Relative's merit - Letters - Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Recently, on a whim, I did a Google search on my uncle, Gene Swenson. One of the first hits was Artforum's website. I took a chance and clicked. Scott Rothkopf's piece ["Banned and Determined," Summer 2002] was a wonderful glance at my uncle--his creativity and his very different mind-set. I have always known that he marched to a different drummer than the rest of his Topeka-rooted family. From a very early age, it was ingrained in me that he was the black sheep. Granted, I have very few memories of him, with the exception of a moment when he tried to sit next to me in my grandmother's kitchen. I was terrified of him because of his wild beard and long hair. You must understand that my dad was a Marine--shorn short and clean-shaven. So the contrast at the time was frightening. And reading through his letters written to the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas, I have been able to learn about his distrust of most "institutional" programs and mind-sets. My dad always told me he was special, but also that he was never able to understand him.

When I saw the picture of him on your website, it brought up many memories of my family. In fact, I pulled my two framed Ann Wilsons out of my closet and determined to put them up somewhere in my disorganized "thirtysomething" Tudor home. I thank you for this article and wish your publication well in the future.

--Susan Amy Swenson Junction City, KS

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