FREDDI C and J. SHEA coming to SF!!!

So, there's been a ton of excitement from our LA location these past few weeks with the Cult show opening, BUT get excited for SF this week cause we have an awesome show opening!

Freddi C and J. Shea are both traveling up to SF this week to put together a very unique show that opens this Thursday!! The show's called "Skate Life" where paintings and sculptures come together to depict skateboarding scenes through different LA neighborhoods. Take a look at the pics below (courtesy of Freddi's blog http://freddicart.blogspot.com/)







I always knew Freddi and J. would come up with a great show, but after seeing these pics I'm amazed and even more excited!

The show opens this Thursday, August 2nd from 7-10PM. Freddi and J. will both be in town for the opening, so definitely stop by and hang out for a while. It's going to be an awesome show!

For more info, you can check out...
Freddi's website (http://www.freddic.com)
Freddi's Blog (http://freddicart.blogspot.com)
J. Shea's website (http://www.jshea9.com/)

Katie
Gallery 1988: SF

Costumes Con

As promised, here is Comic Con newbie RonHerman.com Chrissy's photo blog of Saturday's San Diego festivites. Nice seeing Bob Dob, StrangeCo, Attaboy, Annie Owens, Thomas Han, PlasticGod, Bwana Spoons, Martin Ontiveros, Le Merde and those I'm weirdly forgetting I talked to. Oh yeah, and I'm the one that has blogged small little descriptions for each photo, viewable if you click on each individual picture. Enjoy and next year, please don't bump into me on the convention floor. I have germ issues.

Click Here For Chrissy's Photo Blog of Comic Con

Jensen
G1988: LA

IMADINO

First off, The Simpsons Movie was very funny, thanks for asking. Truth is though, anytime I can see Milhouse on a big screen, I'll say it's good - but I did actually enjoy myself, in comparison to other movies I waited 10 years for (Last 3 Star Wars, Willy Wonka remake, etc.) I think they walked the line between the adults who love (and grew up on) the TV show, and still addressed the kids (7-12 years old) who they still want to shill merch to for the first time. I get the argument that it could've been edgier (seen in today's LA Times), but that would be neglecting what the Simpsons TV show has always been. It has moments on both sides. For every Barney Rehab joke or Millhouse's Dad divorce gags, Bart also called Moe's and asked for a "Amanda Huggenkiss." Plays both sides of the maturity line, which I always thought has been it's leg up on Family Guy. An appeal on seperate levels. I'd love to hear what other people think as it gets wide release, so feel free to comment during the weekend.

But either in a very nice stroke of humorous jab, or in a mean "I know you used to be fat" manner, "Lebron" Dangler sent me over this depiction of Homer, titled "Jensen Simpson." I look so serious.



I'll leave you with this.

The Craola Commission I teased yesterday.

Feel free to gaze at "Craolasaurus"











Yeah, goes without saying the buyer was happy.

See you in San Diego. I'll be the one having a panic attack asking for the exclusive Ativan colorway.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Conned

Does a tree make a sound if it falls in the woods, but no one is around? More importantly, do my blog entries get read during San Diego Comic Con weekend? I doubt it. But I'm just as guilty. I'll be up in the SD Saturday, amongst the gross crowds, fighting like a Mike Vick pedigree (what? too soon?).

Actually, here at the G1988 blog, we'll have a our first guest photo blogger. It'll be a visual report from the eyes of Chrissy from Ronherman.com (soon to have their own blog as well), who also has the awful distinction of being my girlfriend (no, I don't pay her and yes, she's seen how hairy I am). It's her first time out in the nerd terrordome called Comic Con, so I'm sure she'll have some fresh perspectives.

We're going to pick our Movie Reference poster contest winner this weekend also, but it's too late to submit, so stop rushing. Someone is going to get hooked up.

The Craola Ed Scissorhands prints are flying, so catch yours before they sell out, and then the next print will be announced for Crazy4Cult.com. Second verse, same as the first.

No one has posted this yet, so I figured I could now. It's the billboard across from the gallery, which was customized the night before our cult opening. Some crafty kids must have done it. It's very dope and I believe still up (too lazy to get up right now).



Since I know this blog is prolly a desert town (Zzzyx, anyone? Needles, stand up? Apache Junction, throw your hands up?), I'm gonna post a super detail from a new Greg Simkins commission that was delivered yesterday. I would show you the whole painting, but the buyer hasn't even seen it yet. He also is in line waiting for that Purple Kozik variant with you (I know. I made that up.)



You'll see more. Let's just let the buyer soak it in first.

