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Of course, McCloud would be an idiot if he thought his bombastic nature wouldn't attract more problems in the future, but he's no idiot. (The score at press time: McCloud 2, government 0.) He knows exactly what he's saying and who it's pissing off.
"I've been fingered since 1987, when I put up the first blotter show at the San Francisco Art Institute," he says. "[The DEA] wanted to know: 'How come this guy's got a better blotter collection than we do?' I said: 'Try a little honey instead of busting everyone; try to add some understanding to this.'"
They've been watching him for years now, he says, and they'll keep watching for years to come. All right, so some might call that acid-induced paranoia, but there's certainly evidence that he's right (a couple of trials, for example). Not to mention that this isn't over. Kathleen Brown is out there, the government is looking for her, and the investigation into this LSD conspiracy remains open. (For this reason, Oliver declined to comment on the trial.) To Mark McCloud, no walk down the street ever again will be only that.
"You have no idea what it is to get up every morning and go for a cup of coffee and find four guys following you every fucking morning of your life," he says, "for doing something legal, for trying to do something better. You have no idea what it feels like to be followed every day of your life for your artwork.
"I am a target," he adds. "I put blotter on the walls of every state in the country. And I ain't finished yet."
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