Pop Surrealism Magazine- Spring 2011

8/7/2019 Pop Surrealism Magazine- Spring 2011

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magazin

POP SURREALISM

SPRING 2011


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Daniel limDanni Shinya luo

mark GleaSonheather WattS

APRIL1stMAY1

st2011

OPENING RECEPTIONFRIDAY, APRIL 1ST 8 11 PM

LA LUZ DE JESUS GALLERY

4 6 3 3 H O L L Y W O O D B LV D . L O S A N G E L E S , C A 9 0 0 2 7

( 3 2 3 ) 6 6 6 7 6 6 7 W W W . L A L U Z D E J E S U S . C O M


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EXHIBITIONS

POP SURREALISM

1 6JonathanLevine

1 8ToyArtGallery

1 8WhiteWalls

2 0 LaLuzdeJesus

3 0ANGER

Congregation Gallery 13

32 Richard Xpres Taylor

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DJ LA

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ARTISTS

popsurmag.com

DesignerEric KalisherPublisher Richard Kalisher

magazine

Contributing Editors Ana Kim, Tracy Tomko

COVER IMAGE

IAN FRANCISThree People Lose Track of

Time in the Financial Districtof San Francisco (detail)

2010, oil, acrylic, ink, pen on

canvas, 36 x 50

SPRING2011


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ince The Congregation Gallery

opened it's doors, they've been

hosting some o the most exciting group

art shows in the country. The shows ea

ture emerging and established, outside

and lowbrow, dark, and even unknown

artists, allowing both new talent and

proessionals, local and international

to eature their work to new audiences

Hundreds o attendees rom all walks olie attend their art show events. It's be

come not just the art crowd or the

rock crowd but the everyone crowd

In Fall 2008, The Congregation

Gallery hosted Los Angeles County's rst

ever Metal Art Show. The show was so

successul that an event that was sup

posed to run one time snowballed into

a new type o gallery, one that's owned

and operated by artists, or artists. Pro

gramming primarily themed group

shows, the Congregation Gallery strives

THE CONGREGATION GALLERYGALLERY

SPOTLIGHT

S


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From Let: Cam Rackam, The Culprit, oil on ma

sonite, custom assemblage rame; Dean Fleming

Desire, oil on panel, custom rame; Larkin, Year o

the Rabbit, oil on board, custom hand-woven rame

to be an intersection between accom-

plished proessionals and the new blood.

In 2010, they started throwing solo art

shows and now The Congregation Galley

is becoming the nger on the pulse o re-

alism and surrealism on the West coast.

The Congregation Gallery is located inside

Forgotten Saints, which operates as a rock-

n-roll designer boutique and tattoo studio.

The Congregation Gallery is the crossroads

o ashion, music, and art in Hollywood

and us curated by artist Cam Rackam and

owner Cody Varona. The gallery is open

every day rom 11am to 8pm.

Art Selections From

The Congregation Gallery


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Walking through Walls is a show o new

works by Los Angeles-based artist Gary

Baseman. As the title suggests, works in

Walking through Walls convey the con-

cept o breaking through imposed limi-

tations and boundaries, in society as

well as the art world. Visually, Baseman

emphasizes the wall through a oral

wallpaper moti, compositional divi-

sions o space and the transcendence

o his subjects between mediums.

While his previous exhibitions have

been estive and celebratory in nature,

Basemans work takes a more reec-tive, somber tone in this show. With

the recent passing o his ather, the art-

ists deep sense o loss has resulted in

darker, subdued colors, adding shades

o gray to his previously bright palette.

In the new series o work, Base-

man introduces a gure named Lil Miss

Boo, a young girl wearing a homemade

ghost costume. The character is based

on a child in an old black and white

photograph, one o over 2000 vintage

photographs o masked subjects in the

artists personal collection, garneredover the last 20 years. The collection

has oten been a source o creative in-

spiration. This exhibition marks the rst

time Baseman incorporates imagery

rom his photo collection into his paint-

ings, through elements o collage and

silkscreen.

In this exhibition, Baseman ex-

plores the maturation o objective child-

like naivety into the subjective adult un-

derstanding o absolute belies in ideals

such as truth, love, hope, aith, ate and

responsibility. His ghost and skeletonchildren evoke nostalgia o childhood

memories, and support the overarch-

ing theme o mortality in relation to

growth, identity, personal development

and transormation. Among several ar-

chetypes, the artist makes reerences to

Golema Jewish olktale o anthropo-

morphic beings made o mud which can

be animated by inscribing the word emet

(Hebrew or truth) on their orehead, and

killed by removing the rst letter o the

Gary Baseman &

Andy Kehoe

Jonathan LeVine

New York City

[Through Apr 2]

word, to become met (meaning death).

