Space had management do is single me out and make a list of what I cannot display in my art. Blatant discrimination and bullying. The SHALL NOT HAVE list stated my offenses “ WE ASK THAT YOU REMOVE THE WORKS THAT SHOW ENGORGED GENITALIA, DEPICTIONS OF DEFECATION OR EJACULATION, AND DELIBERATELY SEXUALIZED DEPICTIONS OF HARM OR INJURY TO SELF OR OTHERS” Basically saying I am a filthy Indian who uses shit and I am a dirty Jew. Yes, the mad cows have taken over the hen house. America has no respect for its artists and philosophers. It wants it's creators to be trained monkeys. It want's yes men art slaves. As history has proven through time societies that live a lie and suppress it's members will fail. Censorship is a control mechanism. It is a political tool used to squash an individual's voice and expression. Basically a hammer to knock down that nail that is out of place. Censorship is social narrative policing. Censorship is socialized bullying. It is a free pass for any and all bullies to destroy what threatens them in some way. When you see or hear CENSORSHIP you will see an agenda that the censor has. They want to control the narrative while playing good guy. Many artists are isolated and know the scarcity in the world so they are an easy target. Censorship is and always has been a way for insecure people in dubious authority positions to scapegoat those that are simply “expressing themselves” which is the mantra of the 1960's to the late 1990's in America. I was taught two things about art when I was young that were out and out lies. One was, here is this square canvas and you can, unlike society, be absolutely free. You can do and say ANYTHING. Free expression. Express yourself. The other is art doesn't matter. Art doesn't change things. The reality is there are unspoken rules and if by chance or intention you break the rules YOU WILL BE PUNISHED. You will lose your audience, you will lose your gallery, you will lose your grant and you will lose your friends if you cross the lines. The way women have been treated by society is not unlike what artists go through constantly in this world. We are supposed to shut up and be pretty and speak when we are spoken to. Now keeping in mind that there are systems in place to control the narrative. To control the official story. The official story of the swastika is BAD. To ignore it's religious use in Asia and it's use in indigenous cultures of Northern America. If you use that symbol in America today it means neo-nazism, racism, and fascism. It is a symbol of hate and violence. So the mainstream narrative is angry white guys waving swastika flags get press. American Indians using the Whirling Wheel get suppressed and censored or simply ignored. The left wing scripted use the swastika as a bad guy emblem. They squash all discourse over this symbol. They are willing to use actual fascist techniques to demonize any artist who uses the symbol. If you use it you are bad end of story. Initially it was thought to be a 3,000 year old symbol but recently it was discovered to be at least 16,000 years old. OK so look at it from the point of Asia and Native America it is obvious white people have an agenda both on the left to keep this symbol evil. No symbol is evil but people can be. White people should listen to the other half of the equation and see that they are being racist for promoting and keeping it a racist symbol as well as being offended on behalf of minorities is also racist. It is a great insult to peoples who have used this symbol for thousands of years and now we are supposed to play the bullshit game of cat and mouse so weak white people can scream in public. LAME. To me it means life creating. It is the Whirling Wheel of life. I am an artist that has used the swastika in my work as a reclamation for almost thirty years. As a Native American I have used the symbol in rituals and ceremonies and creations to signify the healing powers of the four directions and four seasons. My use of this symbol is to take the hate and fear away and bring back into human consciousness the positive original meaning. The word swastika translates to “su” meaning “good,” “asti” meaning “to be,” and “ka,” as a suffix. Being part Jewish for me it has been healing and has inspired me to give it new positive life. It does an injustice to focus more hate energy into a symbol that was used by many cultures. It also means good luck, even Coca Cola had swastika good luck charm key-chains. I seek to educate and take away the ignorance and negativity. I also seek to invalidate it's use by hate groups. I have for many years through my work changed minds and inspired those that do not know it's history. Today many groups which may seem to have good intentions suppress it's use and discussion, labeling anyone who uses it in any way fascist when in fact their actions of suppression are fascist and squash all discussion and debate over the swastika. I seek to counteract the hysteria and suppression of free speech regarding the swastika and bring back the original meaning giving new positive and