photos by Scott Beale
On Friday the community came together to celebrate the life and art of our friend Tom Kennedy, who passed away on April 12th in a tragic drowning accident.
video by Puzzling Evidence
Ed Holmes kicked things off Friday afternoon during the pouring rain with a dedication to Tom at Land’s End on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, the place where Tom left this world. That was followed by an art car caravan (including some art cars that Tom had built) through San Francisco and then over to American Steel Studios in West Oakland where there was a beautiful memorial setup for Tom. It was a wonderful celebration for an amazing man.
video by Scott Beale
When we arrived at the memorial, we walked past the row of parked art cars and came upon the trio of Doggie Diner dog heads. The only place it was raining inside of the cavernous American Steel space was right on top the first dog head, making it appear almost as if he was crying, mourning the loss of our friend Tom.
Photo Gallery: Tom Kennedy Memorial
photo by Ken Duffy
Here are more photos by Ken Duffy, including the art car caravan.
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- Lost at Sea, A Poignant Merchant Mariners’ Memorial Sculpture in NYC
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Good work, Scott! The doghead crying clip has brought me to full sobbing.
Thank you for your pictures. It was a very moving and beautiful experience.
Thanks for the picture, Scott. I wish the place could be kept as it was. They did such an amazing job! Thanks PK, Kevin, Justin, everyone!!
Never Forget TOM :)
A brilliant night, filled with amazing people, honoring a wonderful human. Thanks also to Saucy, Fat Man Dee, all the performers, Flash and the Rock n Roll bartenders. I know I’m forgetting many, but thank you, thank you, thank you. Of course thanks go to Haideen, and Tom’s family, and all of those who came up to the mic to send their best wishes along.
Thanks so much for this Scott. Thanks to all the amazing ArtCar artists and other friends/loved ones who braved the rare rain storm down at Ocean Beach. It was an honor to be part of this memorial and above all I am grateful for meeting so many of Tom’s friends from his many other worlds. Through this incredibly cathartic experience I got to meet, and work with, his biological family, his American Steel, Burning Man, Box Shop, Missile Dick Chick, Fintastic and other musical families, and people who were just as lucky as I to enter his universe. We are all blessed!
Thanks Scott.
Thank you so much for posting this, Scott!
The week of the 12th was marked by the loss of two richly creative members of our community, and I was glad to have known them both while they were here. Exhaustion from Caleb Schaber’s services and the aftermath of them beat the crap out of me, and I ended up missing out on much of the planning of Tom’s services, but I’m thrilled that the community came together for such a beautiful send-off for Tom.
More than just a goodbye, I feel like these kinds of memorials are a reminder of not just how well-loved those who have passed are, but also a reminder to us of how much love, creativity and joy there is to spare among those of us still here. I hope these events will serve as a reminder to the rest of us — especially those of us still finding our creative footing — to buck up and get something done while we still can.
Hello Scott…. thank you for the photo show. watching this in the library is moving. it must have been a very intense day…..take care….bob
Pics are up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13252716@N07/
The whale (Burning Man 2002) was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
One more THANK YOU– far after the fact– for Scott’s tribute and those of all the friends who loved and appreciated Tom’s don’t-hold-back approach to life as much as his family did. Truly, he was lifted in clouds of love to whatever the next stage is all about– a theme soon to be appearing in the truck we never made together.