Gary Baseman was born in 1960

in Los Angeles, CA, where he currently

resides. A pervasive artist who works in

ne art, illustration, toy design and lm/

television, his strong iconic images are

at once playul and dark, childlike and

thought provoking. Works by Baseman

have been exhibited in New York, Los

Angeles, Rome, Taipei, Bristol, Barce-

lona, Berlin and So Paulo, including an

installation at the Pasadena Museum o

Caliornia Art, a two-man show at La-

guna Art Museum and a perormance

at Los Angeles County Museum o Art

(LACMA). He is the creator and executive

producer o Teachers Pet, a critically ac-

claimed animated series and lm, win-

ner o multiple Emmy awards. Basemans

work can be seen in The New Yorker

TIME, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and

on the best-selling board game Cranium

Strange Wanderings, new works

by Andy Kehoe, eatures a series o oi

and acrylic paintings on wood panel

expanding upon Kehoes allegorica

compositions, painted in his signature

low-key palette o rich earth tones and

autumnal colors, accented by ne, black

line-work. Most o the artists subjects

are animal-human hybrids, dressed in

ne suits, sometimes smoking ciga

rettes or pipes, oten horned, hooed, o

beaked and covered with ur or eathers

In this antastical world, rolicking oxes

and cats walk on hind legs, orest spir

Gary Baseman


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its linger behind tree trunks, creatures

peer rom above the orest canopy and

silhouetted shadows ade into the mist.

Kehoes aesthetic is largely inspired

by traditional olktales and mythologi-

cal art. His narratives contain primordial

themes o love, ear, mortality, alienation,

greed, deception and betrayal. Nostalgic

or a time beore the age o science and

reason, Kehoes work rekindles a child-

like sense o wonder, recalling an era

when ables and legends were believed

as truths to explain each and every mys-

tery o the unknown.

The majestic grandeur o nature

has also had a strong inuence on the

artist and is present throughout his work.

Colorul oliage and bare branches rep-

resent the seasonal passing o time. In

this exhibition, Kehoes gures are isolat-

ed within desolate wooded landscapes,

yet they are rendered with a greater

contrast in scale than his previous work

and, as a result, take on new dynamics in

relationship to one another. During the

course o working on this show, the art-

ist embarked on an adventurous cross-

country move rom Portland, Oregon,

to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Along his

journey, he stopped to explore National

Parks in Wyoming such as Grand Teton,

Yellowstone, Devils Tower, and Badlands

in South Dakota.

As he says, It was equally inspiring

and intimidating seeing nature in that

grand o scale. A lot o my work or this

show has a sense o scale to it... mostly

with creatures that are larger than lie

Many o the new paintings have char

acters that are on journeys, and meet

something new and unexpected, some

comorting and others rightening

Some o the pieces also deal with nding

home and where your heart lies.

Andy Kehoe was born in 1978 in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2003, he

received a BFA in Illustration rom Par

sons School o Design in New York City

In the years that ollowed, his paintings

have been exhibited in galleries and mu

seums across the country. Ater recently

living and working in Portland, Oregon

Kehoe re-located again in 2010, return

ing to his home town o Pittsburgh, PA.

Andy Kehoe


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Yosuke Ueno

TOY ART GALLERY

Los Angeles

[ongoing]

This gallery presents their rst bronze

sculpture: Hapiko by Yosuke Ueno. Hap-

iko, as described by its sculptor, is a LuckyGod, common in Japanese olklore since

ancient times. She is a quintessential Yo-

suke Ueno character: a smooth, innocent

gure, nose-less and without eyebrows.

She is oten eatured in Yosukes paint-

ings and represents the Happy Girl. Born

in Japan, Yosuke Ueno has been creating

and drawing original characters since

early childhood. He is a sel-taught paint-

er with his rst solo show held in 1994 in

Yamaguchi when he was sixteen. He also

paints under the name Spaceegg77, and

shows works in Asia, the U.S, and Europe

while living in Tokyo. Yosuke is known as

a specialist o symbolism and innocence.Red, green, yellow, and blue oten ap-

pear in his works. These colors represent

the our bases o DNA: adenine, thymine,

guanine and cytosine, that is, A, T, G and

C-molecular elements that all animate

beings share. Yosukepaints these colors

and A, T, G and C with a message that

all animate beings should have equal

worth. The theme o Yosuke Uenos art

is Love, Space, and Positive Energy. The

Hapiko bronze statue stands nine inches

tall and is limited to an edition o ten.

GREATEST is a new exhibition by artist

Ben EINE. It will utilize both gallery and

public space as a two-tiered platorm

or the artists visual expression. EINE'Swork is a large-scale study o the shape

and structure o the 26 letters ound in

the modern English alphabet in varied

typeaces, color congurations and word

arrangements. In the public spaces o

San Francisco, EINE will be painting each

letter o the alphabet on various walls

around the city. A urther ten canvases

o his work using spray paint, acrylic, and

EINE

White Walls

San Francisco

[Mar 12 - Apr 2]

glitter will be on display at White Walls

gallery. In an eort to engage the com-

munity through the creation o public

artwork, EINE will be painting the entire

alphabet throughout the city o San Fran-

cisco over the course o several weeks on

walls and shutters. This public execu-

tion o street art aims to oer viewers a

more participatory role in the observa-

tion and evaluation o artistic creation.