wonderful creations for human kind with this beautiful symbol Bottom line is people parrot the line of the day for money, attention maybe even “love”, even educated people. Especially educated people with political social climbing agendas. Whether it is tenure, a gallery or museum position or to get and keep the grant or whatever social good guy position. Political social climbing. Money is made from censoring and suppressing vital art. Artists cater to this by self censoring and creating for whatever market or fashion of the moment. They create stillborn art and because some investor throws tons of money to give it life yet it has none and then they become art slaves to the art system. Artists are supposed to shut up and be pretty. I am not, nor are many of us successful artists who answer to no one. The standard contemporary interpretation of the swastika is not an interpretation it is an indoctrination. It is an excuse. Anyone can google swastika and learn it's actual meaning and history. If it was really a human rights issue with media, the white house and weekend warrior activists, they would educate people on the symbol instead of bringing out the swastika as their paper tiger. They did this in the 80's with the pentagram and Satanism over all the hysteria and Satanic Panic which made lots of people lots of money while suppressing a minority religion. Metal bands were happy to shove the symbol in their face and be the bad guy in the media. A lot of great bands got their message through the bullshit then. Good guy vs Bad guy is an American business model. It's business and it is politics and platitudes at the expense of minority religions and freedom of speech and expression. Just as my work has used human sexuality for over 30 years, that is a problem too. Educating people on symbols and openly challenging the symbol illiterate takes the power away from those that seek to control symbols for either profit and or suppression and oppression of minority groups for mass control. America is not a country it is a business and having symbols of evil and scapegoating is crucial. From the point of ritual magic, the controllers, especially the righteous left wing careerists in institutions: they use the swastika as a negative symbol they charge with fear, hate, ignorance, violence and racism. No one in the public eye now is standing up for the swastika. Traditional American Indian artists barely get press and are fine as long as their work stays in the context of the Indian world. I am an international world renowned artist. But I am no ones darling, meaning my work forces new contexts and discourse. Not many in the art system will deal with vital art that pushes buttons. The swastika redeemer artist ManWoman who was a public figure passed away a few years ago. He was a staunch advocate of the gentle swastika. I am not gentle. I use sledgehammer magic. I say subtle comes in the colors and textures of things on the battlefield of truth as the battle continues. I am realistic and I know another generation or two needs to live and die before the symbol is put in balance and perspective. I am doing my part as a contemporary warrior. This issue is being forced, and people are having to face their own control freak nature, and their internal racism, especially on the left. The correspondence here is mainstream society, media and politicians use fear and hate and the good guy badge to create their enemies. I am a known enemy, meaning early on in my journey as an art figure I embraced the title of enemy Satan which in Hebrew means ADVERSARY and being part Apache which means ENEMY. So what happened is a huge corporation that makes money off of artists who live and work in their PC prison lofts cannot have any discourse in art whatsoever as it is bad for business. The society as a whole in the media have to self proclaim themselves as THE GOOD GUYS and anyone taking the narrative, the script and symbols of the corporate world state, is bad for business if they cannot control the narrative. I do not proclaim to be a do gooder, I am an artist using a 16,000 year old symbol in honor of the history of the swastika and in new beautiful ways as a contemporary avant- garde artist. Complexity does not translate in the fear based economies. So Art Space Projects Inc. simply ignore me because to call me a racist or Nazi or whatever would be ludicrous. They, just as the mainstream media, cannot argue as to why white people on the left are obsessed with keeping and controlling the swastika as a hate symbol, because if it loses the negative connotations and people find out what the swastika actually means they lose their bad guy badge they place on anyone they seek to demonize and or marginalize. None of them could win a debate with me over the swastika. In fact, if they tried they would show their true colors which is racism, hate, fear, and violence are good for business. Matz: What is the functionality of art in a society that openly censors itself and it's artists? Leyba: That question has double meaning so I will answer in two