#JUNE 29 BOMB ATHENS ICONOGRAPHER SERIES#

Samaras debuted his assemblage boxes in 1961 at Green Gallery, New York. He had met Robert Whitman, another key figure in the Happenings movement, while at Rutgers and the two collaborated on performances. Through his involvement at the Reuben Gallery and his participation in Happenings, Samaras met Jim Dine, Red Grooms, and Claes Oldenburg. His first New York exhibition was held at Reuben Gallery in 1959, which came on the heels of his first group show at the gallery, Kaprow’s 18 Happenings in 6 Parts. He soon shifted toward objects, producing assemblage reliefs and boxes comprised of elements culled from his immediate surroundings and five-and-dime stores-cutlery, nails, mirrors, brightly colored yarn, and feathers-affixed with liquid aluminum or plaster. He also gravitated toward the use of pastels, which enabled him to work quickly, exploring figurative and geometrical forms in rich colors and with luxuriant texture, characteristics that would reoccur throughout his work. His interest in self-investigation began during this period, when he initiated painting self-portraits from the front and back using a mirror. He attended Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, studying under Allan Kaprow and George Segal, and then at Columbia University, New York, where he studied art history under Meyer Schapiro. Samaras emigrated with his family from Greece to the United States in 1948, settling in West New York, New Jersey. The theme of self-depiction and identity has been a driving force behind his practice, which, at its onset in the early 1960s, advanced the Surrealist idiom yet proposed a radical departure from the presiding themes of Abstract Expressionism and Pop art. But it declared this month it was 'still alive'.Eluding historical categorization, Lucas Samaras’s oeuvre is united through its consistent focus on the body and psyche, often emphasizing autobiography.

#JUNE 29 BOMB ATHENS ICONOGRAPHER SERIES#

The capture of Xiros on June 29 triggered a series of arrests.

The far left group November 17 has killed 23 people, including four US military and intelligence officials, since 1975. Police are investigating the theft of army guns and the discovery of explosives buried near a sports stadium in Athens scheduled to be used for the 2004 Olympic games. It also emerged yesterday that an assault rifle and bullets were found abandoned near the home of the Greek president, Constantine Stephanopoulos. His wife, Helen, has since campaigned for his killers to be brought to justice. The British defence attache was shot by three men as he drove to work in Athens in June 2000. Xiros's brother, Vassilis, 30, had already admitted his part in the murder of Saunders. Under a law passed last year, convicted terrorists can receive lighter sentences if they cooperate with the police and courts. Xiros, 40, gave his testimony after being charged with the murder of Brigadier Saunders. He also claimed involvement in a string of other killings and dozens of bomb and rocket attacks and apologised to the families of victims. Xiros, a religious icon painter, made the confession from his hospital bed over 10 hours, according to the state-run NET television.

June 29 bomb athens iconographer