apples:

bloodyguttedpoetry:

thelouse:

Various original early editions of Howl by Allen Ginsberg at The Beat Museum - North Beach, San Francisco

Buh.  I wish these were on display at City Lights instead.

I know the two buildings are close neighbors in North Beach, but last time I was in the Beat Museum, there were posters up promoting an Ed Hardy “art show” & the “curator” was trying to convince me that shitty, bro tattoo templates are of the same quality as the greatest poetry collection published in the United States? … ‘Scuse me, get the fuck out.

I hope they fired that motherfucker.

Now, I clearly don’t know exactly whatever that dude was trying to tell you and for all I know, he was legitimately a super bro who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow let alone the reasons why Howl is ultimately way cooler than Ed Hardy. But as a denizen of North Beach who has gotten to know and is pretty involved with not only the art scene in the ‘hood, but the tattoo artists as well, I feel like I gotta defend my boy here. I can tell you whole-heartedly that Ed Hardy (the man himself, and his tattooing and art) is absolutely nothing like the Christian Audigier licensed bullshit that is what he’s become known for to the general public- he is, in his field, much like the beats were to writing in San Francisco; a pioneer and a pretty radical dude for his time who gave our city an awesome legacy of tattooing. And I have more than a sneaking suspicion that he is horrified at what has become his work and the fact that this is what he is mostly known for outside of the tattooing community. 

I don’t want to invalidate you argument, because, yes, the Beat Museum is actually pretty much Jokes, but Ed Hardy is actually a cool dude, and I wish people knew him for more than the fact that he licensed his art to someone who makes awful, awful clothing.

AUGH, that makes it all the more sad.  I can’t even begin to fathom how Ed feels now.  Thanks for dropping that knowledge!  I should have done my research before posting this.