Michael Peters

A brief chronology of my art-life in no particular order...
The owner of the first gallery I took my work to in LA owned a German Sheperd. I leaned my work against the wall as the gallery owner paraded by making weird noises...Then his dog pissed on one of my paintings. That was the first painting I sold in LA.
There is this 'big' museum in LA and once very long ago I managed to hang one of my paintings (without anyone knowing I did) in one of it's contemporary rental galleries. I heard someone offered to buy it except no one knew who painted it and I couldn't come forward or I would get busted. That was the first painting I lost in LA.
Not having sold one painting the last day of another LA show at the eleventh hour someone walked in and bought the entire show. First time I sold out...
Had a show in San Francisco...crashed the rented truck I used to deliver the artworks and busted a pinball machine (art cargo) I restructured to be a 'fetish' machine. When I installed it - discovered it didn't work. Went to a bar. I returned to the gallery with a 50lb bag of manure. Broke the glass on the pinball machine and dumped the manure in it. Stuck the plug in a glass of gin I glued to the floor. Left the gallery certain my career was over. All the show's reviews essentially focused on the machine. The critics agreed that it was the symbol of industrial death. Someone bought it for a lot of money. Second time I sold out...
Sold a drawing to a very important collector for about 3,000.00 he came back soon after and wanted me to do three identical versions for other members of his family. I needed the money. The deal was each drawing would cost $500.00. more than the next. He didn't care. Each drawing became progressively worse. I received the most dinero for the worst drawing. Third time I sold out...
Had a show in a Chicago museum, the newspapers said I was a genius. The artwork didn't sell but it did come back damaged. First time I was sold out...
There's more...the crap Andy Warhol put me through...The night I spent in a mental ward because of a painting of a half eaten candy bar that I left in a phone booth...the giant snow globe I built that broke a buyers foot...I'll keep you posted!