This combination of exhibitions explores outsider-ness and punk rock and their relationship to the zeitgeist of Dadaist thought and its impact on design and popular culture. As part of this exhibition CCAD presents lectures by Greil Marcus, who will revisit his book Lipstick Traces: The Secret History of the 20th Century; and Gary Panter, who will talk about the role of his work in the birth of the late 1970s and early ‘80s west coast puck scene.
Kirk Hayes: Rule By Fear
On the surface, Kirk Hayes’ compositions appear to be collages of torn paper, corrugated cardboard, yellowing masking tape, or scraps of plywood. However, the illusory scenes are in reality created by a self-taught process of using oil paint to imitate collage. Both formally and conceptually, the works in this exhibition are some of Hayes’ most complex pictures to date. As a clever and darkly humorous culmination of his masterful process, they offer a sly commentary on the artist’s studio practice—intertwined with the emotional contours of his personal narrative.
Gary Panter: The Magnetic Lady
Widely recognized as one of the most significant and influential founders of the Los Angeles punk aesthetic, artist and designer Gary Panter has wielded his “punk, nuclear, hillbilly” sensibility in the art world since the late 1970s. Using his characteristic jagged line and raw brushstroke, he presents chaotic, image-strewn landscapes as well as more axiomatic works that center on film archetypes. Perhaps best known for his Jimbo graphic novels, Panter has won numerous awards, including three Emmys for his production design on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and the Chrysler Award for Design Excellence.
Loud Flash: British Punk On Paper
Loud Flash is an exhibition of posters from the collection of artist and designer Toby Mott, who began collecting punk-related artifacts as a teenager during the 1970s amassing more than 1,000 items. The show includes iconic work by Jamie Reid for the Sex Pistols and Linder Sterling for the Buzzcocks, as well as a huge range of material by anonymous artists of the era who used the art of the poster to give bands, most of which were excluded from TV and daytime radio and struggled for exposure in the mainstream press, a means of reaching the public.
Martha Colburn: Camera, Lights, Charge, Pop
Martha Colburn is a multimedia artist whose frenetic narratives examine history, politics, sexuality, and popular culture. Comfortable working in puppetry, collage, and paint-on-glass, she is also a notable musician, having released six records with the Dramatics and collaborated with musicians including Yamatsuka Eye and Jad Fair. She has created music videos for Deerhoof and They Might Be Giants, as well as animation for the feature film The Devil and Daniel Johnston. This exhibition will feature about 30 of Colburn’s manipulated-found-footage and stop-animation films from the mid-1990s to the present, as well as Polaroids and large-scale collages.
Kota Ezawa: Multiplex (4 videos)
Kota Ezawa recontextualizes images from art history and popular culture in animated videos, slide projections, light boxes, collages, and works on paper. Ezawa believes that “it is more interesting to look at something you know than to look at something you don’t know.” By appropriating videos and images from pivotal events in American history—such as the arresting silent film of the motorcade assassination of President John F. Kennedy recorded by Abraham Zapruder, or footage of the verdict announcement at the conclusion of the O. J. Simpson murder trial—in addition to commonplace images of American consumer life—such as in A Space of Your Own, 2007—Ezawa creates viewing experiences that are based on the familiar and laden with cultural significance.