Ever hear of “gonzo journalism art”? I hadn’t either, until I encountered the work of Victor-Hugo Vaca Jr. The Naples Daily News explains:
(While he was managing a Miami condo) one of Vaca’s tenants, high on crack cocaine, jumped on his desk at work and proclaimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. The man promptly was fired from his job, and Vaca wanted to evict him. But the situation turned into a complicated series of lawsuits, and Vaca soon found himself fighting conflict of interest, corruption and censorship in the justice system.
At one point during the trials, which became colloquially known as “the Crackhead Jesus trials,” the presiding judge forbade Vaca from documenting his experience with the courts.
But he found a loophole in the judge’s orders. The judge specifically prohibited him from using “electronic media” but never said anything about art, and so modern-art-gonzo-journalism was born.
Later, after the lawsuits were settled, he turned his story into a graphic novel and a movie, “Crackhead Jesus: The Movie.” The film has attracted a cult following…
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