William T. Wiley, VICTORY AT SEE, 2001

This magnificent work ships flat and unframed. A fantastic unique work on paper by the poet laureate of California funk - a hugely popular, brilliant and creative teacher and artist and unparalleled visual storyteller; an ironic punster with a quirky and distinctive sensibility - and the subject of a major retrospective at the Smithsonian: What's it all about? Wiley had earned a loyal cult following. A terrific artist, professor, poet and creative mind - and brilliant with words. Unframed and affixed to its original matting. Excellent condition. This work, entitled "Victory at See", depicts a ship called "Coke Express", and features a shark, an abstract shape and a character with a yellow pitchfork. There are then thought bubbles with statements (word pictures) from the players in this maritime drama - including the captain, the shark and even the abstract shapes in the picture! Then trouble starts. As the narrator states:
"The captin of the boys was done lines & beginning to feel fines. When all of a sudden it started to blow.."
Thought bubble text from inside the boat: "No we don't speak no langwideges"
The large text at the bottom of the image then tells the story:
"You load 13 ton do you get..up comes the coast guard sayin show us your net or your to fishin boat. But you got no gear cuz your off the fishin grounds. What the hell you doin here. Yes yes and after that...? Things didn't go better with coke so the captin and the crew was grinnin from ear to ear. But they couldn't show the coast guard no fishin gear. Come aboard and do a line the captn sez. Well put on your pajamas and you can wear my fez, No! No! say the coast gaurds (sic) we will not bend our bouys (sic) so were comin aboard don't make any noise...get them hands in the air and do not go below we'll take care of that cargo. It's us that'll handle the blow..."
The text in the large shape above reads:
"Id like to help boys but I'm just a big inert abstract shape with time implied....just sorta floatin...then of course there's my fee...."
And the red circular ball weights in with this commentary:
"But what can we do? After all we're only colors?".
And narration on the top right:
"Eye say..no need to be so strident...I vishnu could hues approach more suttle shell we say." (sic)
Even the shark in the water has lines in this drama:
"Hold it boys we'd like to V your retch...yak..yak..."

And so do we. The artist's audience, fans, dealers and collectors are left to ask: "Whose Victory was it at See?"