While we speak on the Craola....I waited a bit to post it, cause it's hard for me to make super personal life "blogg-able" (trademark pending), but congrats to Greg and Jenn Simkins who has ushered in a beautiful baby boy, Isaac George Simkins, born last week into a pair of people I can't imagine being more loving parents. Beyond the gallery, meeting Greg and Jenn for Katie and I has been an experience we consider life changing, not just in business (obvi), but they're just two people that make, and have always made us, want to be better people. There are no words that can explain my feelings (and I'm sure Katie's) as to our love and concern for Greg and Jenn, BUT I mean this Isaac dude? He has no idea what love is coming his way.

UPDATED (4:30 PM PST) - Oh, ALSO, I'm seeing Simpsons tonight....so I'll let you know.

Jensen
G1988: LA

OBEY BOB

Jensen
G1988: LA

A Real Blog Update, please

Alright, so let's take the time I normally would to blog a momentous opening like we had last Tuesday. First off, here's a screen cap taken early Thursday of our web hits on Monday and Tuesday. Check out a million, sucker.



I'm still waiting for my pictures (my girlfriend's camera cord might just be camoflauge), but here are some either emailed to me, or stolen off other sites.



Kevin and Jeff McMillan, with the piece that will now rest in the home of the man who wrote the line, "The cookie stand is an eatery, an eatery is part of the food court."



Dave Chung and Edgar Wright in front of a piece inspired by Wright's Shaun of the Dead film, that will now rest in the home of the man who wrote the line, "I don't think I've got it in me to shoot my mum, roommate, and girlfriend all in one day..."



Artist Brandi Milne being interviewed by G4, in front of her three pieces inspired by FREAKS!, which all SOLD.



Kevin enters the building. Post-purcashing, pre-drink spill.



Baseman vs. Shepard. This was right before Shep threw a fireball and Gary did one of those "Arrrrddddduuuukaaaaan" sweeping punch things.



Me on G4. I don't know when that airs, but I do reference how sexy Maggie Gyllenhal was when she was younger and poo-stained pretzels in one interview.



Here I play Kevin Costner to Kevin Smith's Whitney Houston, as fans say their hellos.



This is the best picture I could get of the line now, until I get my camera going, but please know it goes on beyond this shot for almost a block and half more. Around the building and through our alleyway. It stayed that long until around 10:15.

Here's some things to click (or just read).

"A GREAT Reelz Channel TV segment on the show."

"Read Kevin's Inventory and recap of the night." When I get thanked by a guy who I can't seem to thank enough, it feels weird.

Thanks to Ralph Garman, who I have heard shouted out Mark Bodnar's piece, which he will take home on August 10th, on the KROQ morning show the next day.

"E! Online covers an art show?" Get your Matt "Lebron" Dangler on!

"LA Weekly's Slideshow"

"Getty Images shoots celebrities....and me." You can see how awkward this was (although I've known Jason for years in what feels like a different life for both of us in different ways), I'm like, "Ummmm, I'm not famous."

Shouts to all the other blogs and sites who also covered the night, as well as those still working on their coverage. We launched Crazy4Cult.com today and are selling the Simkins prints like...something that sells fast. And you'll see a new print there almost every 3-4 weeks! YIKES. I'll have more pictures this weekend I'm hoping, so I'll keep my update game quick like....hotcakes?

Jensen
G1988: LA

The Million Man Man March and CRAZY4CULT.COM

WE GOT ONE MILLION HITS ON OUR WEBSITE ON TUESDAY!!!!!! Just on Tuesday. Like not combined or anything. JUST TUESDAY. 700,000 on Wednesday? No witty comment, I guess. Just shocked. And the work JUST got posted on our website, so check out the whole show.

Oh, also, remember, starting July 20th (time unknown) you'll be able to purchase the 1st CRAZY 4 CULT print, Greg "Craola" Simkins' "Eds Losing" print. Just wait for instructions over at www.crazy4cult.com (I know the link doesn't work, it won't work until the release) and follow away!

Jensn
G1988: LA

Here Come The Tubes

Thanks to Tony T. and Kevin for the point out.

Whatever, dude.

I don't really know what to say. I'm so tired and to think I'm not gonna give a detailed blog post the day after what is hands down the coolest and most ridiculous opening of our existence bothers me tremendously, but you know what else bothers me? Not sleeping. And my Acid Reflux. Which makes me sound like I'm 74 years old. I haven't had time to download pictures, but I'm sure a Google search tomorrow will find you better pics than I took. And I know VinylPulse should be posting their recap, pictures and video soon. But here's the rundown in the least amount of words possible:

*estimated 2,500 people


Also, Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Jason Mewes, the dude who bangs a donkey in Clerks 2, Edgar Wright, Richard Kelley, James Duvall, Ralph Garman of Joe Schmo (a G1988 FAVORITE), lead singer of Alkaline Trio all swung through and hung out, which was very cool to see. But beating that is the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson in the gallery today. All I'll say is whoever wins the signed Chris Lee poster is a serious WINNER. Oh which reminds me, you have until tomorrow to send your answers in.