All members o the community romcollectors and appreciators to rst-time

viewers are invited to partake in the dy-

namic program o events that surround

this ambitious undertaking. White Walls

gallery will be producing a schedule o

live installations, a continually updated

map o works as they appear around the

city, a public artist talk, and an evening

o lm screenings related to EINE'S art.

Rooted in the subcultural practice o

grati, EINE moved into the more so-

cially acceptable expression o street art

in the early 2000s as a way to become

a ull time artist creating public works

that were perceived as more legitimate.

However, his undamental art practice

has essentially remained the same--he

continues to paint words and letters on

walls on the street. Letters either appear

alone, on shutter ronts, or as words on

walls such as 'scary', 'vandalism', and

'monsters' rendered in bright and ami-

able colors. In this way he turns negative

words into positive ones. The contrast o

jovial shapes and colors with dark sen-

timent is also a tongue-and cheek nod

to the artists urtive and taboo origins

as a grati writer. The street art com-

ponent o GREATEST is complimented

by a selection o works to be displayed

inside the gallery. These works are part

o EINEs continual exploration o letters

and words as his quintessential ormat

or aesthetic inquiry. EINEs studio pro

cess involves a layering o stencils ontothe primed and painted canvas. Re-en

visioning basic Victorian typographica

structure, he begins with vintage hand

printed wood block onts, reworking and

rening them until he is inspired to cu

the nal stencil. This working method

ology marks the continual evolution o

the ont by the artists hand. In the early

2000s, EINE began a symbiotic collabo

ration with the street artist, Banksy. The

artists worked and exhibited togethe

or several years traveling to Australia

Berlin, Vienna and Denmark where Gal

lery V1 held the Banksy vs. EINE show in

2003. EINE also collaborated with Banksy

on the amous Palestinian Wall project

In 2010, the Prime Minister David Cam-

eron presented President Barack Obama

with a piece o EINEs work as a git. This

diplomatic exchange between the world

powers catapulted EINEs work into the

limelight on both sides o the Atlantic

GREATEST will be EINEs rst show in the

US since his work was given to Obama.


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Rock You in a Tatami Room is a solo exhibition by Seattle-based Japanese artist

Yumiko Kayukawa. This new collection

o works will continue the artists an-

ity or using pop culture iconography

such as western ashion and rock and

roll with varying aspects o traditiona

Japanese culture. The exhibitions com

prised o her signature acrylic and ink

on canvas works. Filled with conicting

realities o pop culture, traditional Japa

nese aesthetics and cultural traditions

the exhibition presents a varied collec-

tion o themes representing a conuence o personal narrative, whimsica

imagination and contemporary lie. The

acrylic and ink-based works are explo

sions o dynamic color and surrealist

narratives where empowered emales

navigate the intricacies o modern lie

Kayukawas subjects are youthul Japa

nese heroines in contemporary settings

oten surrounded by an entourage o

displaced wildlie such as bears, wolves

bunnies and deer. By coalescing pola

binaries such as nature/urbanity and

the primal/the rened, her work intertwines and extends the relationship o

emininity, nature, and modernity. The

shows eponymous painting, Rock You

in a Tatami Room, exhibits Kayukawas

trademark style, a collision o seemingly

disparate elements: young girls, rock and

roll, and wild animals. An amalgamation

o cultural reerences such as the animist

aspects o Shinto and Japanese olklore

the tones and pallet o Ukiyo-e, the de

ned lines o Manga, and the topica

content o Anime. Nostalgia or Japanese

culture is urther explored in a piece en-

titled New World, where a girl stands at

the ruins o a post-apocalyptic scene

Inspired by Japans suering ater World

War II and its successul recovery rom

devastation, Kayukawa creates a sym

bolic message o hope--that the world

will recover rom the current worldwide

economic devastation as Japan did

when it successully rebuilt the country

economy and inrastructure in the post-

World War II era.

Yumiko Kayukawa

Shooting Gallery

San Francisco

[Mar 12 - Apr 2]


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Fawn Fruits aka Daniel Hyun Lim

relishes the spontaneity o the art and

moves things as he goes with colored

pencils and acrylics. His works are some-

what timeless with a striking juxtaposi-

tion o muted versus vibrant hues. The

colors are an anchor to reality and are

a huge actor to the symbolic message

that he is telling: Somewhere over the

colors o the rainbow there lies a signi-cantly beautiul truth, a truth that can

only be realized with an intimate en-

counter. Sweet IMperections is an artis-

tic interpretation o a promise between

the creation and his/her creator states

the artist. Rather than orceully preach-

ing to the viewer with religious imag-

ery and symbolism, Lim brings new lie

to the genre by producing work that is

based on his personal views on religion.

