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Wes Kramer: 1955-1996

Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of my older brother, Wes Kramer. My family and I had hoped to mark the anniversary of his death with a retrospective art show and a full-fledged Web site. Neither has taken place, so this will have to do for a tribute for now.

Wes, shown at left in a charcoal self-portrait he did in 1984 while studying art at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, died on June 30, 1996, when he was fatally stabbed during a dispute at Kirkpatrick Homes in Granite City. Wes had been working at Kirkpatrick Homes as a landscaper and was about to leave there when the tragedy took place.

Wes had never met Terrence J. Esterlen until June 30, 1996. Earlier that day, the two had a verbal confrontation, then the two crossed paths again that evening. For some reason that is unclear, the two got into a confrontation and Wes was stabbed in the left leg, cutting a major artery.

The reason why it's unclear what really happened was because of the shaky quality of the witnesses. The woman who probably knew what really happened changed her story to police at least three times; I suspect she was probably trying to cover her own hide or somebody's else's for some other felonious activity unrelated to Wes' death.

Esterlen was charged with first degree murder, but because of the poor quality of the witnesses, our family and Madison County Assistant State's Attorney Robert Trone decided that it would be better to agree to a plea agreement in which Esterlen would plead guilty second-degree murder and receive a 10-year sentence, which would mean he would spend 5 years in prison. Esterlen's attorney, Bill Walker, recommended he reject the plea and argue self-defense at a trial, but Esterlen rejected his attorney's advice and took the bargain.

It was a difficult decision for us to accept that plea. We obviously thought Esterlen deserved more than a 10-year sentence. But given the quality of the witnesses, we didn't want to take the risk Esterlen would get off scott-free.

While Wes died way before his time, he left behind a wonderful legacy of art.

Wes was a prolific cartoonist, and it became clear during his high school days that he had a true talent for art. He was called up to illustrate Southwestern High School's yearbook, the Triad, with his work. The cartoon at left was published in the 1972 edition of the yearbook.

Karen Darr, the editor of the yearbook wrote: "I am happy to say that I believe this book is one of the best yearbooks Southwestern has ever had. A lot of changes have been made in this year book. For instance, there are an extra twenty pages, many more student information and less copy, and also some fantastic artwork provided by Wesley Kramer. I would like to express a special thanks to him because he was a really great talent and has added a special highlight to help make this book a great success."

Wes went on to get a degree in secondary education from SIUE, but he found teaching high schoolers wasn't his cup of tea, so he worked for a while at Woodlawn Gardens in Edwardsville. Besides having great hands for artwork, he had a green thumb and loved growing flowers and vegetables. His brother, on the other hand, has a real knack for killing plants.

After a while, Wes decided to go back to school to pursue an art degree. Wes left a prolific body of work from his SIUE days, Much of his prints and sculptures from that era were influenced by nearby Cahokia Mounds and the Mississippian culture that once thrived there. At left is a woodcut print called "Illinois Mound (First State)." Many of his pieces appeared at a show at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in 1990, and several of his mound sculptures, which were made from clay, hold a special place of honor on my mantle at home.

Wes also met Sue Norsigian during his SIUE days, they got married, and they had a daughter, Ani. Wes would be rather proud of his daughter because she is a talented artist and musician. I see a lot of my brother in Ani, including modesty about her talent.

After earning his bachelor's degree in art from SIUE, Wes went on to earn a master's degree from Northern Illinois University. It was during this time when he created his "Revolt of the Implements" series. The series of print-collages used imagery and ideas from the art of the Moche civilization of Peru to reflect upon contemporary environment and technological predicaments.

Wes used a single detail from the mural -- an image that can be interpreted to represent a cutting implement or a ceremonial headdress -- as an abstract form. He used colored translucent paper pasted onto the woodcut prints from the detail to represent combined ancient Moche icons with images of modern technology.

Paul A. Harris of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote this in an October 1991 review of the work: "Of course, these inventions that drive our technology also pose ecological threats to us. If the archaeological reading that Kramer cites is correct, this development might have been foreseen by members of a civilization that flourished as much as two millennia before the present.... His fusion of print media and collage is, in most cases, attractively realized. And his blend of ancient and contemporary iconography can be intriguing."

As I mentioned before, it is still our hope to get a retrospective exhibit of his work somewhere in the St. Louis area. Much of his work is sitting in my mother's attic, hidden from public view. The work really needs to out in the public, and I am determined to get it out there.

As I think about Wes on this 10th anniversary of his death, I think of his art, of course, but I also think of his dry sense of humor and how he introduced me to many great comic geniuses, such as the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Monty Python, "Saturday Night Live" (the original cast) and -- yes -- The Three Stooges.

Wes, we miss you, but be assured your legacy will live on.

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