JOHN BLACKBURN (1939-2006)
"Coley Wild in the Street." Illustration published on the cover of the second book in Blackburn's Coley series. Ink and marker on paper with glaze. 406x289 mm; 16x11½ inches. Signed "©John Blackburn" and "Jay Blackburn" lower margin. 1989. Provenance: Private collection, Los Angeles, California.John Blackburn was born in Statesboro, Georgia in 1939. He attended art school in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduation, he settled in Atlanta but relocated to Los Angeles in the 1960s where his career flourished. There he drew illustrations for such publications as Physique Pictorial, Physique Art Quarterly, One, In Touch, FirstHand, ManTalk, Manscape, and Guys magazines. During the late 70's, Blackburn created the character of Coley Cochran, a 19-year-old bisexual who is kidnapped and undergoes a rite which turns him into a Dorian Gray-like ageless "voodoo sex god," narcissistic and able to seduce anyone. The artist incorporated his own experiences and memories of being a young gay man in the south during the '60s and '70s into Coley's character and narrative. He self-published four volumes of the popular series between 1989-1991.