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"I'd like to see Picasso or da Vinci paint one of them Indians like I paint 'em."
-- Evel Knievel

Stickers.
Poster by Kevin Bradley.
Evel Knievel vs. Jesus by Dan
Minton
Performance artist
Evil Knievel.

Knievel Art
The Evel Knievel Gallery
Intro.

No flash photography.

All misspellings of "Evel" and "Knievel" are consistent with their sources... Please contact me with any additions or corrections.

1

Event poster (artist unknown, 1966).
Advertising for one of Evel's earliest shows, a January 23, 1966 event at the Fairgrounds Arena in Indio, California, "Featuring Butch the Midget Daredevil." I have this on my living room wall.

Event poster by R.A. Marshall (1971).
Advertising for Evel's February 1971 shows event at Southern California's Ontario Motor Speedway.

Event poster by R.A. Marshall??? (1971???).
Advertising for Evel's February 1971 shows event at Southern California's Ontario Motor Speedway???

Movie poster (artist unknown, 1971).
George Hamilton.

Jigsaw puzzle (company, year?).
.

Book cover illustration artist unknown (1974).
The cover of Evel Knievel and Other Daredevils by Joe Scalzo.

Magazine illustration by Melinda Bordelon (1974).
Accompanied the article "100,000 Are Coming to Watch Him Die" by Lawrence Linderman, which appeared the July 1974 issue of the porn mag Oui.

Paint-by-numbers set by Hasbro (1974).
Anyone can paint Evel! Unfortunately, this is the best image I can find at the moment.

Magazine cover illustration by Ray Domingo (1974).
Accompanied the scathing cover story "King of the Goons: Deliver Us from Evel" by Joe Eszterhas in the November 7, 1974 issue of Rolling Stone. Evel's cowboy hat and boots and his delight in riding the rocket to his doom suggest Slim Pickens's similarly crazed adventure in the finale of Dr. Strangelove... On the issue's contents page, Rolling Stone art director Tony Lane remarked that Domingo had captured what Lane called "misguided patriotism and fascination with the technology of death."

Magazine illustration by Warren Linn (1974).
A charicature of Evel which appeared on contents page of Rolling Stone #173, the same issue as above. Considering the publication, perhaps it's no coincidence that Evel here looks like Bob Dylan.

Evel Knievel comic book (1974).
"Marvel Comics and Ideal Present Evel Knievel." To promote the toys further, Ideal teamed up with Marvel Comics to release a single-issue, 20-page giveaway comic. Inside the front cover was the "Evel Knievel Bicycle Safety" page, with the hypocritical admonition, "Bicycles are for fun, not for stunts... Always keep your bike under control... Always obey the traffic rules." In the featured story, the evil Mr. Danger attempts to sabotage Evel at his fictitious "Stunt Stadium" in Florida, just as Darrell Pettet tried to do in the CBS pilot. Evel foils him, thanks to all the toys that the comic practically begs children to beg their parents into buying. To wit: "The Scramble Van! Just as this fabulous rolling workshop office lounge is indispensable to Evel Knievel, so it is a vital addition to the action accessories for your Evel Knievel Movable Figure!" No credit was given to the comic's writers or artists, though both the story and artwork are uninspired - Mr. Danger is simply a black silhouette.

Statue (artist unknown, 1975).
A slightly larger-than-life-sized sculpture created for Evel's record 14-bus jump on October 25, 1975 at the Kings Island Family Entertainment Center, an amusement park outside Cincinnati. The statue remained on the park ground for several years, but now it travels with Evel to display at his personal appearances.

Book cover illustration (artist unknown, 1977).
For the novelization of the Warner Bros. Turkey Viva Knievel by John Stanley. Also used in the poster art for the film, and on the cover of the DVD released in 2005, only with the prominent gun removed.

Book cover illustration by Ivan Powell (1978).
For the children's book Daredevils Do Amazing Things by Robert Kraske. Includes line drawings of Snake River jump. Cover shows Evel flying over hungry sharks in a packed outdoor stadium in the daytime, something that never happened. Though a reference to the Chicago jump. Made Snake River look like Disneyland. Contains no mention of the Saltman beating, or Evel's prison stint.

Evel's own paintings (1980s).
...

