One piece of the Monkee spiderweb extends into the network of Modern Art culture, and a certain man named John Brockman, a self described Cultural Impresario. Also, Editor/compiler of 30 books, creator of the Edge Foundation, Literary Agent-representation including Michael Nesmith, Friend of Jeffrey Epstein & Intellectual Enabler and more. But someone like John Brockman-someone who had actively managed to grow a network during his whole career- knew the nature of what was going on, and encouraged the seedier side of things. Back in the 1960's, it was common knowledge that women were treated as objects (and worse) especially by the rich & famous-NOW at least, society is recognizing and calling it out. Even if justice is still elusive.
But Monkee fans know him as THIS guy:
Which leads us to the Jeffrey Epstein connection. Again from the article:
"... it seems clear that Brockman was acting as Epstein’s PR man...
Edge Foundation’s (publicly available) financial statements suggests that, between 2001 and 2015, it has received $638,000 from Epstein’s various foundations. In many of those years, Epstein was Edge’s sole donor. Yet, how many of Edge’s contributors—let alone readers—knew Epstein played so large a role in the organization?"
There is an old article, surfacing again, called the Prince and the Perv-Prince Andrew walking in Central Park with Epstein AFTER JE had been convicted of sex crimes.
Brockman is the source of the quote that has been reprinted in several of the articles (including New Republic & from the Guardian below), where he overhears "Andy" (PRINCE Andrew-thank you very much) complaining about how he can't party after-hours:
“In Monaco,” he says, according to Brockman’s account, “[Prince] Albert works 12 hours a day but at 9pm, when he goes out, he does whatever he wants, and nobody cares. But, if I do it, I’m in big trouble.”
In the Guardian, Mariana Hyde brings up the hypocritical view of men who traffic in this kind of world-and yet hold a different standard for their own daughters and refers to Arthur Miller's All My Sons:
But Monkee fans know him as THIS guy:
The head of HEAD, not to be confused with Headquarters.
(He doesn't have anything to do with either, actually)
On his own website, Edge.org, he begins to discuss his involvement with the poster as he stumbles upon himself in the hallway of the Museum of Modern Art, the description for the artwork is below:
"The original b&w poster, the basis of a national ad campaign by Columbia Pictures, had nothing to do with my own head. (But then, neither did the movie). It was based on the cropped photograph of the screen of a television set in the Columbia studios in Burbank on which the one-minute version of the silent movie trailer of my head was playing. In the mylar version, the viewer sees his or her own head reflected while looking at the silk-screened image. Same also on the record album cover I designed using mylar. The press missed the point; but the art world certainly got it."
For what it's worth, he makes note of Some of the Corpses are Amusing and includes screenshots to the page about HEAD.
Mike had even posted on Facebook about connecting his fans' responses to his Literary agent:
"I just sent it off to an agent, John Brockman, to see what he could do with it as far as getting it published. He is a long time friend, and a remarkable character (he did the ad campaign for “Head”. That is his pictures on the poster!).
I enjoy his company and like him a lot. I know he will shoot straight with me. I also know it is hard to get things printed these days in the world of no print presses, so we shall see.
You can help by sending him an email and telling him why you think they should be printed – or why you think they should not, if that is what you think.
It’s hard to know just which summer beach books might work and which wont. If you comment here you can just cut and paste an email to John — brockman@edge.org — with “Michael Nesmith updated his status” in the subject line – that’s the name of the book — so he can get a look at some of the comments the idea of this book has received over the years."
I enjoy his company and like him a lot. I know he will shoot straight with me. I also know it is hard to get things printed these days in the world of no print presses, so we shall see.
You can help by sending him an email and telling him why you think they should be printed – or why you think they should not, if that is what you think.
It’s hard to know just which summer beach books might work and which wont. If you comment here you can just cut and paste an email to John — brockman@edge.org — with “Michael Nesmith updated his status” in the subject line – that’s the name of the book — so he can get a look at some of the comments the idea of this book has received over the years."
He also made a guest appearance in the 1997 special. (Photos courtesy: Corpses)
And he's a fascinating man -as he will tell you himself, especially if you read the copy on his website about the goals of his career and how he named Edge.org, which seems to be a combination TED Talk support group, Think Tank, LinkedIn for the One Percenters, and the world's top mover-shakers-influencers.
