chumpchampion

If you’re not going to be lining up to see one of the thousands of sold out Dark Knight showings this Saturday the 19th, you might want to check out the Santa Monica Pier anywhere from 7pm to 7am for the event known as Glow. After perusing the website and checking out the scheduled events (DJ’s, live bands, parades, and a possible Grunion run sighting!), this fairly huge and ambitious art offering may not be right for me. Maybe if I had gone to a Burning Man or two I would be all over it. But lucky for me I’ll be enjoying a glow of another kind, namely the glow of a 60 foot Joker’s smile on an IMAX screen.

From the Glow website (not to be confused with the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling-G.L.O.W.):

Last week I let my feelings be known on California’s new anti-idiot law. A few days later the good peeps at United Front let theirs be known as well via this viciously hilarious viral video. Please enjoy their brand of Blue Toothiness.

Thanks to my man Michael Abbott for producing this (ear)piece!

The day Americans won their independence from mannequins. And then proceeded to have the worst barbeque and fireworks show ever.

Last Tuesday June 17th, Beautiful Losers screened at the 10th annual CineVegas Film Festival. The burgeoning Las Vegas festival which “annually presents work by innovative, uninhibited, and renegade artists to an audience of local and national film lovers, journalists, and film industry representatives” was home to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars over the past week and a half. With honorees James Caan, Don Cheadle, Rosario Dawson and Viggo Mortensen, in town as well as fellow actors Dennis Hopper, Anjelica Huston, and Sam Rockwell in the mix, we were honored just to be a part of such a prestigious event.

We felt even more honored when we were asked back to accept one of the festival’s awards at a luncheon ceremony on Saturday. Not knowing what we were fortunate enough to win, Jon Barlow (the film’s producer) and I headed to the City of Sin with modest expectations for a brief 6 hour stay, just enough time to collect our wares and avoid any real Vegas trouble. We were hoping for an award like the Documentary Audience Award where the winner is chosen by votes the audience casts after screenings, but much to our surprise we were handed the Documentary Jury Award which is determined by a panel of fellow filmmakers! To be honored in this way is extremely special for us and has exceeded all our expectations.

This distinction, in addition to winning the Outstanding Achievement in Documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival, has given our little Loser of a film a small taste of what it’s like to actually win.

The lovely Jo Jackson on the red carpet of the Beautiful Losers CineVegas premiere.

The Festival also screened The Cool School, a documentary similar to our film in that it follows the careers of artists who came together in a small LA gallery in the 50’s and 60’s. A panel discussion between the screenings of our films entitled Marginal: Art for its Own Sake featured a live conversation with a group of artists from both films, including Billy Al Bengston, Dave Hickey, Jo Jackson, Geoff McFetridge, Ed Moses, Stephen Powers (ESPO) and CineVegas chairman Dennis Hopper.

(photos courtesy of Jon Barlow)

I’ve never been a fanatic of crazy-ass Korean artist and LA native David Choe’s art as much as I’ve been a fan of his process.  The way he creates on the spot, throwing intoxicated caution to the wind and his fearless adventures across the globe (see: The Vice Guide to Travel-Congo), is what I’ve mostly been drawn to.  This weekend, the documentary on his exploits over the past 7 years titled Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe makes it’s premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.  The film follows Choe on his on-going escapades in art making around the world, his rise in the art community, his descent in his own personal life,  and even his stint in solitary confinement in a Japanese jail on charges of vandalization (the guy was still able to create art in his tiny cell using soy sauce and at times his own urine).  More about the film and his bad-assery here:

“Los Angeles artist David Choe is not as crazy as his violent, phantasmagoric, and sexual work across several media would suggest, he is considerably more so, embodying William Blake’s adage that “you never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.”
Captivated by Choe’s mania for adventure and excess, close friend Harry Kim filmed the artist’s “life and crimes” from 2000 to 2007, a period coinciding with Choe’s rise to fame and fortune in the art world as he matured from a street artist bombing underpasses and illustrating porn magazines to a respected muralist, painter, and graphic novelist. The ride, however, was a bumpy one. From jail sentences and an addiction to shoplifting and graffiti to dinosaur hunting and wrestling pygmies in the heart of the Congo, Choe’s irrepressible spirit is as much a model of unrestrained living as it is a cautionary example of excess.”

Saturday, June 21st 9:45pm Majestic Crest Theatre
Sunday, June 22nd 4:00pm Mann Festival Theatre
Thursday, June 26th 4:30pm Mann Festival Theatre

Yesterday I ran a post on the upcoming global graffiti film Bomb It, so I thought a good follow up would be to point you in the direction towards more of the same. Specifically an interview with Barry McGee a.k.a. Twist, one of my favorite artists whose work started on the streets. Vice’s online broadcast network, VBS.TV, has a plethora of cool shows on many cultural topics one of which is Art Talk. Recently Aaron Rose did an interview, of sorts, with Barry for the show. My only problem with this genius little video is that I didn’t get to edit it.

(animations by the über talented new dad Max Erdenberger of Central Office and Viewers Like You.)

(You can check out part 2 of the interview by clicking right here.)

And if you want to see more unique videos, VBS also features shows ranging from the photographically sexy (Shot By Kern), to our polluted environment (Toxic-Garbage Island), to iconic skateboarders and their craft (Epicly Later’d), to even more garbage (Manila’s City of Garbage), to inside looks into places we’re not really allowed in (The Vice Guide To North Korea). Collect them all!