Although we see ourselves as imperect

souls, in the eyes o a loved one, we are

perect states Lim who eels that thereare enough serious paintings in the

world that shout and make big state-

ments. He wants his work to be more

subtle and speak peaceully to the view-

er, to bring a moment o tranquility. His

dream is to show the world some love,

Four Artists

LA LUZ DE JESUS

Los Angeles

[Apr 1 - May 1]

one Fawn Fruits at a time. Lim is an il

lustration instructor at Otis college o Art

and Design, Santa Monica College and

Red Engine Studios.

In Mannerism, Mark Gleason

continues to use Mannerist techniques

with oil on canvas to explore existentia

themes via absurdist situations. Animals

are oten included to dene aspects o

the relationship o a central charactersorientation or connection to the world

via communion or costume in psycho

logically raught, private environments

Gleasons subjects are shown in mo

ments o preparation and conict -- his

gures have roles to assume, and in do-

ing so, a orm o inner sel is revealed

His metaphoric images may seem cryp

tic but represent the underdog and the

disenranchised deriving earsome capa

bility rom the mask o the powerul; g

ures communing with animals, or don

ning the guise o animals, holding kniveout like some kind o animal sel-protec

tion stance or the Sisyphean struggle

o attempting to lit books when youre

standing on them. Hopeully, my wit

comes through in each painting. I would

eel successul i I could convey the same

kind o absurd humor ound in Samue

Becketts writing. The imagery is a con

struct that has multiple meanings and

layers and I leave blanks or the view-

ers to ll in. Ive come to see that others

bring their own stories and eelings to

the work. Ive intentionally ostered thatkind o response with recent work, and

Im honored and challenged in creat

ing something that may spark others to

open their own responses to the work

I resonate to a statement by Degas to

the eect that art is not what you see

but what you make others see. states

Gleason, whose work is also inspired by

novelist Cormac McCarthy and silent lm

star Buster Keaton. In addition to paint-

ing, Mark teaches high school art in Palo

Alto, Caliornia and writes a music blog.

Suused with pessimistic shadows

and redemptive illumination, Canadian

pop-surrealist painter Heather Watts

intricate paintings harness the pageant

ry o anthropomorphic heroes and mar

tyrs to tell the story o individuals grap

pling with orces larger than themselves

Some o the pieces or this show are

quite dark thematically, but Im not in

terested on ocusing on the darkness o

its own sake in my work, Im interested

in using it to show light, to paint dark

Mark Gleason

Daniel Lim


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ness as something that reveals light, to

see the darkness as a canvas or light, an

opportunity or light to shine states the

artist. Watts is well-known or her past

tiki-inspired paintings and has exhibited

in galleries across the US and overseas.

Danni Shinya Luos emale orms

breathe with a sensuality and intuition

that will shatter your preconceptions

about her chosen medium, the water-color painting. Shinyas uid and organic

gures are ull o eminine mystery and

romance. Her colorul animals are mag-

nicently erce, emanating a primal

magnetism that is practically pheremon-

ic. In Chaotic Harmony, using whimsical

and subtly erotic gures, the interactions

o human beings with their avatars rom

the animal kingdom convey modern

psychological truths while relating age-

old mythologies. The concept o this

new collection is birthed rom the artists

own internal world; her past experiencesare transormed into physical creatures,

textures and color palettes. The subtex-

tural inclusion o archetypal symbolism

is never orced nor heavy-handed, but

urther enriches the central, surace

view with allegorical depth a reward

or those willing to investigate.

Originally rom Shanghai, China,

Danni Shinya Luo moved to Caliornia

in 1995. She ell in love with art in grade

school and ater a ew years o private

study (and an apprenticeship with Chi-

nese watercolor master, Ding Ha) wasaccepted into Art Center College o De-

sign in Pasadena, where she majored in

illustration and graduated with honor in

2006. Shinya participated in key group

shows, select solo exhibitions, and saw

her work published in periodicals like

Bust and Initiativa, books like Eye Candy

and Sugar & Spice, as well as design proj-

ects like Nickelodeons Neopets and a

line o toy dolls or Hasbro. In the year

that has passed since her last eatured

exhibition, Spiritual Deciencies, Shinya

has published a now sold-out collected

volume o her gallery exhibited work,

Breaking the Ice. She also helped develop

the re-branding o Marvel Comics signa-

ture emale mutant X-23 (providing the

cover art or the rst three issues). Later

this year, her second book, Sot Candy:

The Art o Danni Shinya Luo, will be re-

leased through seminal art publisher

Last Gasp Books, eaturing a collection o

200 ull color pages o brand-new draw-

ings and paintings.

