Chet Zar Interview (whitehot)

Chet Zar's Ugly American @ Strychnin Gallery

by Chris Osburn

whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art

July 2008

There is no question about it - creating your own artwork for your own exhibition is the best. Nobody is standing over your shoulder and telling you what to create and the success or failure of a show rests entirely on your own ability. Fine art is all about freedom for me and being a cog in the machine on the films of other people is a lot less fulfilling and does not offer much freedom. Once in a while you get to work with a director who actually respects your art (Guillermo Del Toro or Adam Jones on the Tool videos, for example) and lets you really be part of the creative process.

Click here for complete post.

More Damning Evidence Confirms Clown Menace

In case last week's Clowns Suck post wasn't enough for you, here's a little diddy about globalization's answer to John Wayne Gacy:

Christian Clown In Perv Bust
Illinois man had porn cache from trip to Philippines orphanage

The Smoking Gun
October 10, 2007

An Illinois man who worked as a "Christian clown" named Klutzo was arrested yesterday on child pornography charges for allegedly taking naked photographs of young boys at a Philippines orphanage. According to a federal criminal complaint, Amon Paul Carlock took the illicit photos during a "clowning" trip to the House of Joy orphanage earlier this year.

Click here for complete story and accompanying video.

Children Agree: Clowns Suck

Hospital clown images 'too scary'
Decorating children's wards with paintings of clowns to create a nurturing atmosphere could backfire, research suggests.
BBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 January 2008, 23:44 GMT

"Very few children like clowns. They are unfamiliar and come from a different era. They don't look funny, they just look odd."

Click here for complete article.

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Why are clowns scary?
Children are frightened by clown-themed decor in hospitals, a survey suggests. How did the smiley circus entertainers become a horror staple?
By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News Magazine
Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 13:34 GMT

Search for fear of clowns on the internet and the results include plenty of sites referring to "coulrophobia".

Click here for complete article.

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Halloween Skull Mask Project by Michael Murphy (London) © 2007

Animal Collective/Bonefish (31DoHM07)

In the "spirit of Halloween Madness", good buddy M. Snow suggested I should "check out this halloweenish video" by his current favourite band of the moment, Animal Collective:



Very Halloweenish indeed! Thanks.

Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Groovy Goolies - The Saturday "Mourning" Collection (31DoHM07)

As mentioned in yesterday's post, a recent peruse of an issue of Scary Monsters Magazine led to me discovering that the classic 70s Saturday morning cartoon series, the Groovie Goolies, is now available on DVD. For those non-geeks out there that aren't familiar with this series, allow me to explain. Basically, the Groovie Goolies was a spin off of the Archie comic book and television series about the misadventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch's friends Drac, Frankie, and Wolfie who - in addition to being goofy cartoon versions of horror movie monsters - performed in their own rock band. Other characters loosely based on horror movie characters made appearances too. The show borrowed heavily from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, with a similar brand of rapid-fire jokes and zero plot. It sounds ridiculous and it was ... and that is why I absolutely loved this show as a kid. The ultra-vivid colours, the stupid jokes, the monsters, and the catchy pop tunes crept into my impresionable mind and linger to this day.

The three-DVD Saturday "Mourning" Collection features all sixteen original Groovie Goolies episodes as well as an insane amount of "bone-us" materials:

Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Commentary by: Creators and experts (two episodes)Dolby Digital 2.0
16 episodes on three discs
Sing-along: "Goolie Get Together"
Candid story from producer Lou Scheimer about The Creation of Filmation
Liner notes by TV writer/producer Shawn Sheridan
DVD-ROM extras: Scripts and the original series bible for The Kookie Spookies
A brand-new 45-minute "docu-comedy" featuring interviews with Alice Cooper, Forrest J. Ackerman, Ron Chaney, and more
Music video with the punk band Groovie Ghoulies

Thus far, I've only waded into watching a few episodes but plan to delve deeper. Unlike so many nostalgia purchases, this one actually lives up to my childhood memories and is great entertainment. There's something incredibly fresh about the dumb jokes and the utter disregard for storyline. It's zany in an early 70s kind of way. I miss zany. Remember zany?





Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Scary Monsters Magazine (31DoHM07)

A few months back I picked up Scary Monsters Magazine's 2007 Year Book, Monster Memories No. 15. The magazine with its glossy monster cover seemed to be sitting there on the magazine stand waiting especially for me. With an upcoming flight back to the States coming up, I needed some fresh, non-intellectual reading material.

It turned out to a fun read with a lot of personality. The editor could maybe tone down his ALL CAPS tendency and click on the spellcheck button a bit more, but perhaps that adds to the rag's overall endearing effect. Anyway, all the old monster movie images are a hoot, and the writing is excited and passionate, qualities that seem particulary rare in writing these days.

Most of the subject matter is a little before my time (but if you were a boy growing up America during the late 60s/early 70s, there's a good chance this magazine will read like gospel for you). However, an article about the new Groovie Goolies DVD set rekindled all sorts of boyhood memories and got me feeling just a wee bit giddy. More on that tomorrow.
























Click here to visit the Scary Monsters website.

Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Artist Profile: James Jessop (31DoHM07)

Artist Profile: James Jessop


Lately, I've been running around a bit with artist James Jessop. Cool guy, brilliant artist and - being that it's time for the 31 Days of Halloween Madness - an excellent choice for this month's Artist Profile. In fact, it was when I attended the opening of his Night of the Demon exhibition that I realized that I ought to feature him this month. That exhibition, which just ended about a week ago, really caught my eye (and grabbed my imagination) with its massive paintings inspired by "gaudy B-movie imagery and sleazy paperback covers from the sixties." Jessop's love of old school Bronx style graffiti was evident too, making for a unique mix of energetic and exciting works that are fun and somewhat dangerous (like a good horror movie).

James studied painting at the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1999. Among the galleries which have shown his work are Saatchi Gallery London, Rockwell and Sartorial Contemporary Art. In 2008, James will have solo exhibitions at Thomas Cohn in Sao Palo Brazil and Galleri Tom Christoffersen in Copenhagen. James is represented by Sartorial Contemporary Art in London.

He did a bang up job with his contribution to the Halloween Skull Mask Project too and seems to have an uncanny knack for popping up here and there in my blogs.

Click here for more info about James.

Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Frankenstein and "Extremely Freaky Weather" (31DoHM07)

Did Climate Inspire the Birth of a Monster?
by Nell Greenfieldboyce
All Things Considered
August 13, 2007

Most people look at Frankenstein as a simple tale of arrogant science running amuck. But it can also be viewed as an example of how climate change can have a profound effect on artists.

Click here for complete article.

Photography courtesy of zombophoto's photostream on Flickr.




Happy 31 Days of Halloween Madness from Tiki Chris

Anti-Fascism Fantasy

I finally got around to seeing Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, and, boy, am I glad I did! Shadowy and grotesque, poignant and alluring - this fairytale, set during the end of the Spanish Civil War, warns of what may happen when nature and virtue become relegated to the shadows.

























Pan's Labyrinth tells the story of Ofelia, a little girl, who - under the weight of tremendous emotional burden - retreats to a fantasy world of fairies and monsters. Perhaps her retreat is an escape from reality or - possibly - it's the only way she has to process the turbulent upheavel in her life. Played by the gifted twelve-year old Ivana Baquero, Ofelia is the embodiment of sympathy. Her fantasy world exists behind the walls and beneath the floorboards of an old, creaky house.

Was this behind the scenes fantasy world a nod to CS Lewis? Maybe if Lewis had been raised Catholic and resentful of that fact. Another obvious connection would be to Lewis Carroll's Alice, if only Carroll had grown up listening to Slayer. This is not a cutesy movie. Humankind's capacity for cruelty is held to the light for full examination.

Maribel Verdú (who also played Luisa in Y Tu Mamá También) is brilliant as Mercedes, Ofelia's bastion of hope and mercy.

I could go on. However, I think it better to direct you to a recent interview with director Del Toro on the radio show Fresh Air. Click here to access that interview, in which Del Toro explains how he came to take monsters into his heart at an early age.