Currently premiering across the country is director John Reiss’ global graffiti documentary Bomb It. Featuring the usual suspects Os Gemeos, Mear One, Zephyr, Shepard Fairey, and Ron English among others, Bomb It makes it’s Los Angeles premiere at the Laemmle’s Sunset 5 this Friday June 6th and will continue it’s LA run through June 12th.

Check the trailer here:

Click here for information on the Bomb It premiere after party at the Vine Bar and free giveaways (limited edition Shepard Fairey Bomb It posters and custom Bomb It Ipod sleeves).

Click here for tickets and showtimes.

Laemmle’s Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, 90046
323-848-3500

For more info about the film and upcoming screenings in a city near you check the Bomb It website.

Just as the flux capacitor was the driving force behind Doc Brown’s time traveling Delorean from “Back to the Future”, the Flux festival is Jonathan Wells (creator of the globe trotting digital pioneer RESFest and last year’s feel good hit of the summer the Swerve Festival) latest powerful creation celebrating the communities of film, art, music, design and culture. The debut of this new screening series last March sold out the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater bringing out hundreds to view the world premiere of Bjork’s 3-D music video for “Wanderlust” by Encyclopedia Pictura, as well as new works by Geoff McFetridge, Cat Solen, Amautalab. Also featured in that premiere screening was the seizure-enducing music video for Gnarls Barkley’s “Run” edited by our post house pals at Therapy in conjunction with the mad people of Central Office (the video horribly failed the Harding Test which measures weather or not images on UK television can cause epileptic seizures). And I’m going to give myself a shout out as well (with no apologies to Gelatobaby) as the Adele “Chasing Pavements” music video I edited for Motion Theory also was screened at the inaugural Flux festival.

Which finally brings me to next Tuesday’s May screening sure to be another great night at the museum.

From the fine Flux folk:

“Our May event features an exclusive presentation by special guests Syd Garon and Sam Spiegel, who will discuss their artist/animation collaboration for the band NASA. Participating artists include Sage Vaughn, The Date Farmers, and Shepard Fairey. The evening will feature the world premiere of their latest work with artist Marcel Dzama. Plus new work by Dougal Wilson, Jonnie Ross and much more followed by a courtyard after-party.”

And just to do another bit of promoting, Syd and Sam both added their personal touches to Beautiful Losers as Syd worked on the opening title sequence and Sam co-scored the “commercialization” scene of the film.

Flux Screening Series

Tuesday May 13th, 7-11PM
Hammer Museum
Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Click to RSVP.

FREE admission
RSVP Suggested Please note RSVP does not guarantee tickets and is not a reservation.
Box Office opens at 6 PM.

Early arrival is suggested as seating capacity in the theater is limited and tickets are distributed on a first come first serve basis.

There will be 3 screening areas: the Billy Wilder Theater, the adjacent Gallery 6 and the Outdoor courtyard.

You may bring food or a picnic into the courtyard, but no outside alcohol allowed.

There is a cash bar on-site.

This coming Thursday, May 1st marks the return of Beautiful Losers to California after it’s initial run of film festivals including it’s world premiere at South By Southwest in Austin, TX. Since that special week in March, the film has made it’s way to New York for an AIGA screening (professional association for design), and to Toronto for it’s Canadian Premiere at the Hot Docs Film Festival.

The Newport Beach Film Festival is next in line as they have named Beautiful Losers the closing film as the centerpiece of their Closing Night Gala celebration. The movie screens this Thursday, May 1st in Newport Beach at 8pm. General admission tickets are still available for $15 with show and reception tickets priced at $65. I imagine this screening will be quite packed with Orange County being the home of Ed Templeton, Toy Machine, and the legions of skateboarding fans as well.

We’re not 100% certain yet when the film will be making it’s theatrical premieres across the country so this may be your last chance to see the film in Southern California for a while. Unfortunately I’ll still be out of the country but I hope you can make it as this is a homecoming of sorts and sure to be good times.

Other upcoming screenings of the film include:

Friday, May 2nd at 7 and 9:30pm at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN featuring discussions with Chris Johnason and his lovely wife Jo Jackson, along with the director of the film Aaron Rose.

Saturday, May 3rd at 5pm at the Maryland Film Festival.

(click images to see more of the politically charged art on display at LA vs. WAR)

A couple of weeks ago I was able to check out the LA vs. WAR poster/graffiti/screenprinting art show which was held in downtown Los Angeles during the weekend of April 10th-13th. What I failed to do was follow up and mention how powerful the art actually was. On a beautifully calm Sunday evening which brought many people to the downtown Firehouse venue, I was fortunate enough to make a return trip and take some more photos as well. On display was the touring exhibition of anti-war posters and screenprints from the likes of Futura, Doze Green, Shepard Fairey, along with many other artists-both known and unknown. A timely, clever, and often comical look at our recent state of affairs as the world’s first nation of war, the art on display defiantly speaks for itself. And perhaps for many of us as well. Please check out the pieces for yourself by clicking the images or this link to be taken to my Flickr set.

You can also buy the book “Yo! What Happened to Peace?” which contains all the poster art featured in the show at www.yopeace.org.