Danni Shinya Luo

Heather Watt


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San Francisco-based artist Henry Lewis

eatures a dramatic new series o gu-

rative oil paintings. Combining classicalpainting techniques with tattoo-inu-

enced imagery, Lewis inuses his portrai-

ture with loose expressive strokes and

raw depth. The Absence o Light, Lewis

new collection o works, represents a

catharsis or extraction and reection

based on his xations rom adolescence

and amily. A mirror o human emotions

tied to memories o the present and past,

Lewis draws rom his personal experienc-

es creating timeless narratives and myth-

ological environments lled with heros,

icons o beauty and historical artiacts.Lewis adds, These sel-made antasy

scenes, though dark at rst glance, react

with humor towards the past, ree o ap-

athy, and curiosity o the uture. Lewis

was born in Pasadena, Caliornia, and

moved to San Francisco in 2000 to pur-

sue a career in tattooing, illustration, and

painting. Lewis has worked as a tattooist

or the past 14 years and is a eatured art-

ist at the world-renowned tattoo studio,

Skull & Sword. Adam Wallacavage rst

Los Angeles solo exhibition, Dreamhome

Heartaches, has thePhiladelphia-based

sculptor and photog-

rapher bringing his

magical wonderland

o sculptural works

to the city, unveiling

a new collection in-

spired by the deco-

rative interiors in his

Victorian Brownstone.

For the exhibition,

Wallacavage returnsto his living space as

the source o his cre-

ativity, drawing rom

his personal experi-

ences and memories.

A new collection o

octopus chandeliers,

extravagant wall

sconces, and elk skull

lighting pieces will be

showcased through-

out the gallery along-

Henry Lewis & Adam Wallacavage

Corey Helford Culver City

[Mar 19 - Apt 6]

side the debut o delightul

additions, including table

lamps and smaller handcrat-ed items. Works on display

will be a combination o

hand-sculpted pieces cre-

ated in epoxy clay as well as

larger cast plaster sculptures.

To achieve his signature look,

Wallacavage adds a thick

glaze o secret sauce, produc-

ing a vibrant shimmering n-

ish. Sel-taught in the ancient

art o ornamental plaster-

ing, Wallacavage evolved his

newound skills into makingoctopus-shaped chandeliers

and continued his experimen-

tation by making more and

more. Wallacavage changed

the shapes and colors and

themes, moving on to bats,

snakes, elk skulls, wall sconces

and some rather silly castings

rom his old collection o rub-

ber squeaky toys. Wallacav-

ages chandeliers have been

exhibited all over the world.


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"Arcane Seasons eatures new works

by Bryan Pickens o Visalia, CA; Codak

o Los Angeles; Josh Hart o Los An-

geles, and Skount rom Amsterdam.

This exhibition showcases a diversity

o styles characterized by dynamic

imagery created by abstract uctua-

tions and sharp lines, and expressive

visual narratives capturing a moment

in time. The introspection by the art-

ists used to create each piece exudes

an inescapable subjectivity that holds

the essence to the piece, while at the

same time bestowing the viewer with

a catalyst or sel-reection. Skountand Codak, both prolic and respected street artists, have

transerred the spontaneity used to create their large scale

urban installations into their new canvas paintings - express-

ing the same reedom as their iconic street work. Josh Hart

and Bryan Pickens work with the smooth natural surace o

wood or their introspective pieces, allowing the organic

material to envelope their colorul imagery in a comorting

but raw balance. Collectively the exhibition is an impressive

series o resh, eye-catching styles, inspired by an observa-

tion o the things external to one-sel and personal encoun-

ters that inuence our thoughts and constitute the chang-

ing seasons o time.

Arcane Seasons

C.A.V.E. Venice

[Mar 11 - Apr 2]


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Emergence: Contemporary Artists to Watch highlights art

ists who are making an indelible mark on the contemporary

art movement. Galerie Myrtis is exhibiting a number o art

ists rom across the country, including many with ties to Bal

timore and Washington, D.C. Emergence explores the renais

sance o artistic expression and creativity in contemporary art

and highlights Baltimores position as an up-and-coming arts

scene while raising questions about where art is going, both

geographically and intellectually. Forty artists present a variety

o compelling and technically skilled artworks. Baltimore native

Loring Cornish who makes mosaics out o what the city has to

oer, while Jennier Tams paintings draw on the ancient art o

Peking Opera or inspiration and rely on visual artistry, masks

and makeup, as well as a rich vocabulary o symbolic gestures

props, and colors that are unique to Chinese culture. Daniel Everett uses an eclectic aesthetic or religion and art in the juxta

position o patterns, iconic poses, mythological creatures, gods

and goddesses, and entwines these elements with the portraits

o his loved ones in whimsical and highly-skilled painting and

drawings. For his works, James Williams II has used the bright

color palettes and stylized gures o popular culture to create

a story set in the United States during the 1930s and centered

on the protagonist Little Rooster.

Emergence

Galerie Myrtis Baltimore

[Mar 11 - Apr 30]


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It's got a good beat and you can paint to

it, says Gary Barr. Forgive the pun, para-

phrase, or whatever else you deign to call

that opening sentence. Barr is not mak-ing light o Lyric, a orthcoming show at

323East that he curated. Im just happy

to see that, in an art world lled with ar

too many ambiguously-themed exhibits

that this show will eature two-dozen or

so works by an impressive list o artists.

