a year or two ago, if you would have told me about some of the shows and some of the people i am going to be working with in 2009, i probably wouldn't have believed you. i probably would have dismissed you as a crazy fucker and gone back to playing tetris or petting my dead deer's hoof. and while there are quite a few other "high profile" art shows coming up, my current favorite and the one that makes me step back and jump around and say "OH MY GOD THAT'S THE FUNKY SHIT!" is taking place this Thursday, January 8th, from 7 - 10 pm at Gallery 1988 Los Angeles (corner of Melrose and La Brea). what is it that makes me so excited, you ask? korean porn! what else? well, i am part of a show that is a tribute to the beastie boys! yup, the same 3 guys you remember from the 80's and 90's. the original white rappers. the guys who brought you such lyrics as "i got more rhymes than Phyllis Diller" and "just give him some wood and he'll build you a cabinet". the ones who have been sampled across genre after genre of music (my favorite is Prodigy's song "Funky Shit". my 2nd favorite is one of E-40's songs called "The Story" which loops part of Paul Revere). oh, and please don't think this is just some bullshit show that someone threw because they really like the beastie boys (even though the gallery DOES) and the beasties have no idea about the existence of this show. the key ingredient to this show is the ACTUAL beastie boys' extensive participation and blessing (with widespread rumors of their attendance as well!). i am super stoked on this show, it is one of those where i look around and say "how the fuck did i end up here?". i do that sometimes. this time i will most likely be wearing pants, a moustache, and a hat.
anyways, here is the official announcement about the show. please come and check it out if you get a chance. or at least cruise by after the show's opening night since it will be up for a few weeks...
Gallery 1988:LA PresentsUNDER THE INFLUENCE: An Official Tribute To BEASTIE BOYSOpening Reception Thursday, January 8, 2009 7-10 p.m.
Beginning with a January 8 opening reception and running through January 29, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles will present UNDER THE INFLUENCE: An Official Tribute To BEASTIE BOYS.
UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an all-original collection of works inspired by the music of Beastie Boys, with participating artists from all over the country, including Alex Pardee (SF), Axis (L.A.), Dave Flores (Santa Barbara), El Maz (L.A.), Jason D'Aquino (NY), Plush artist Jen Rarey (KC), Le Merde (Portland), Mark Brown (Idaho), Matt Dangler (NJ), Mear One (L.A.), Roland Tamayo (L.A.), Scott Schiedly (FL), Tristan Eaton (NY) and literally dozens more. A complete listing of participating artists can be found at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Ljg4YmVhc3RpZXMuYmxvZ3Nwb3QuY29tLw==.
A portion of this show's proceeds will benefit Gramercy Housing Group (http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdyYW1lcmN5aG91c2luZ2dyb3VwLm9yZy8= )
Gallery 1988 is located at 7020 Melrose Ave Los Angeles CA 90038http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm5pbmV0ZWVuZWlnaHR5ZWlnaHQuY29tL2VudHJ5L2Z1dHVyZS5odG1s
cool shit, huh? the funny thing about the beastie boys is that i wasn't a huge fan of their work growing up. i am a convert and somewhat late arrival to the party. i, of course, knew their mainstream stuff but i was limited more to the songs you heard on the radio at the time. i focused my energy more towards cool shit like def leppard and guns n' roses in the 80's. then the 90's came and gangsta rap/industrial music/raver shit was essential listening for my ear holes. but then a few years ago i went back and picked up several of their albums and gave them all a listen to, and i realized just how awesome that shit was!!!!! being older and "discovering" them, i think i was able to gain a deeper appreciation for their word play and how they switch off from MC to MC during songs. i saw them at a little 500 person show about a year and half ago here in LA, and the show was 100% pure dopeness. add mix master mike to it all, and you have a recipe for some sickness.
as for my piece in the show, i wanted to share it with you and your respective eyeballs. i had a really really hard time nailing down something i thought would represent the group and their artistic influence, etc. i didn't want to draw the 3 beasties because when i draw people they turn out like Corky from Life Goes On and i thought the guys would be insulted by that. so i listened to a bunch of songs, read a ton of lyrics, and came up with my take on the line "Like ma bell, i've got the ill communications". this allowed me to incorporate a lot of the random lyrics that i love, along with imagery from that line, as well as a nod to some of their other songs and videos (note the briefcase, the gun, the disheveled professional appearance, etc). it's kinda like a toxic Ma Bell meets that movie "Falling Down" with Michael Douglas. the aged die hard beastie boy fan who had a real fucked up day...or is about to have one...or is about to make someone else have one. it makes sense in my head, and that's all that matters.
so here is my artwork for the show. if you get to see it in person make sure you check out the hand-painted/rusted out frame that i did as well.
i can't get this motherfucking picture to display properly on here, so just click it and it should open up nice and big as i intend it to be seen. fuckin stupid thing.
and here is the info for the piece:
Title: "like ma bell, i've got the ill communications"
Medium: Pen and ink and acrylic paint on watercolor paper
Size of Artwork: 12 1/16" x 16 1/16"
Size of Frame: 14 5/16" x 18 5/16"
if you have any interest in owning it, touching it, or licking it please shoot an email over to Jensen at gallery1988@aol.com consider this a pre-preview
thanks for reading this far. you are cool. so is Lavar Burton because he taught me how to read.
-Maz-
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