Native Funk & Flash

This book is an extraordinary find. It came into my possession around 1990, when my artsy aunt was purging her book collection. I confiscated her copy from the trash and consider this book among my prized possessions. Native Flash and Funk captures images and stories of truly creative and talented artisans and crafters. Truly, you MUST look at the images to appreciate the artistic skills of these artists. I have a great attraction to the wood-carved doors, if I could find one, I would very quickly save the money and have one installed! Secondly I am in awe of the embroidered shirt (a young woman created the shirt while serving time in prison, the nuns taught her to embroider and she became a true visionary with skill). Not to mention the beautiful batik clothing, and touching stories. (okay, so the penny kamode did make me giggle...) This book is a valuable piece of history that highlights the creative flow of the Haight-Ashbury era.

The atrocities perpetrated by and against hippies during this time period were almost fantastic. Notably the Tenderloin Shakedown in the spring of 67 and the Buena Vista Tulip Raids of 68, I believe Rat Soup and Apple Cobbler may have been there. These events set off a chain of buck wild love responses (organized I believe mainly by Theodore Wrigley) that continue to this day. Sounds like madness, but truth is stranger than fiction. An excellent read for anyone with a taste for the good life!

The candid and heartfelt narratives describing the separate pieces really blew my mind. So many crucial life lessons were learned during the time this book was popularly enjoyed by the masses, it seemed that it would be difficult to hit so many nails squarely on the head, but Alexandra Jacopetti has done just this. A total and ecstatic mind blower to the nth degree. Right on!

I've had this book for several years and only recently read the text. The pictures are amazing but the writing is better. The author treats you like a close friend, as if you were part of the scene around the Bay Area in the late 60s/early 70s. She openly tells you one of her designs came to her at orgasm and another artist works in the local hash pipe factory. There is nothing to hide! I would recommend this book for the use of its beautiful pictures and for those who want a taste of the hippie life at its best.

This is an absolute must for those who were in their prime during the late 60's and early 70's. The art work pictured on these pages is a blast from the past and an inspiration. This is a book that would be very popular now with the rising generation.