parts. PART A; Today the ARTWORLD controlled by America is “art” defined by art officials, controlled markets, institutions, publications and official exhibitions acts as propaganda of false freedom of expression. A pyramid scheme where there are no ethics or laws like in actual Wall Street. The “art” functions as a product owned by various linked corporations and their corporate model system. Art controlled by insiders that manipulate artists and markets. Basically the functionality of art in a society that openly censors itself and artists is not unlike a totalitarian government. It's functionality is to govern, to control language, to control speech and to control so called culture. It is an art government. PART B; If we are talking about ACTUAL ART (TRUE ART) and not stillborn images created with corrupt intentions then ART's function is to expose and combat its censorship when censorship is attempted. The primary function of ART is liberation and expression of the human spirit by their creators plain and simple otherwise it is PROPAGANDA. No art should ever be censored. Artists and art bureaucrats that seek to censor are not artists. They are fearful opportunists lashing out because they cannot or will not create themselves. They are mentally ill people who feel destroying what others create is art. An art system that censors art is not sustainable. TRUE ART combats censorship and control, naturally and does not have to be art about censorship or politics. TRUE ART created from the heart naturally combats censorship and promotes symbol literacy and personal vision. If the art does not seek to liberate it's creator then it is not only stillborn but it is acting out scripts and personal issues and propaganda for the ARTWORLD system. It confirms the global mental illness that has suppressed TRUE CREATORS. If artists catered less to fear and control there wouldn't be censorship. Compliant “artists” who agree with censorship help censorship flourish. That is the enemy of every living being. Censorship is oppression pure and simple. The functionality of ACTUAL ART is to prevail over all censorship with no compromise whatsoever. To move outside of the various systems that suppress vital art. 
ManWoman tribute from WAR RAW TRUTH book 13
Sex Goblins
Matz: Much of your work is serialized, like the Alchemical POORtrait series,
or the Sex goblin series which you have been working on for the last 21 years. What was the reason you decided to start working on such monumental projects? Leyba: Often times artists repeat themselves or they think if they jump from one thing to a new thing the work will be vital but that isn't always the case. It seemed to me not many modern artists are willing to put the time in to truly explore and know their subject. The insights one gains from doing a many year series are phenomenal. How far can you go? Where will it take you? What will be learned? I have been painting Sex goblin portraits for twenty-one years. The Alchemical POORtraits for almost ten. If anyone is interested in commissioning their Sex goblin or Alchemical POORtrait www.stevenleyba.com/commission.html leybaart@gmail.com Matz: Your Death curses on Monsanto and Nestle, among other performances, have gained infamy in the art world and media. What made a master painter like you, who is himself descended from masters, decide to make the jump to performance art? Leyba: I didn't want to be just a studio artist who shipped paintings to smug galleries. I wanted to be in the trenches looking people in the eyes and seeing for myself what people really think. I wanted people to see the books and touch and feel them. I used the books in my performances. The MONSANTO book 13 has many of my spoken word rants written in it, including the “Death Curse on Monsanto” Also, many of the anti Monsanto, anti GMO spoken word songs I recorded with USAF (United Satanic Apache Front) adamcooperteran.bandcamp.com There is a physicality to my work and a life that I wanted to continue live with the books vitality in real time. Out of the studio and right in your face. Matz: When did you make the leap to making music and film? Leyba: I started making music in 1995 as I wanted I wanted to do spoken word with my manifestos. I had read a bunch of books on public speaking so I wanted to create a soap box so I could point the finger at people and be Satan the accuser to call people on their bullshit and the corporate government on their various control programs. I did 3 albums with USAF. “Addressing The corporate Fascists” “FUCK YOUR FREEDOM” and “Code HEX AILMENTarius” and just finished the third and double album “Prisons of the Disinformation Age” to be released early 2018 with composer Marly Preston and that project is PROJECT #9 the first album “Covenant of the Blade” project91.bandcamp.com/album/covenant-of-the-blade and second album “Final Year of Freedom” project91.bandcamp.com/album/the-final-year-of-freedom For me music and film were a way to pull people into my vision and play and create and manifest TRUE WILL. For over two years in my travels I interviewed