Our friend, collage artist Winston Smith, known for creating the iconic Dead Kennedys logo, is recovering from a heart attack that struck the day after his 73rd birthday, forcing him to postpone his planned San Francisco solo exhibition.
Smith, who illustrated album covers for Dead Kennedys, Green Day, and Pearl Jam, was hospitalized for three days and spent two weeks in rehabilitation. Now back at his cabin in the woods, he faces new health challenges, including a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis that requires significant lifestyle changes.
“As grim as this could’ve been, I’m weirdly grateful,” Smith said on his GoFundMe page, which has raised over $29,000 toward medical expenses and show rescheduling costs. The artist’s remote living situation — 500 feet down a steep canyon — has necessitated special emergency preparations, including a portable stretcher system for potential future evacuations.
The postponed exhibition “I Saw but I Did Not See” has been rescheduled as a one-night pop-up show at 111 Minna Gallery, featuring both new works and rarely seen classics. His wife, Chick, is helping manage his recovery and ensure compliance with doctors’ orders for a slower pace and dietary restrictions.
“Once you’ve had a heart attack the chances of having another, worse heart attack are greatly increased,” Smith says. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your generous donations, kind words, and thoughtful messages. Those have lifted my spirits in a big way.”
Previously:
• San Francisco: Winston Smith studio show and art sale
• Art of Punk videos: Winston Smith and the Dead Kennedys
• Dead Kennedy artist Winston Smith’s art exhibition in SF 4/4/2014
• Tote bag with Winston Smith’s iconic Alternative Tentacles logo
• San Francisco art show: Winston Smith, Penelope Rosemont, Dennis Cunningham
• Ronald Reagan collage art show by Winston Smith and friends
• George Orwell’s 1984 to be rewritten from a female perspective
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