Evel Knievel digital photo print portrait by Keith Edmier (1996).
Photo portrait, digital inkjet on vinyl, 120 x 120 inches, edition of three.
The New York artist's first solo show, EK: KE/ Evel Knievel: Keith Edmier, was exhibited from January 11 to February 28, 1997, at the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum. According to Edmier's artist's statement, "In 1974, at the age of seven, I took a Kodak Instamatic snapshot of Ideal Toys' Evel Knievel action figure in front of a postcard image of the Grand Canyon. In the early part of 1996, I decided to reconsider this photograph as a work of art and attempt to meet the subject of it. This project is the result of this interaction." The show included Edmier's framed 3x5 snapshot, this giant print of Evel, and a "16-inch high bronze model for a proposed statue of Knievel, done at Knievel's request, showing him in a heroic pose straddling a small version of the canyon and behind a Harley-Davidson eagle's symbol" (though the full-size statue was never made, and the picture on p. 158 of Evel Ways doesn't show the canyon or the eagle), all based on his recollection and reconstruction of his childhood hero. Evel overshadowed Edmier's opening with his traveling exhibit of motorcycles, SkyCycle and other memorabilia. Edmier made three of his billboard-sized prints, one of which now serves as Evel's backdrop at his many personal appearances. Link.

A Field Guide to Evel's Injuries newspaper illustration by Mike Caulkins (1996).
Accompainied my article, "The Crash Heard 'Round the World: Evel Knievel vs. the Caesar's Palace Fountains," which appeared in the Spring 1996 issue of Slant, Urban Outfitters' defunct circular. The free quarterly newspaper had giant, 17x28-inch pages, and Caulkins laid out the whole page. The image seen here is 14x20 inches, as the whole thing was too big to fit on my scanner. He based his design on my own "Field Guide to Evel's Injuries," which appeared in Heinous #2 (September 8, 1994). SEVERAL OTHERS HAVE FOLLOWED - SEE INJURIES.

Poster (artist unknown, 1998).
Created to promote ESPN's Winter X Games in Crested Butte, Colorado. Evel himself appeared in the TV ad campaign. LINK TO COMEDY?

Do You Remember TV? The Book That Takes You Back by Michael Gitter, Sylvie Anapol and Erika Glazer (Chronicle Books, 1999).
From a small, colorful, graphic design-heavy book full of whimsical retro television imagery, here's a two-page spread featuring a photo of George Hamilton as Evel "jumping" over the titles of a bunch of action TV shows.


Jack Knievel painting by David Hartzheim (2000).
Evel be nimble, Evel be quick, Evel be a gouache and watercolor painting. View in its original context.


Material Man: Masculinity Sexuality Style edited by Giannino Malossi (Abrams, 2000).
A picture I stumbled across in some book of a guy dressed in a Knievel suit -- not Evel himself -- jumping a Triumph over a topless woman. The caption says it's from Viva Knievel!, but there was no such scene in the film. The rider may be Gary Davis, however, as he was Evel's movie stunt double.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evel Knievel greeting card by Cara Scissoria (circa 2000).
Would more accurately be titled Midnight in the Garden of Good and Robbie Knievel, but whatever. Order here.

Painting by Rosemarie Fiore (2000).
Fiore made this unique painting using Bally's 1977 Evel Knievel pinball machine. She removed the glass, laid vellum across the playfield, and played a three-ball game -- the balls were respectively doused in red, white and blue oil paint... "The resulting painting, a lavender oblong that looks like a hallucinated skull, testifies to Fiore's ability to excavate or 'see' the buried image within the machine, almost as if it was written in invisible ink"... No word on what her score was, nor if she (hopefully) restored the game to its prior condition. Link.

