The Last and the First
Excerpts from CHAPTER 23 of Days of Golden Fire : the autobiographical sketches of John Robert Keyser

Placed on easels across from me are the last painting of the old millennium and the first art rendering of the new millennium. Priceless. Yes. But they are priceless because of documentation. In regard to these two creative acts, it is best to begin my account a couple of years before the millennium year, 2000...

No one can forget the world-wide excitement and extensive plans which were being made for the celebration of the new millennium. I was caught up in the elation and had, months in advance, written a short story regarding such a joyous occasion. As a youth, I doubted if I would be alive to see 2000A.D. ... But now the chance had come to contribute my part- a creative component to the festivities of the occurrence...

During long morning and afternoon walks, I made plans for the subject matter of the projects and plans for the execution and documentation... First, the projects would be short in duration- about one minute each for the two paintings and an hour each for the two poems- thus coming as close as possible (in terms of time) to either side of the “ball hitting the bottom at Times Square.” Second, the subject matter (discussed below) would be vital and worthy of long deliberation...

Many ideas had come to mind and had been tossed aside before I finally decided upon the last painting of the current millennium; Von Braun had made a statement to the effect that “going to the moon was the greatest step for mankind since aquatic life first crawled onto dry land.” Who was I to argue with the emphasis of such a statement? Many of us were fortunate to be alive during that tiny “pinpoint of history” when sputnik first went into space and, later, millions, including myself, were sitting in front of black and white TV’s watching the first man set foot on the moon. The last painting of the old millennium should then be, I reasoned, a quick symbolism of that event. There must be two inclusions in the work, I felt... One, a central splash of light, representing creation where the devices of men were fashioned. The other, symbolizing earth and moon shapes and “motion lines” depicting the flight of the spacecraft and landing module.

My next art rendering just had to include two elements, the first, naturally, being the fabled descending ball at Times Square. To understand the primacy of that N.Y.C. spectacular amid the unequaled world celebration taking place, the global situation has to be taken into account... At that time, the United States was not only the world’s last remaining superpower, but, by far, the most powerful nation which had ever existed. Within the United States, New York City’s Times Square was the undisputed national focal point of New Year’s celebration and, also (coincidental to my millennium art projects), New York City was the art capital of the world. Within that setting, it is easy to see why a coordination of my countdown and subject matter with the famous descending ball at Time’s Square was important. An expensive, multi-faceted, Waterford crystal ball had been created for first use on that historic millennium New Year’s. In my mind, then, that striking ball just had to be an essential part of the art project...

The second element must, I reasoned, be the unforgettable “Y2K scare”! For months, a “race against the clock” was underway to reprogram computers, worldwide, for the upcoming millennium. Fantastic salaries were being paid for people to adjust computer systems at all levels and in short order. It seems as if an almost paralyzing fear seized parts of this nation and the world. It was feared that the switch over might be incomplete or inaccurate, plunging military systems, industry, governments- even food markets and home computers- into chaos. In some places, runs were made on commodity businesses and food stores. In our house, we even stored bottled water. Of course, when the “2000 odometer” turned over, it was discovered- to a worldwide sigh of relief- that an international calamity had been averted.

I simply could not leave that “Y2K fear” out of the picture...it was rendered during the first few seconds after midnight, using a black marker on tractor-edged computer paper. Shown symbolically was the descending ball with “crash marks” where it hit the bottom. Small, stuffed “Y2K bugs” were being sold around the country and I had purchased several to compliment the work.

{A few seconds later, I did another one-minute painting of a religious nature, entitled “Ob. 4" as a caution for people not to allow egotism (from say, space flight or computers) to become our downfall. The scripture, Obadiah 4, from which the title comes, reads. “Though thou exalt thyself as an eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.” (Originally, as recorded in my planning phase, I had intended for that to be the first painting of the new millennium, with the “Y2K” rendering being a documental “crossover” project, overlapping the two millenniums. I’m glad, though that it did not time out like that, since such an “overlapping project” could have muddled the exclusive “beginning/ending” aspects of the other two pieces placed on either side of the dramatic moment.)}

Finally, exact documentation was absolutely essential. (In reference to my original theory of The Eternal Instant, I placed the initials, “E.I.” into each of my millennium compositions.) Many hours went into just the planning phase alone.