Its a group shows that don't require a re-

resher course The common denomina-

tor at the very heart o Lyric is as the

title so obviously suggests music. As

Barr notes, What is heard, what comes

rom or is ashioned by the musical scale

o notes, is oten the immediate prelude

to what is elt on the emotional roster

o our eelings. Everyone has a avorite

song or (conversely) a song they wish

they could banish rom thought because

the latter carries a baggage o bitter-

sweet memories. Likewise a line rom a

particular song may prompt a multitude

o images in the mind o the listener. And

i the listener is prone to pick up a pen or

a brush on occasion. That was the start-

ing point or every piece in this exhibit.

Barr asked each participant to tran-scribe" a musical moti and its words

onto canvas. The result is an impressive

show, one lacking in discordant notes. As

Barr lays it out, "Music and its lyrics can

always stimulate our emotions and it can

have us contemplating a visional narra-

tive. Lyrics have been known to be the

odder o some o the greatest works in

the world. This exhibition demonstrates

the artists personal transcription rom a

songs lyric to canvas.

LYRIC

323East

Royal Oak, MI

[Mar 19 - Apr 19]


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A Los Angeles-based grati writer

or over 25 years, Anger has traveled

through the nation painting his gra-

ti art as well as curating or grati art

shows. He wrote dierent monikers be-

ore Anger and was heavily inuenced

by best riends Axis and Rob One.

In 86 Anger and his riends ormed

a small crew. Essentially like a clique or

small group o riends who would skate,

tag, and just hang out ater school. He

got his name one night while out with

Rob One. One night we were catch-

ing tags, and Rob at the time wrote the

name Ager. He caught a tag on a truck

that I really liked, says Anger. Coinciden-

tally Angers mom oten called him An-

gry. Right then, he realized that all he

needed to do was to add the n. From

that point orward, he started to write

the name Anger.

It wasnt until 1988 that his close

riend Danny, who tagged the name

Tren, got expelled rom Hamilton High

or macing the classroom. Tren soon got

transerred to Fairax High where there

he meet another grati writer Crook,

who was a part o another grati crew

called CBS (CANT BE STOPPED). Crook

introduced Tren to SK8 (skate) one, the

leader o the CBS crew. At that time, SK8

one was scouting to or new recruits

From that point, Tren made a strong

bond with the CBS crew and soon in

troduced all o his old riends to his new

riends. Thats how Anger, Tren, Bias, Xink

Axis, Lynk, and Exer became apart o CBS

grati crew; all seven were recruited at

that time. SK8 wanted his new recruits

to not just tag their names, he wanted

to inspire them to develop new artistic

letter styles and to paint more grat

style murals consisting o background

themes with characters and letters.

Anger along with the rest o the

ANGERAna Kim

Proles the

CBS Crew

"A.K.A" on La Brea and Melrose behind Jetrag, 2009;

painted or show "Dress My Nest"


31/40

CBS crew roamed the alleys o Melrose

Ave rom Fairax High to La Brea Blvd

where they painted in the alleys estab-

lishing the area making it their CBS ter-

ritory. In 1992-93, SK8 and Mear, another

CBS member, were asked by shop own-ers o Beat Non Stop to paint their record

store. Due to the over-saturation o tags,

the shop owners allowed the CBS crew

to paint grati style murals on the ront

and back o the building. These murals

brought them such positive eedback

rom the neighborhood that CBS crew

became the local artists on Melrose.

In 1993, though, SK8 one passed

away. Nevertheless, Anger wanted to

keep CBS crew going and rom there on

took over SK8s roll as leader. He contin-

ued organizing crew meetings in order to

keep everyone ocused. This leadership

kept the crew going. In 98 he moved

with riend and ellow CBS member Tyer.

to a warehouse spot on to Washing-

ton and Hauser, which had a basketball

court and walls to paint on. He started

to throw local art events more o an

intimate close riends hanging out such

as CBS, MTA, and Westcoast Crews . The

warehouse became a place where they

would all socialize and collaborate artis-

tically. Later on in 1998, Anger started

to travel up north to the bay area with

Rob One to visit Posh, a CBS member

who established a strong relationship

with another Bay area grati crew, the

Lords Crew aka TFL (The Fuckin Lords).It wasnt too long at the end o 98 An-

ger and Rob one got recruited in Lords.

From there a brotherhood was ormed

between CBS and Lords.

In 1999, the events at Angers

warehouse got bigger than he came up

with Chicken Scratch, another way o de-

scribing term grati. Anger had gotten

a taste o being a promoter and he saw

an opportunity to become a curator.

