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Artist Robert Cenedella Became A Deadhead At 80 BY SERGEY GORDEEV
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The Grateful Dead he artist Robert Cenedella discovered the Grateful Dead and pot smoking at age 80. The painter was commissioned to do a painting of the legendary rock band The Grateful Dead in 2019. The renowned artist Robert Cenedella went all-in on studying his subject, attending five of their concerts, pre-pandemic, and smoking marijuana for the first time. These classic counterculture rituals have been a rite of passage for college-age folks since the 1960s, and like many of them, Cenedella became a fan. Unlike most, he began his “Deadhead” journey at age 80.
PHOTO BY PATRICK MCMULLAN
A Rabble Rouser in The Art World A longtime rabble rouser in the art world, Cenedella was profiled in 2015 in the critically acclaimed documentary Art Bastard, and his body of work includes political and pop cultural satiric work including The Presence of Man and Fin del Mundo.
Robert Cenedella
So Many Roads While the prolific artist works in a range of genres, including still life, landscape, and sculpture, as well as commercial work for companies like Absolut Vodka, experiencing the unique Grateful Dead culture was a completely new adventure full of surprises. “That kind of music, it just was not my thing,” says Cenedella. “I’m thinking; what am I doing? When I met Jerry Garcia’s daughter and I told her that, more or less, I was becoming a deadhead at 80, she said, ‘Well, what music did you listen to?’ And I said, ‘Beethoven.’ She replied, ‘Oh, my father would’ve loved you. Beethoven was his favorite.’” The finished piece So Many Roads (2021), a mural-sized triptych portraying the Grateful Dead from 1965 to the present and
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9/23/22 12:56 AM