"To arrive at the edge of the world's knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves." -from the Edge.org About Page
It includes a thing called "The Billionaires Dinner" which brought together many academics (including Steven Pinker) with prominent billionaires (Ricardo Salinas $13.7 bil), and tech giants (Sergey Brin & Larry Page $4.8 bil) The photo below is from the dinner in 2013.
To quote from the article published by the New Republic, Brockman views the network he has created as maybe his greatest achievement.
"He is no mere literary agent; he is a true “organic intellectual” of the digital revolution, shaping trends rather than responding to them. Would the MIT Media Lab, TED Conferences, and Wired have the clout and the intellectual orientation that they have now without the extensive network cultivated by Brockman over decades? I, for one, very much doubt it.
Lately, John has been in the news for other reasons, namely because of his troubling connections to Jeffrey Epstein, the so-called financier who reportedly hanged himself earlier this month while facing federal charges of sex-trafficking. Epstein participated in the Edge Foundation’s annual questions, and attended its “billionaires’ dinners.” Brockman may also be the reason why so many prominent academics—
from Steven Pinker to Daniel Dennett—have found themselves answering awkward questions about their associations with Epstein; they are clients of Brockman’s. Marvin Minsky, the prominent MIT scientist who surfaced as one of Epstein’s island buddies? A client of Brockman’s. Joi Ito, the director of the elite research facility MIT Media Lab, who has recently acknowledged extensive ties to Epstein? Also, a client of Brockman’s.
Lately, John has been in the news for other reasons, namely because of his troubling connections to Jeffrey Epstein, the so-called financier who reportedly hanged himself earlier this month while facing federal charges of sex-trafficking. Epstein participated in the Edge Foundation’s annual questions, and attended its “billionaires’ dinners.” Brockman may also be the reason why so many prominent academics—
from Steven Pinker to Daniel Dennett—have found themselves answering awkward questions about their associations with Epstein; they are clients of Brockman’s. Marvin Minsky, the prominent MIT scientist who surfaced as one of Epstein’s island buddies? A client of Brockman’s. Joi Ito, the director of the elite research facility MIT Media Lab, who has recently acknowledged extensive ties to Epstein? Also, a client of Brockman’s.
Based on my observations over the last decade, his whole operation runs on two simple but powerful principles. First, the total value of the network (and thus his own value) goes up if the nodes start connecting to each other independently of him. Second, the more diverse the network, the more attractive it is to newcomers as well as to all the existing members. "
"... it seems clear that Brockman was acting as Epstein’s PR man...
Edge Foundation’s (publicly available) financial statements suggests that, between 2001 and 2015, it has received $638,000 from Epstein’s various foundations. In many of those years, Epstein was Edge’s sole donor. Yet, how many of Edge’s contributors—let alone readers—knew Epstein played so large a role in the organization?"
There is an old article, surfacing again, called the Prince and the Perv-Prince Andrew walking in Central Park with Epstein AFTER JE had been convicted of sex crimes.
Brockman is the source of the quote that has been reprinted in several of the articles (including New Republic & from the Guardian below), where he overhears "Andy" (PRINCE Andrew-thank you very much) complaining about how he can't party after-hours:
“In Monaco,” he says, according to Brockman’s account, “[Prince] Albert works 12 hours a day but at 9pm, when he goes out, he does whatever he wants, and nobody cares. But, if I do it, I’m in big trouble.”
In the Guardian, Mariana Hyde brings up the hypocritical view of men who traffic in this kind of world-and yet hold a different standard for their own daughters and refers to Arthur Miller's All My Sons:
"They suggest the kind of man – and we’ve all met them – who has a two-tier view of the female sex. There is a world for their daughters, hopefully insulated from men like their friend Jeffrey, and then there is another world for the girls who service their friend Jeffrey.
Yet decent, humane people know there aren’t two kinds of women and girls – there are just women and girls. I’m reminded of the climactic line in All My Sons, where the wartime profiteer Joe Keller has been finally made – by his own son’s suicide note – to see how his actions were responsible for the fate of so many other young men. “I think to him they were all my sons,” Keller reflects. “And I guess they were. I guess they were. "
What do you call the person who encourages someone like Epstein? What is the larger cost of building a network like this, that goes deeper than any of us can possibly imagine, especially among the top influencers of the world?