I'll start linking press (G4, MTV, Reelz Channel, LA Weekly, assorted blogs, Getty Images, etc) in the next few days and posting my pictures which include artists and the directors of the films they remixed together, which is ill. That's it for now.

I just want to thank Kevin and Scott for just being good dudes. I mean, they could easily be a-holes, but seeing the excitement on their faces when they first saw the artwork, especially the pieces which reflect their movies, was really a new emotion for me. I'm so used to Hollywood types being jerks and awful people, it was a breath of fresh air. Made me actually want to utilize my film degree, then I remember my last Hollywood job of getting Stephen Baldwin a Schwinn from Reseda on the set of Flintstones II and him calling me a douche bag for not getting him a horn (although he didn't ask for one), driving back to Reseda (which was an hour away), but realizing he had went home when I returned, and then him never asking for the horn ever again. So I'm guessing his new religion must forgive him for berating unpaid 19 year old interns, but encourage bike sales-related mind reading.

I digress. Thank you to everyone who made it out and keep this in mind. This show is annual.

Jensen
G1988: LA

2 reasons

He breathes heavy
Originally uploaded by hotkizzle

I have to get my beauty rest, so I'm calling it a night early, but I'll give you two parting reasons why to attend our biggest show of the year, Crazy 4 Cult, which opens tomorrow, Tuesday night, from 7-11 PM.

#1) Hosts Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, who will be promoting the art show on KROQ tomorrow morning during the Kevin and Bean show at 7:35 AM.

#2) Peter Gronquist made that blinged out Darth Vader with Gucci eyelids and roller blades, naming him "Darth Blader."

With that....I'll see you there.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Roadtrip to LA!

Hello!

I am so excited because I'm heading down to LA tomorrow afternoon!

I'm coming down for the Cult show, which opens THIS TUESDAY!! There's no way I could miss this show and I'm so happy to see everyone back in LA. I haven't been down there since April for the 8-Bit show, so it's been a few months. It's really hard being away from the LA gallery and all the familiar faces. Sob. But Alex will be watching the SF store, so stop by and say hello. He's the newest member of the 1988 team!

So, hopefully I'll see you all at the show on Tuesday! Pete Gronquist is driving down from the Bay Area too! (I've heard rumors that he's bringing a life-size Darth Vader with him.) Hanging out with Pete Gronquist is reason enough to come to this show.



So come hang out with me and Pete and see some AMAZING artwork! Seriously, the work I've seen so far is incredible.

Crazy 4 Cult
Tuesday, July 17th, 7-11PM
Gallery1988
7020 Melrose Avenue (at La Brea)
Los Angeles, CA 90038
www.gallery1988.com


If you can't make it to LA for the Cult show because you live in the Bay area, there's a show in SF next week that you should definitely check out. The show features the work of our good friend, Dave Crosland...



It should be a great show, so definitely stop by!

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

Dick Clark's Ball Does It

We're in a countdown, folks. The weekend is here, marking a very fast approaching CRAZY 4 CULT show opening Tuesday night. We were mentioned in Variety today (as well as Campus Circle), so the press is building. But Variety? That's gotta be a first for an art show, right? Oh, I got this picture from the Film Freak the other day, which also will somewhat reveal the final piece from Jeff McMillan, which you see a rough draft of on the shows' postcard. It's Leo the Film Freak, Scott Mosier, Me and Kevin:



That piece is totally incredible. It has to be seen to be believed. And you'll see it soon.

Besides that, I'm more stressed that an Armenian man making an arm waxing appointment. For the record, I'm allowed to say that as I am half Armenian (but full hairy). The work is being dropped off as I write this, and each one is more impressive. Some obscure movies represented? How about Better Off Dead? Yup. TWO DOLLARS.

Don't miss this show.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Big Bright Eyes

Anyone care that my life is coming to an end? Planning for this cult show has been a bit insane. Especially as it leaked somewhere about our limited to 25 Big Lebowski Circus Punks by Reuben Rude and our friends at CP. They are INSANE! Between that and last minute planning, my neurotic tendencies really hurt. BUT...we did post the Greg Simkins Edward Scissorhands piece today on some message boards, so the least I can do is blog it here, right?