artists I know including H.R. Giger and Joe Coleman. I had over 80 artists documented including Genesis P-Orridge and Gen told me “Burroughs told me, 'we gotta document each other no one else will'. I am telling you the same.” so I felt a great need to put it out there so I made it into a documentary and put it up on YouTube for free. It was my gift back to all the artists who have enriched my life. I didn't do it because I wanted to be a filmmaker. I work in so many mediums and film is great because you can incorporate painting, music and real life. I started making my first film “What is Art?” in 2011. I am ironically wrapping up filming on my third movie “ELECTRIC LEYBAland; A SELF POORtrait” which has been filmed in it's entirety at Artspace. It is going to take awhile to edit as I am not an editor. I hope that co-director Magus Adam Cooper Teran of PAINing POORtraits will help me edit as he edited our movie and did an amazing job. I am not an editor. I pushed myself to chop and paste to do What is Art? I had no idea I just figured it out. I had to do it so as usual DIY will prevail. By any means necessary. Alchemical POORtraits
Matz: You have been called the last American painter by many, and in fact
you used that description as the title of your memoir, "The Last American Painter". So, in your estimation are you the last American painter, and is there true American painting or art after Leyba? Leyba: Good question. For me the term Painter is not unlike Philosopher. A truth seeker and truth speaker. History has so few of those. I asked Genesis P-Orridge if there is another and she said, “No Leyba you are the last one.” I remain optimistic. This is a huge reason I collaborate with young creatives to teach them what I know and plant the seeds of TRUE PAINTING and TRUE ART. I am the Last American Painter, hell I am the Last World Painter who gives a shit about breaking new ground. I am sick of people and their selfies “Selfie-ism” and “careerism” ass kissing -ism. Thing is nobody knows who's dick to suck on their way to the top. There is no top only bottom of the trash heap. Nobody means it anymore. I FUCKING MEAN IT! This poem I wrote that is in the memoir. It pretty sums up what I meant. THE LAST AMERICAN PAINTER In an ancient land still called America Alone stood the Last American Painter Painting the times in images no one wanted to see In a visual dialogue defiant of the failing celebrity cult nation In stokes of paint he told the true story of Flag, Country, Church and State Of corporate bodily suppressions, mental and sexual genetic manipulations Subcontracted extortionists of the Military Industrial Complex on American streets Absolving all responsibility and accountability Above and beyond the laws he stood as the most responsible of all The country stretched pasts it’s limits with nothing to hold it together All credibility shot and the suspension of disbelief trivialized beyond belief Entertained and apathetic the people accepted their Hollywood servitude The sanctioned painters reverted to childhood painting of Batman and Scooby-Doo Propaganda for nothing but juvenile comfort and denial far below even Warhol Mercenaries for nothing pre-selling out and silencing their own voices for some trite ideal The idea they couldn’t sell was that there was nothing before or after America His art twisted and stretched out of context Paranoia of the one percent removed whatever impurity His only viable self-expression labeled obscene Outlawed and an out-cast labeled new world deviant, troublemaker- criminal Denied as a Satanist, as a Native American activist They tried to make him a caricature of non-conformity Apparently he had something to say that posed a threat Indoctrination institutions and museums became obsolete He painted in spite and out of spite and love In an ancient land still called America Alone stood the Last American Painter Matz: Can you tell us a bit about how your film we are showing, "PAINing POORtraits: Destruction of the image” came into being, and a bit of the story with that? Leyba: This documentary is the story of how others seek to destroy me and my creations. Starting with X girlfriends that have destroyed my art. Close friends that I have had falling outs with also have destroyed my art. Sometimes when people break up they throw out the other person's shit and even destroy photos of the person. What I didn't understand is why and how a person could destroy a painting of themselves. It is a travesty and an injustice to destroy vital art and for me art is a human history and the best of it should be preserved for humanity. Paintings these people once loved, paid for and in some cases these people have said, “this is an important work of art.” So how could these champions and patrons of master works later destroy them in a fit of rage? Destroy their own image? So, I got this idea of reclamation so I could explore the mind set of someone destroying their own image. I wanted the old school documentarian approach where you document what is going on without influence of the subject. I