‘Kyle Lights Up the Ox!’

Tuesday  2nd April saw the Private Views and joint Launch Reception for two exciting Exhibitions at Chichester’s Oxmarket Contemporary  Gallery.

‘Burn, Burn, Burn-The Beats Light Up The Ox’ is a Beat Generation Exhibition of works by Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs plus the photography and filming of the Beats by Robert Frank,  curated by Chichester University Professors Hugo Frey and Dick Ellis.

‘Transitions’ is an amazing solo show by photographic artist Christopher Newberry.

Following introductions by Oxmarket Trustee Martyn Bell, Christopher Newberry and the two Professors, Kyle Neale, a Chichester Festival Youth Theatre Young Practioner read two poems by Ginsberg and Kerouac.

But Kyle turned both readings into fabulous recitals.

While reciting Ginsberg’s ‘A Super Market in California’ Kyle moved between the many attending the Reception , firing at them the questions Ginsberg asks in the poem such as.-‘Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas?’

Kyle then mounted the stage and recited Kerouac’s  ‘Old Western Movies’. Inspired by the recording of the poem by William Burroughs, he skilfully also played his own guitar for background effect. Kyle really did ‘Light Up The Ox’ with his performance!

Other younger generation input into the Beat Exhibition included the Poster Design and Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac display panel by local student Georgina Patterson.

Good Luck messages had also been received that evening from Len Deighton who designed the UK cover of Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’ shortly before he wrote ‘The Ipcress File’, and Astrid, the widow of The Evergreen Review’s Barney Rosset. Alice, daughter of Philip Castle, who designed the cover of Burroughs’s ‘Wild Boys’ which was on display (and also the posters for Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘A Clockwork Orange’), was also present as a guest of Christopher Newberry.