Unreal. Such a GOOD PAINTER. It hurts. Yes, we will be making prints of this piece, and although very limited, we will be opening a new website on July 20th that will deal with prints like this one and let you in on new releases of highly wanted shit. Stay tuned, but we aren't making them available until after the show opens and to only those in the "know," so stay updated on the blog or watch for the Simkins bat signal.

One more Kevin Smith webcast scene, this plugging away right off the bat, then getting into his feelings on Dream a Little Dream (the Coreys movie) and comic book films.



Talk to you soon. I'll be the one not sleeping. And crying. And puking. Scared of a 2,000 person turnout.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Central Webcasting

Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in all their glory getting down for CRAZY 4 CULT. A few webcast clips below and I'll selfishly highlight the parts about us for the ADD inflicted.

Clip 1 - Hear Kevin say he may have liked "Step Up" because he took a great dump before he saw it, then see some art show love around 8 minutes. They say some super nice shit around 11 and 13 minutes that may have to become my answering machine. Jen Rarey, Misha, Jeff McMillan, Mahfood all get checked - so let's assume they're smiling.



Clip 2 - Kevin calls Jeff McMillan's piece the "Mona Lisa of Geek Art" to kick it off. He hints that one cult director with the initials "Q.T." might be at the opening at 3:30, Kevin promotes the Simpsons x Vans series (just cause he likes cool shit, not because he's paid to do it) at 4:30, a caller promotes the gallery with confusion at about 10 minutes, Kevin makes me jealous by admitting he owns a Haring at 11:00 and then blows my mind by saying he has a 12 foot commission from Gottfried Helnwein of his kid's face.



This one's gonna be a lot of fun. Remember - July 17th!

Jensen
G1988: LA

The Radio Star Is Back From The Dead

Kathie Olivas "Veruca Salt" acrylic on canvas (inspired by Willy Wonka)

So there's our first peak into the CRAZY 4 CULT show with Kathie Olivas and her Golden Goose conquering spoiled brat from the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka. And YES, they are ALL this good.

Speaking of CRAZY 4 CULT - on Saturday night, July 7th, at 7 PM on 97.1 Free FM Talk, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier will be promoting the Cult exhibit on the Leo Quinones "Film Freak" show. Those in LA can tune in with their radios, while those who wanna listen on the web can tune into 971freefm.com, where there will also be a LIVE WEBCAST in order to see Kevin's shorts while he's talking. Make sure to tune in, as rarely do LA art shows get promoted on CBS radio stations. This will also be filmed by the REELZ channel for a later broadcast, so do your hair nice.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Who Needs A Kwik-E-Mart? I DOOOOO!

I think we're the only people in LA this busy the day before July 4th. We haven't stopped all day. Insane. First up...



There's the INCREDIBLE Crazy 4 Cult movie poster done by Chris Lee. These things will be $15, and available at the opening reception, and every day after that at our website. Good signing material for Chris Lee, Kevin Smith, and maybe some other directors rumored to be appearing (one might force a very scary bunny to follow you everywhere until you vandalize your high school though, so watch out there).

BUT THE COOL THING IS....we're also having a contest with this print, where if you can name ALL the cult movie references in the poster, and we pick your name out of a hat, you'll get a FREE Chris Lee poster (with all the best signatures on it) and ARTIST PROOFS of two prints we're working on for Crazy 4 Cult, Greg Simkins and Matt Dangler. Both two pieces that CAN NOT BE missed. Email your attempts to gallery1988@aol.com. Prizes to be distributed by August 31.

Yesterday, on my day off, I made my way over to the 7-11 on Venice to see the transformation (excuse the Summer movie pun, as I also saw that movie last night and didn't hate it) into the Simpson's Kwik-E-Mart. Seems that for a dozen 7-11s around the globe, they turned the convenience store into the one seen in Springfield. I'm an uber fan of the show, so I figured why not let you guys in on the fun. here are my photos:



Outside it was way busier than you'd think and it looked more like the cartoon than I figured too. Bart and Millhouse up top, sitting, drinking a slushie, with Millhouse complaining about his divorced parents and his glasses. I guess we see why he's my fav.





HEY EVERYBODY, TEMPORARY TATTOOS!!! A woman from the PR company put it on me.





People getting interviewed to be chopped into small segments at odd angles with Mike Jones being played softly in the background.













Yup, they had Buzz Cola and Krusty-O's and other products like Slushies from the show.







Well, that's enough nerdom for the day. I don't think I can type anymore as I thought today was supposed to be slow, and it isn't. ARGH. Here's to a more witty posting next time.

Jensen
G1988: LA