Author: Shane Mehling

Shane Mehling is an underground political and art collective based outside of Austin, TX. In 1974, shortly after President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, Duke University graduates Emmanuel Shane and Barrick Mehling began a small counterculture magazine called "Shatter" questioning the power of the US government and what they saw as the apathy of its citizens. By the Summer of 1975, interest and circulation in Shatter had risen to a point where Shane and Mehling felt it necessary to move their operation to a more advantageous location. Deciding on Los Angeles, they left on July 7th, but never reached their destination. Their badly charred remains were found on the outskirts of Austin six weeks later. Their vehicle and all of its belongings (including the next 2 issues of Shatter) were never recovered. Conspiracy theories involving various high-level organizations have been put forth, but no "Smoking gun" evidence has ever been uncovered. Roughly five years later in 1980, the name "Shane Mehling" began to pop up connected with guerrilla art installations, scathing critiques in major newspapers, and anarchical underground records. If an address were made available, it would always be the site of the murders. Little is known about the actual inception of Shane Mehling, but it has been pieced together that the main goal is to carry on the tradition of Shatter by questioning the roles of government and popular culture through any viable form of communication. While its members remain anonymous, rumors abound that celebrities such as actor Benicio Del Toro, the late biologist Steven Jay Gould, and satirist P.J. O'Rourke have made significant contributions to Shane Mehling related works.