In 2001, though, the law caught

him. Although this was not the rst time,

this time was worse. He had to serve jail

time due to an incident that took place

in Venice Beach. In act, he was gunned

down by the LAPD. Fortunately, he sur-

vived the injuries and served his jail time.

Ater he got out, he got right back on

track o pursuing his career as a curator.

Later on in 2003, he curated one

o his the biggest grati events in Los

Angeles called Graosangeles . Held at

Quotpia (now called Vanguard), he orga-

nized and promoted along with his close

riend Jimmy. Grafosangeles is still the

largest grati event ever to take place in

Los Angeles. For it, Anger utilized all o

his resources that he had built up since

the days o throwing events such as

Chicken Scratch.Angers main priority today is be

ing a curator,designer, and most impor

tantly a amily man raising two lovely

sons, Landon and Logan, with Mrs. An-

ger, aka Lisa.

Anger is painting at or curating at the ol-

lowing events. From March 10-13, 2011, he

will be live-painting throughout out the

city o San Antonio. CBS crew members,

along with many other grafti writer and

crews nation wide, will participate in San

Antonio, TX-based, annual grafti show

Clogged Caps. On April 22, 2011 in San

Francisco, cobra(cbs) vs lords:10 CBS and

10 Lords Crew members will participate

Some o the artist showcasing are Alex

Pardee, Axis, Xpres, Dey, Greg Crayola

Simkins, Haste, Chip 7, Dment, Atlas, Hex,

Worm, Pastime, Vows, Robert Bowen

Naote, Dj LA JAE (will also be perorming

live), Rebuke and many more to be deter

mined. For more ino, visit www.p1s.com

(clockwise rom top right:) Anger with his two sons; as part o CBS production on Melrose behind Golden

Apple Comics, 2008; Anger (long hair) with Sk8 and Krasher in 1989; Anger; old school photo taken by Nace.


32/402

Xpres is sel-taught, multiaceted artist

rom Los Angeles. He is the son o Rich-

ard Taylor, Sr., a 60s poster artist or The

Grateul Dead and Led Zeppelin who

dropped out o the military academy

in 1973 to ulll his dream as an artist.

Taylor, Sr., got his oot in door at Robert

Abels studio in Hollywood, working as a

special eects artist. He was best known

or working on the special eects in the

1982 movie Tron and later video games.

Xpres himsel was raised in a heav-

ily-inuenced, psychedelic, and artistic

environment has opened his mind to

various types o animations, such as The

Secret o Nimh and The Black Cauldron.

Living in Venice beach and Highland

Park or most o his youth had a big im-

pact on his eclectic outlook on lie. In the

beginning o his grati career, Richard,

Jr., went through several monikers be-

ore settling on the name Xpres in 1988.

In 92 Xpres started working or

Conart clothing apparel owner Ash Hud-

son. At the age o 17, this was the begin

ning o his art career. Although he got

accepted to UC-Santa Cruz, he decided

not enroll in college, putting school on

hold. Later in that same year, he got re

cruited by SK8 One, leader o the grat

crew CBS at Fairax High School. In the

next year the head designer or Conart

studios, Mear One let the company to

pursue his own apparel line Hoodlum

From there on, Ash decided to make

Xpress and Phever his head designers.

RICHARDXPRESTAYLORAna KimProfles the CBS Crew


33/40

At the end o 1993, due to vandal-

ism charges, he received up to 600 hours

o community service. From that pointhe realized, it was time to move out o

Los Angeles or a change in scenery. He

moved to San Francisco, attending state

college in the Bay Area working at Jamba

Juice. In 1994, he did his rst aerosol on

canvas or grati art show, curated by

Stash M or I.C.U. art. The art show was

called Grati Verte and eatured other

artist like Chaz, Spy and Twist One.

In 1995, Xpres came to visit Los

Angeles and got caught tagging the 110

Freeway tunnel near Dodger Stadium,

earning him more community service

and some time in jail.

With the help rom a close riend,

Phever, he moved back to Highland Park

Los Angeles in December 1996. In 99, he

enrolled in Art Center College o Design

in Pasadena or two years. While attend-

ing Art Center, he learned how to use di-

erent mediums and varying techniques.

He graduated with a degree in ne arts

and illustration. At that time, Photoshop

designers were in high demand and tra-

ditional illustrators were becoming a lost

art orm. For the next two years, he got a

job at a print shop doing color correctivework. Wanting to keep up with current

illustrators, he also enrolled in computer

classes at Pasadena City College.

Armed with his new computer

skills, he started working back into the

apparel industry in 2002 . It wasnt until

2007 that he came back strong, design-

ing or a juniors line or Hybrid apparel.

Hybrid allowed him to be ree with his

ideas, enabling him to use some o own

his grati work on T-shirt designs. His

animal series designs or Hybrid eatured

his moniker Xpres CBS . They were sold

in brand name department stores like

Sears. A ew years later working at Hy-

brid became less ullling. The company

had him concentrating more on layouts

and less on design, stiing his creativity.