My first step was to outline the complete process and mail it to myself (as a type of postmark/copyright) a month before executing the two poems and paintings at New Year’s. Before mailing, I photocopied the letter and several newspaper headings with dates- these being signed by the deli owners where I purchased the papers. I sealed the entire back of the envelope with clear mailing tape before mailing it on November 29, 1999. At the mailing event, seven witnesses, including the postmaster, signed the front of the envelope.

Next, in compliance with the written procedure, I selected an expensive (birthday gift) video camera- making sure that it had the essential visual timing capability. Then I went about collecting all of the writing and art materials necessary for the event. My daughter, Laurie, and her husband had given me a palette on which to mix the acrylic paint and Chris, my son, would be taping the procedure from beginning (including preparation) to end.

Exact timing- continually visible on video tape- started with a documentation of how things appeared around town at the very end of 1999. We then watched TV as all of the major world nations- in specific, timed order from east to west- celebrated hour-to-hour. Great care was taken to coordinate the time on my video- down to the split second- with the timing of those continuing spectacles. (We noted how inaccurate our own clocks and watches were, including one filmed near downtown in the documentary.) Often, Chris would check to see that there was no variation between the TV times shown on various network shots of Times Square and our running video tape time.

During that hour before midnight, Chris filmed me at my desk as I started and completed the last documented poem of 1999. During the hour following midnight, I was shown beginning and ending the first literary piece of the new millennium. The subject matter of the first poem was a “parent of the old millennium speaking to it’s ‘baby’ of 2000.” Then, in the second hour, the poem related to the “child” of 2000 replying to it’s “parent” of the past millennium.

A few moments before midnight, I was positioned in my favorite chair in front of the TV. Sitting on the end table next to me and upon the floor within easy reach, were all of my needed art supplies: two stretched canvases, a sheet of tractor-edged computer paper mounted on a piece of cardboard, brushes and black, orange, blue and violet permanent markers of varying widths. Previously I had applied the needed acrylic colors to my pallette and covered them with foil to retard the drying process.

Chris, again, checked the time on the video to make certain that it matched exactly- down to the split second- with the countdown timing at Times Square visible on the TV screen. Then, I executed the projects; first, the “Space” rendering (11:59:00 PM-11:59:58 PM; 12/31/1999), secondly, the “Y2K” rendering (12:00:01 AM-12:00:36 AM; 01/01/2000). After these two art pieces- the last* of the past 1,000 years and the first* of the new millennium- I did a quick, final painting, “Obadiah 4" (12:00:54 AM-12:01:59 AM; 01/01/2000).

The uniqueness of the historical art happening is creating quite a stir and generating a lot of interest at this early stage. Even the person running off copies from the original tape (24 reproductions) exclaimed, “Just when I thought that I had seen everything!” Fifty years from now, they will be looked upon as the demarcation point in art history. Five hundred or one thousand years from now, who knows what people will say?

In the future, it will not be up to me to determine the aesthetic value of the two art pieces. I feel that they have artistic merit in terms of action, symbolism and composition, but this will be left for others to decide. Ultimately, it will be their historical meaning- the dividing point between two ages of art- which will establish their worth...

It is in terms of historical comparison where the significance of the last painting (or otherwise) lies: The “golden spike” driven into a railroad crosstie at Promontory, Utah, was not unique in terms of it’s shape or function. It was “golden” because it was the last. The aged apostle, John- with the completion of the book of Revelation- “turned out the lights” of Biblical writings. In that sense, the artist has “turned out the lights” of a past age of art... The last letter from a loved one...the last of a lineage...the last of a millennium of art...all are valuable. The “first” art piece (or other historic happening) has different, yet equal, value... There will be many other footprints upon the moon, but the photo of that “first step” will forever be treasured. There are many kisses, but that first will always be cherished. The change to the new millennium was just another simple tick of the clock- but like it’s first paining- is not forgotten...

“What should be” is not always “What is”... What should be my greatest creation is the original composite theory of The Eternal Instant, in book form and the related 24 art pieces depicting the concept. However, it will probably be just that small trio of “one-minute” historical renderings for which I will be remembered after my eyes shut in eternal closure...