Suite of eight original pieces of artwork by Dee Dee Ramone, each accomplished in acrylic paint on canvas stretched over a 16 x 16 wooden frame, with Dee Dee dividing each work into halves of black and white and overlapping each with handwritten messages of red, black, or white paint. Each message relates to Dee Dee’s recognition of his bipolar personality, a disorder that he struggled with throughout his life and musical career; two of the works feature self-portrait sketches of his 'good' and 'creep' identities. Rudimentary in their presentation, the works are stark reminders of Dee Dee’s inner battles and appear to serve as therapeutic outlets. The messages, spelling retained, are as follows:
- “Hi Everybody Its Me The Good Dee Dee”
- “There Is No One Else Like Dee Dee Ramone”
- “The One That Every Body Loves And Likes So Much I Am Alomst Perfect”
- “Good Dee Dee, Minimal Nihilism, This Is Me The Good Dee Dee That Everybody Loves And Likes So Much I Am Allmost Perfect But I Am a Creep Sometimes”
- “Something’s Missing, Our Dee Dee”
- “This Is The Other Dee Dee, Creep, Negative”
- “This Is The Other Dee Dee, Creep, Creep”
- “The Only Thing I Have Is My Hate Power,” with Dee Dee signing in the lower right.
In overall fine condition. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from Sergio Quinones, the nephew of renowned graphic designer Arturo Vega, who designed the iconic logo for the punk rock group the Ramones. The letter reads, in part: “In 1973, about one year before the Ramones were formed, Vega became friends with Dee Dee Ramone, whose girlfriend lived in Vega’s apartment building…The Dee Dee Ramone canvas paintings were completed sometime in the late 1990s-early 2000s before Dee Dee passed away. The paintings were done as a set and were painted in the loft of my uncle Arturo’s New York City apartment. Dee Dee has signed or incorporated his name into seven of the eight paintings. By way of inheritance, I obtained the following items, which I attest are from the personal collection of my uncle, Arturo Vega.”