In 2008, he had the opportunity

to curate an annual art show held at the

Bo Bridges Gallery in Hermosa Beach

called Surside Artillery. This allowed him

to express his creative side once again.

Vans sponsored the event, donating

over thirty pairs o shoes stickers and

apparel. This annual art show gave him

the creative power to introduce othe

crew members and artists that were not

apart o Hybrid apparel. He also got the

honor o painting on Santa Monicas a

mous shaper and owner o Fluid Dry

Surboards Tim Ferris. The surboard

Tim shaped became a collaboration o

Xpress and Esel, another artist and close

riend and crew member, contributedthe pin-stripping detail.

Surng, in act, happens to be an

other o Xpress passions. He relates it

to how he paints: not to second-guess

things, to go right in and just do it. In

turn, many o his paintings are inu

enced by vintage sur art as well as LA

street culture. Another strong inu

ence is multiaceted artist, Ed Roth, wel

known or working with dierent medi

ums, suraces, and designs or apparels

print (silk screening), and canvas work.

Xpres currently uses more allegoryor symbolism in his conceptual paintings

allowing viewers to make out their own

interpretation o the storytelling o his

work. He takes on strong political view

less than he previous has. Working with

tangible mediums and designing graph

ics or apparel (slightly less so) is the

present ocus o his art career. Finding

that presentation and designing appare

in itsel is extremely time consuming. Its

important or him to nd a balance be

tween commerce and artistry. As he says

Commercial work can drain your pas-

sion to create conceptual canvas works.

Its been along time coming, Richard

Xpres Taylor will be hosting his rst solo

show Bar Flies & Snake Eyes on March

5, 2011 at the Solid One Gallery on 334 N

Fairax Ave. in Los Angeles CA. The show

will go on until April 24th come check i

out! For more ino, visit www.urbanartil

lery.net and www.solidgalleryone.net/ex

hibitions_availableXPRES.html


34/404

DJ L.A. Jae is best known as a DJ and

or producing underground sensation The

Shape Shiters or the past 14 years. LA JAE

has been a DJ in clubs since the age 13.

LA JAE has also been a grafti writer since

the 1980s and is known or his throw-ups

and stencils. He begun in LA, then eventu-

ally worked throughout the nation and

Europe. He was involved in the Finland un-

derground hip hop scene. Over the years,

he has produced and remixed hits or per-

ormers like Tony-Toni Tone and Vanessa

Williams. Right now, DJ La Jae is nishing a

new Shape Shiter album as well as working

on Radioinactives album. He has recently

begun working on canvas in mix media and

collaborating in part with Mama CBS. His

rst show o this work premiered in January

2011 at New Puppy Gallery in Los Angeles.

On March 24, he will be perorming a live

music set at the Echoplex in Echo Park, L.A.

My lie in general, I break at least

three laws a day -- a pusher man, run with

people that do bad things, tour the world,

get treated like a king, then sleep on

some dirt bags oor, write on anything I

can, and so on and so orth.

My avorite way o getting up all

o them rom bombing big letters, tags,

stencils, slap tags, scribes which ever

way I can get away with, at the time Im at

any given place. Im always looking to get

a spot doesnt matter how or what style

just as long as my name or my crew gets

up. Its like a un game you can play any-

where at anytime. Gra-e-tay and my lie

are as one. Wheres evers mes goes gra-

ti goes too. Its in my contract.

I write or the thrill o it, I like the

way it eels when I see my name up. And

I cant lie. I like it more when other people

see it that eels goooooood. From getting

chased by gangs to hunting ools down in

the train yards, climbing huge hills to get

to a wall, ducking rom cops, rolling with

my sicko partners on missions to get up...

Writing is like the git that keeps

on giving. The whole thing is a big rush

you cant really explain cause every time

its a dierent experience. Man i I haven

stopped by now I dont ever see mysel

stopping. I Cant Be Stopped! Once you

stop its over your name is dead. At least

thats how I see it.

From March 10-13, LA Jae will DJ and pain

live (on wall) with ellow CBS crew members

in San Antonio or the annual grafti show

Clogged Caps. In April, he will live DJ and

showcase his canvas work at COBRA vs

LORDS in San Francisco. www.p1s.com

DJ LA JAE In His Own Words


35/40


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AGALLERYOFSOUND

dionysus records

www.d ionysu s records . co

Website &shopping car

updateconstantly

lee joseph publicityfor the visual arts

ARTISTGALLERIEEVENT

www. lee josephpub l i c i t y . co

Full ServicPR & Marketing

Check ouEvent Calenda

Low-Brow Design by Ellie Leacock for

www.ar t s t u f fde s ign . com


39/40


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133 West Water St.

Santa Fe NM 87501

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Kristen MargiottaMiss Mindy

CJ Metzger

Aunia Kahn

Angie Mason

Elizabeth Caffey

Sara HolbertCatherine Zacchino(aka Junker Jane)

EmilyTrovillion

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