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E S S A Y S
By The Number
e7
M O M E N T U M S
The Missing Series
A true-life mystery that remains unsolved.
Have you seen any of these paintings?
Attention all crime-fighters, detectives, and would-be seekers of truth, justice, and the American way. For nearly two decades the MOMENTUMS Series, a joint co-production between Robert Anton and Ralph Travis (now deceased) has been secreted away, out of public view, and presumably still in the possession of Ralph's widow, Carol Travis, whose current status and whereabouts are also unknown.
The crime involved is only figurative at best, and at worst involves a legal technicality which stipulates that an artist retains reasonable right-of-access to his or her own works, regardless of ownership, unless waived in writing. This is usually to do with photographing and cataloging works which, for whatever reason, have not been photographed or catalogued.
The last communication between Carol and me was in June of 1999, shortly after Ralph's death, when she suddenly disappeared, no longer returned phone calls and hasn't been seen or heard from since. While Ralph and I had parted ways for much of the decade prior, there had been talk of getting back together, adding more paintings to the MOMENTUMS series, and promoting the collection commercially in some way. Failure to do so in the years following our 1987 involvement in Art Affair of Laguna Beach, California fame, had much to do with the "falling out" that occurred between us.
During the several years when I no longer talked to Ralph, he had gradually succumbed to a previously undetected, degenerative brain disease which eventually took his life in 1997. Similar to Alzheimers, Carol had cared for him until he passed and only then notified me of the circumstances, one day before the funeral. Though likely unintentional on her part at first, I have always believed that Carol feared I would attempt to gain possession of all the paintings and take them from her. This was never my intention and I fault myself for not reassuring her when I had the chance to do so. Such a concern would have stemmed from the fact that I had physically rendered the paintings while Ralph was the intellectual inspiration behind them. Though our collaboration was mutually inspired, he was essentially the wizard behind the curtain, so to speak.
In any event, long story short, the MOMENTUMS series was never properly photographed and the images never made available to me for my personal use. When Carol made off with the paintings, she took with her the only existing slides and photographs of the series as well. Displayed here is the only record I have, taken from a crude videotaping of the paintings long before the series was complete. I think there was eventually a total of about thirty paintings in the collection, give or take several. My singular interest in the artworks at this point is the same as it ever was: it would be wonderful to have a set of professional photographs and digital files not only for my own use, but also as something which could be shared with the world as I'm doing now, albeit in a much more limited fashion.
Until I can afford a private investigator, if ever, I've decided to use this self-made website to tell my story in the hope that someone, somewhere, will have seen these paintings someplace, at some point in time. Anyone who has, can contact me anonymously if they wish via any of the contact forms available on the site. At the bottom of this page there is a special contact form (no name or email required) specifically for the purpose of reporting what you've seen or heard. I would be most appreciative to receive any information as it relates to this issue. And Carol, if you happen to ever read this, please know that I am not after "your" paintings. All I want are some nice pictures of them that can be shared with the world. Which is especially poignant since the actual paintings, for whatever reason, are not being shared with a public who would so enjoy seeing them. Keeping them hidden away somewhere is itself a crime, not legally, of course, but in the sense that it's a crying shame to do so.
Once again, if you've seen one or more of these paintings somewhere (prints were supposedly made, but I've never had confirmation of it) please let me know where and when. While no huge reward can be offered, I would be very much in your debt. By the way, the first image displayed below was the first (and only?) reproduction ever made from the series. Fortunately some of the prints and the balance of posters (about 250) were in my possession at the time Carol vanished.
Please note also that many of the paintings here include different views of the same image -- close-ups and such. Additionally, and needless to say, a "story" surrounds each of the pieces. Ralph put a great deal of thought and effort into the precise composition and meaning behind every work, only a small portion of which reflected my own thinking -- beyond my executing the actual painting itself. Most people gave me way too much credit for the designs and philosophies incorporated into the series, and did not recognize the real genius that Ralph brought to my palette.
If you haven't read them already, the essays on the previous page NOU4 provide a lot of details about the relationship between Ralph and me. Interestingly, he was one of the original members of the 1970's Project Survival group which I reference on page DRA21 under the AHLEC material. Allow me to end this particular discussion by stating emphatically that none of these artworks would have ever existed had it not been for the insights, tenacity, and sheer volume of knowledge and research that my partner contributed. It was an honor to include Ralph's name beside my own on each and every painting. In the event that these pieces are ever recovered (rediscovered) it will be my pleasure to describe, in very general terms, the basic "message" that was intended.
