Gallery Show - IDIOT BOX @ Gallery 1988 LA
100 artists take aim at television's guiltiest pleasures.
And boy, let me tell you, there are a lot of them. Guilty pleasures, I mean. Well, artists too, obviously.
Here's a little known fact about me that you never would have guessed from my art or the constant stream of pop-culture references that pop out of my mouth. I didn't watch all that much TV as a kid.
Shocking, isn't it? For the first couple years of my life, back in the 70's all we had was a teensy black & white set which only played Sesame Street. The 80's hit and my family moved up to a full-color, life-sized 25-incher. We gazed upon the likes of "The A-Team" and "Knight Rider". If I'd had my way, I would have settled into a couch-potato lifestyle like the rest of my friends, had a "normal" childhood, and probably be something sensible like an eye doctor right now. But I was thwarted. By school. Anytime my grades on a report card or progress report were less than stellar, I was barred from watching TV until they improved (or I could sneak into the family room when Dad wasn't home). I spent exactly half my school years not watching TV.
Knowing that my source of entertainment might be cut off at any moment, I internalized every line of cheesy dialogue I could cram into my head. TV became a reward, an aspiration, a holy grail. Which probably explains why it was so difficult for me to whittle down the choices for this show and pick only one or two.
Let's face it, this is an unfathomably awesome theme for an art show. Not just TV, but bad TV. Bad TV that we love in spite of, or maybe because of its badness. The list of artists for this show is mindboggling. The host is Dennis "Mr. Belding" Haskins of "Saved By The Bell" infamy. Plus, it turns out that this show marks the 5th anniversary of the opening of Gallery 1988. The only non-awesome part is that, once again I am here in Tokyo while my artwork goes to more parties than me.
That's a preview of one of the pieces above. 10 points Extra Credit goes to anyone who can name the "show" that inspired it. Come on, y'know you want that extra credit.
IDIOT BOX
opening reception: Thursday April 2, 2009 7-11pm
dates: April 2 - 23, 2009
place: Gallery 1988 Los Angeles 7020 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90038
website: right here.