Naked Leftovers: William S. Burroughs’ Art Objects

Because he spent the last 16 years of his life living and working in Lawrence, KS we Lawrencians have a special place in our hearts for William S. Burroughs. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Burroughs’ classic Naked Lunch and the 12th year since he passed away, so to honor the world renowned writer, artist, junkie and gun enthusiast the Lawrence community has organized two special events.

On Saturday, August 1st from 6 to 9pm DotDotDot Artspace (1910 Haskell) will host a one-night only show of previously unseen stencils, stamps, and paint-covered curiosities used by William S. Burroughs in the making of his artworks curated by artist Yuri Zupancic.

On Sunday, August 2nd from 6 to 9pm the Bourgeois Pig (6 E 9th) will hold an exhibit of selected Burroughs artwork, and a celebration featuring:

• Remarks from Burroughs’ former editor James Grauerholz
• Readings from Naked Lunch by former cohorts Jim McCrary and Wayne Propst
• Screenings of Propst’s home videos of WSB in Lawrence and “Towers Open Fire,” by Antony Balch and WSB (1963)
• Accordion serenade by Sue Ashline, and some of the Old Man’s favorite songs on the iPod
• The Dream Machine
• Plus Burroughs’ favorite food and drinks will be served all night

Not in Lawrence? Click here to find about other Naked Lunch @ 50 celebrations going on around the world.

posted by: Brent Carter

Read: How We Decide

Just because you make mistakes does not mean you learn from them, and just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re wise. That’s why Jonah Lehrer sings the praises of metacognition (thinking about the way you think). Challenging the long held philosophy that humans should perpetually strive to be rational creatures, Lehrer states a case, with the help of psychological experiments and fMRI machines, that neuroscience has discovered the importance of our emotional and rational minds acting in concert. Some of the information in Lehrer’s book can be found amongst various TED talks and on WNYC’s brilliant Radiolab. The facts in this book are rich and the writing digestible. You don’t have to be a neuroscientist to read ‘How We Decide’ and some of the information may even seem intuitive, but the studies Lehrer has comprised reveal the interesting desires and patterns of our neural pathways. Lehrer’s over-arching objective is to make the populous aware of the cognitive process within oneself, which he sets out to prove will in turn lead to understanding. This cognitive awareness can be used to shed a light on everything from credit card debt and overwhelming shopping decisions to standardized tests and life threatening situations. Lehrer has received considerable praise for ‘How We Decide’ and was even featured in an interview on the Colbert Report.

posted by: Scott Starrett