The crime involved is only figurative at best, and at worst involves a legal technicality which stipulates that an artist retains reasonable right-of-access to his or her own works, regardless of ownership, unless waived in writing. This is usually to do with photographing and cataloging works which, for whatever reason, have not been photographed or catalogued.
The last communication between Carol and me was in June of 1999, shortly after Ralph's death, when she suddenly disappeared, no longer returned phone calls and hasn't been seen or heard from since. While Ralph and I had parted ways for much of the decade prior, there had been talk of getting back together, adding more paintings to the MOMENTUMS series, and promoting the collection commercially in some way. Failure to do so in the years following our 1987 involvement in Art Affair of Laguna Beach, California fame, had much to do with the "falling out" that occurred between us.
During the several years when I no longer talked to Ralph, he had gradually succumbed to a previously undetected, degenerative brain disease which eventually took his life in 1997. Similar to Alzheimers, Carol had cared for him until he passed and only then notified me of the circumstances, one day before the funeral. Though likely unintentional on her part at first, I have always believed that Carol feared I would attempt to gain possession of all the paintings and take them from her. This was never my intention and I fault myself for not reassuring her when I had the chance to do so. Such a concern would have stemmed from the fact that I had physically rendered the paintings while Ralph was the intellectual inspiration behind them. Though our collaboration was mutually inspired, he was essentially the wizard behind the curtain, so to speak.
In any event, long story short, the MOMENTUMS series was never properly photographed and the images never made available to me for my personal use. When Carol made off with the paintings, she took with her the only existing slides and photographs of the series as well. Displayed here is the only record I have, taken from a crude videotaping of the paintings long before the series was complete. I think there was eventually a total of about thirty paintings in the collection, give or take several. My singular interest in the artworks at this point is the same as it ever was: it would be wonderful to have a set of professional photographs and digital files not only for my own use, but also as something which could be shared with the world as I'm doing now, albeit in a much more limited fashion.
Until I can afford a private investigator, if ever, I've decided to use this self-made website to tell my story in the hope that someone, somewhere, will have seen these paintings someplace, at some point in time. Anyone who has, can contact me anonymously if they wish via any of the contact forms available on the site. At the bottom of this page there is a special contact form (no name or email required) specifically for the purpose of reporting what you've seen or heard. I would be most appreciative to receive any information as it relates to this issue. And Carol, if you happen to ever read this, please know that I am not after "your" paintings. All I want are some nice pictures of them that can be shared with the world. Which is especially poignant since the actual paintings, for whatever reason, are not being shared with a public who would so enjoy seeing them. Keeping them hidden away somewhere is itself a crime, not legally, of course, but in the sense that it's a crying shame to do so.
Once again, if you've seen one or more of these paintings somewhere (prints were supposedly made, but I've never had confirmation of it) please let me know where and when. While no huge reward can be offered, I would be very much in your debt. By the way, the first image displayed below was the first (and only?) reproduction ever made from the series. Fortunately some of the prints and the balance of posters (about 250) were in my possession at the time Carol vanished.
Please note also that many of the paintings here include different views of the same image -- close-ups and such. Additionally, and needless to say, a "story" surrounds each of the pieces. Ralph put a great deal of thought and effort into the precise composition and meaning behind every work, only a small portion of which reflected my own thinking -- beyond my executing the actual painting itself. Most people gave me way too much credit for the designs and philosophies incorporated into the series, and did not recognize the real genius that Ralph brought to my palette.
If you haven't read them already, the essays on the previous page NOU4 provide a lot of details about the relationship between Ralph and me. Interestingly, he was one of the original members of the 1970's Project Survival group which I reference on page DRA21 under the AHLEC material. Allow me to end this particular discussion by stating emphatically that none of these artworks would have ever existed had it not been for the insights, tenacity, and sheer volume of knowledge and research that my partner contributed. It was an honor to include Ralph's name beside my own on each and every painting. In the event that these pieces are ever recovered (rediscovered) it will be my pleasure to describe, in very general terms, the basic "message" that was intended.
Fig. 1. Part Of The Whole. 1981. Edition of 300.
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Fig. 2. Prints & posters available.
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Recycle kindness.
You're currently on page NOU4
listed under NOUMENOMICON.
The link below will take you back to
my early essays where I discuss the
MOMENTUMS Series.
my early essays where I discuss the
MOMENTUMS Series.
The link below will drop you back
to page DRA21 where I discuss my
first meetings and early histories with
both David Worthington and Ralph Travis.
to page DRA21 where I discuss my
first meetings and early histories with
both David Worthington and Ralph Travis.