created 2 portraits and I asked the subject to pick one portrait to keep and the other to destroy. They can destroy their portrait in any way they choose but they have to let me film it. What I discovered in this exploration was fascinating. It was hard to see people, including my father to destroy paintings I loved. But it was worth it to me because what I discovered everyone that destroyed their image had a ritual for the destruction. No one could simply destroy themselves in a portrait without psychologically creating a verbal and in some cases ritualistic rite of passage. This makes the film very contemporary and unique exploration in human psychology and behavior. It was difficult on so many levels and I could not have done it without co- director Magus Adam Cooper- Teran he wasn't only the co-director and editor he was my death priest. The second half of the movie tells how my body started to get destroyed by eating GMO vegetables and how I went to war with Monsanto. Including many Monsanto Death Curses. Showcased in the film is my 13th hand made book Monsanto. Then the movie gets surreal when I embrace my shadow self and become Monsanto Leyba the pro GMO politician. Like much of my work I create in the world what I do not see and wish I would see so I create what I want in this world. In no way was I sending the message to destroy my art. That was not the point. Even though the film is autobiographical it really is about maintaining creativity in a hostile world that seeks to squash vitality and creativity on all levels. It is also a magical working and warfare against the non creative cannibalistic corporate mindset. The Magician is played by the brilliant David J of the legendary band Bauhaus. Matz: What is next for Leyba and #ARTWAR? Leyba: GO LOOK YOU PEOPLE IN THE EYES AND BURN SHIT. Early 2018 I will hit the road for 2 years and start filming “#ARTWAR; FIRE & WATER WORLD TOUR” which will document my creation of book 17 FIRE for two years on the road. #ARTWAR is about creating vital unbridled culture through art and the only way to do that is by going out into the world and living art that is not controlled or regulated by any corporation. I am going to experiment with painting with fire as to me fire is passion. I am going to photograph my subjects and collaborate with some of them as I paint them in the new book and perhaps my muses will help me to paint with fire. This will be my most masculine book. The poet Lorca spoke of Duende which is the fire in the belly, the burn of blood. So few artists have passion. Most people do not have passion or vision or drive. I want to inspire folks and show them how I create. A pure REVOLT against this sick time of conformity and stillborn art and culture. A Ken Kesey goes to HELL and paints with William Blake epic road trip. The doors of freedom are all closing globally in this dark age of total surveillance, compliance and apathy. Time to BURN BABY BURN! Art Censored by Artspace Projects, Inc.
THE GREAT SATAN
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Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba is a ritualistic, shamanistic painter of
Mescalero Apache and Jewish ancestry. His art is equal parts satanic, holistic, radical, political, and extremely personal. Utilizing various media, Leyba creates a celebration of the sacred and profane. Paint mixes with collage, beadwork, and DNA making bold statements about the world we live in and constantly questioning the very nature of Art. Since 1989, Steven Leyba has produced 16 handmade books, huge volumes of bound works on canvas. Forms of these have been published by Last Gasp and Coyotel Press in books containing commentary by William S. Burroughs, H.R. Giger, Poppy Z. Brite, Clive Barker, and Genesis P-Orridge. He has been the subject of media attention for his controversial approach and subject matter, and in 2002 a documentary was made about the artist titled, Unspeakable:The Life & Art of Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba. His works are multi-media explorations into the souls of both individuals and society as a whole. They are liberating, honest, and organic in experience, void of any censorship and defiant against those who would attempt it. Look for his own documentary, What is Art? Inside the Mind of the Artist as They Speak the Truth. Leyba's artwork has been collected by Vincent Price, William S. Burroughs, Stephen King, Clive Barker, David Cronenberg, H.R. Giger, Cornell University, A.I.M. (American Indian Movement), Genesis P'Orridge, Lydia Lunch, and the Black Panther Party. |
Follow Leyba at
leyba.tumblr.com
Get your Free download of Leyba's
memoir The Last American Painter and an Exclusive preview of his forthcoming memoir We Are All Indians Now 
Prices on commissions vary,
to get quotes to become a Sex Goblin or be immortalized in an Alchemical POORtrait go to www.stevenleyba.com |
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"WATER RITES book 16 exhibit and Coyotel Water and Blood"
Jan. 13th - Feb. 3rd
Go to www.darkartemporium.com for more info!