Evil Knievel.
This paunchy German performance artist attempts various feats in his red-white-and-blue leathers. In "You Are Only Humans" (London, 2002), he wore a helmet and jumpsuit during three hours spent "rolling, kneading and forming a vast amount of red plasticine sausages." In "I Love America" (Munich, Vienna, Berlin; 2004-05), " Evil dances to the rhythmical clapping of a bunch of kids." In "More Balls than Brain" (London, 2003), he spent a week sitting in a store window in a setting designed to look like his "home in Butte," watching TV in his underwear... Evil's feats have been documented in his glossy, full color 'zine, Being Evil Knievel. Three issues have been released since August 2005. Issue 1 begins with a sort of mission statement: "Evil Knievel is the self-proclaimed incarnation of the American hero... In an ever-developing series of lethal stunts, Evil constantly proves his outstanding qualities... Accused by many of being a chest-beating, chauvinist macho male with an anti-feminist outlook, he acknowledges the burden of public stigma, but is always eager to please the crowd and, most importantly, to deliver a good show." Issue 2 features an interview with Evil from his Tehachapi, California home, in which he talks about his youth in Butte, stardom, risk-taking and so forth integrating quotes from the real-life Evel ("The people I want to hear about are the people that take risks"). Issue 3 focuses on Evil's blackface alter-ego, Super A, with a photo essay of him wandering around what's supposed to be New York. Official site.

In Fact by Louis R. Biro (2002).
Brio creates pen-and-ink illustrations of strange-but-true historical facts, in this case, Evel's 1967 jump over the Caesar's Palace fountains. This one-panel comic, with a straightforward summary of the event, appeared in the May 23, 2002 Seattle Weekly. Link.

Evel vs Jennifer by Lionel Scoccimaro (2003).
From the Frenchman's weird series of oversize phallic bowling pin/weeble sculptures, this photo depicts one resembling Evel's costume. Link.

Viva Knieval Polaroid transfer monoprint by Annie Sprinkle (circa 2003).
A 23"x30" image by the prostitue/porn star turned artist/sex educator. Link to 2003 gallery show.

Newspaper illustration by Mattew Wight (2004).
Accompanied Jim Knipfel's article "Terror on Two Wheels" in the July 20, 2004 issue of New York Press. Read it here.

Weevil Knievel by Liz Grant (2004).
300 x 100mm, height 280mm.
"A play upon words. Climbing up out of this vase a weevil demonstrates great feats of balance, control and tenacity, somewhat analogous to the daredevil stunts of Evel Knievel." Link.

Magazine illustration by John Ritter (2005).
Accompanied an interview with Evel's son Robbie Knievel in the April 2005 issue of Outside Magazine. Read it here.

Greeting card by Geyers Garten (2005).
Some silly card. Order it here.

Ricochet Knievel digital drawing by Dangerman-1973 (2006).
Apparently some kind of manga bounty hunter. Read more here.

Baby Knievel by Lou.
An 11x14 black & white print listed on eBay in April 2006. The artist wrote: "I did this sketch because of my daughter, Eva. Get it? 'Eva Knievel'? I know LOTS of Baby Knievels who think they can do ANYTHING and have no fear! The baby rides along on it's [sic] tiny motorcycle, popping a wheelie and not even caring that it's [sic] helmet flew off in the wind. The picture does not do the print justice!"

Modified Operation game (artist, year unknown).
An Evel-ized verson of the venerable Milton Bradley board game, hanging on the wall at the ESPN Zone restaurant in Las Vegas. Here's the restaurant.

Evel Cownevel sculpture by Karin Neilsen (year unknown).
The text reads in part: "Evel wears the studded jumpsuit of the famous Evel Knieval, stuntman extraordinaire and 'America's Legendary Daredevil.' Evel is ready for anything!" DIMENSIONS? PART OF A CITY PROJECT? Link.

Eagle Knievel.
Some blog had this picture. Link doesn't go to the right place. Try harder - get date of blog entry? Actual name?

Painting.
Appears on an interior wall of Philadelphia's Drinker's Tavern. Link to source.

Weevil Kneevil by Mary Rolfe.
"Weevil Kneevil, more acrobatic than you have ever seen him! Miss Mai T. Oak of the Acorn Street Journal writes, 'You'll go nuts over his act!' A half-inch long, acorn weevils have snouts with small, saw-like teeth, and they use these to bore into acorns, get nourishment and lay their eggs. Even in the show, this guy isn't very nice, winging acorns at us by misusing a spider web as a slingshot. It's Tough to be a Bug! (TITLE?) is guaranteed to stimulate all your senses and is full of surprises. You will laugh, you'll scream, you will literally jump out of your seat, and you will never think of bugs the same way again. After all, they outnumber us 200 million to one." WHAT IS THIS? Link.

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Last updated on January 13, 2011.

© 2004-2011 Steve Mandich