"WATER RITES book 16 exhibit and Coyotel Water and Blood" ritual will be performed the night of the opening Jan. 13th
256 Elm Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90802
Jan. 13th - Feb. 3rd
Go to www.darkartemporium.com for more info!
"WATER RITES book 16 exhibit and Coyotel Water and Blood" ritual will be performed the night of the opening Jan. 13th
256 Elm Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90802
3 Comments
J. Mazzocco
10/1/2017 12:00:14 pm
Intense, Passionate, And Pissed Off. A True Billy Jack Of The Art Movement!!!
Leave a Reply.
A great specter is looming over the art world: the specter of Inter|Sekt. For far too long we have watched the artists of our generation turned into a disposable commodity, bought and sold by the galleries, stifled in their expression by the tastes of the art consultants who purchase pieces on behalf of financially minded clients who want a "solid investment".
They have been amalgamated into schools, said schools are a device of gallerists and art historians to divide and conquer the creatives and free thinkers.
For we live in a nation which thinks itself to be free yet is not, they expect the same of their artists.
Our culture has been raped and plundered by the upper echelon, picked apart and sold by the same greed mongers who claim to be it's patrons. The tool which has most effectively stunted the growth of modern American art in particular is the clever indoctrination of this idea of schools to not only the art student but anyone whom even reads a brief survey of the history of art sees that it is broken up into these categorized schools; the philosophies of these various sects creates conflict, division, and ultimately destruction of the morale and submission to the established order. Thus rendering the creative spirit confused and useless.
This helps curb the rebellious spirit of the average citizen outside of the art world in other spheres of society.
Art history is a lie and galleries are dens of thieves!
Inter|Sekt is not destroying the schools or the galleries, we are simply showing you they were never real, at least not in a world outside of that constructed by academics to sell text books to art students.
The reign of the gallerists and art consultants is over when you want it to be.
From the ashes of the indoctrinated schools of every form of art shall arise The New World Creative.
-Steven Lee Matz-
They have been amalgamated into schools, said schools are a device of gallerists and art historians to divide and conquer the creatives and free thinkers.
For we live in a nation which thinks itself to be free yet is not, they expect the same of their artists.
Our culture has been raped and plundered by the upper echelon, picked apart and sold by the same greed mongers who claim to be it's patrons. The tool which has most effectively stunted the growth of modern American art in particular is the clever indoctrination of this idea of schools to not only the art student but anyone whom even reads a brief survey of the history of art sees that it is broken up into these categorized schools; the philosophies of these various sects creates conflict, division, and ultimately destruction of the morale and submission to the established order. Thus rendering the creative spirit confused and useless.
This helps curb the rebellious spirit of the average citizen outside of the art world in other spheres of society.
Art history is a lie and galleries are dens of thieves!
Inter|Sekt is not destroying the schools or the galleries, we are simply showing you they were never real, at least not in a world outside of that constructed by academics to sell text books to art students.
The reign of the gallerists and art consultants is over when you want it to be.
From the ashes of the indoctrinated schools of every form of art shall arise The New World Creative.
-Steven Lee Matz-
The inter|sekt manifesto
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