We Keep Rolling

Here's a video taken by Kurt over at 5280 Lasers, that chronicles the night before the show opened. Cool in a sense that you see all the artwork without the back of people's heads, bad because it's before we leveled everything. So get ready to tilt your head a little, like when I ask my dog if he just pooped somewhere in the house.


Untitled from fiddytwoeightylasers on Vimeo.

And here's an article on the show that ran in Campus Circle...



I wasn't sure if you could read the text...so here's the copy (as they say on Mad Men)...

LAST YEAR’S CRAZY 4 CULT EXHIBITION INCLUDED ICONS OF Darth Vader, Napoleon Dynamite, Howard the Duck, Spinal Tap, Office Space, Clerks, Pee-wee Herman and Chunk. “You know these dudes, right? ’Cause if not, I will loan you my Blockbuster card and punch you in the face at the same time,”says Gallery 1988’s Web site of thecharacters in the sequel to last summer’s most enjoyable show, appearing in Crazy 4 Cult 2: This Time, It’s Personal. Hosted again by cult connoisseur himself, Kevin Smith, and his producing partner Scott Mosier, Cult invited over 50 artists to cast their unique eye on classic cult cinema. Why should you have to rely on overpriced Hot Topic Tshirts to showcase your love of The Goonies? Instead of pierced emo sales clerks who always seem to be talking to some guy with a shaved head when you’re trying to buy your cousin a Fall Out Boy shirt, wouldn’t you rather have your money go to Shepard Fairey (he of Obey/the ubiquitous Obama poster), Andrew Wilson or Luke Chueh? While originals go for hundreds and thousands of dollars, limited edition posters start at $20 and are a unique way to show your love of Back to the Future without that reprinted, torn-at-the-edges movie one-sheet you’ve been carrying around since freshman year of college. L.A. artist 2cents did a series of seemingly spray-painted screen prints of Milton, Alex, Doc,Willy, Jesus and Silent Bob. If you don’t know who they are, yes, you should be punched in the face – but save yourself future embarrassment (you’re right to be embarrassed) and inoculate yourself beforehand by seeing what will undoubtedly be the sleeper hit of the summer (sorry [insert whatever horror film is coming out this week]).
Gallery 1988 is located at 7020 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. For more information, call (323) 937-7088.

Also, we weren't able to formally announce the new giclee prints we released at the Crazy 4 Cult opening reception, so I figured now might be the time, since most are really close to selling out.

First up, Misha's "My Protector"...



Here's a pic of Misha signing these Natalie tributes.....



Only $60 (!), these 8 x 10 inches giclee prints on archival paper are pretty darn sweet. Each hand signed and numbered, it's an edition of 50 that we're already running low on.

And next up...the one you probably already know about...Luke's Donnie Darko print....



$100, 11 x 14 inches, each hand signed and numbered, edition of 100. Or you could be an idiot and pay the $300 people are asking on eBay even though we aren't even sold out of them at $100. OH, nevermind, pay those eBay prices, cause we're SOLD OUT now.

And then we got Scott Schedily's "Prophecy of Frank"....



These are $80, 11 x 14 inches, hand signed and numbered and in an edition of 50. These are AWESOME, they look so good in person.

And lastly....Reuben Rude's tribute to Jay & Silent Bob...



$100 each, hand pulled screen prints, hand signed and numbered, 16 x 20 inches, edition of 50. Get these while they are hot, Snooch.

Anyway, now you're all caught up. I wish we were.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Bogged

I still can't get any time to do a serious info-packed blog post as Crazy 4 Cult is as just as busy a few days in as we were at the opening. So all the good, really deep, Kite-Runner-ish writing will have to wait for another day. Till then, pics and press.



Last year G4 won a Webby for their coverage of Crazy 4 Cult, this year they won my heart. That opening shot of Blair being absolutely attacked by people around her is how I felt all night. I'm happy someone caught the chaos of being near the register. Brandon Bird should get his own show on G4. No better time than now to announce that the Birdman will have his first ever solo show at 1988: LA next year. Here's to hoping he is working on it right now.

CLICK HERE FOR Variety's coverage of hanging out at the gallery before the show opened.

Some pics from our friend, the watermarked Wire Image...





I mean, that looks like a can of sardines.



And another can.



Kevin and Scott.



The Mosier.



Pete Wentz swung by and made me smile for cameras like an idiot....



...then wore PlasticGod's sunglasses and stole my shitty smile.



And Kevin alone.

I wish I could get more creative right now with the blog, but after these busy days I just get too tired to go to in depth. I will though, especially with some prints on the horizon that will make you freak out.

Jensen
G1988: LA

2009 will be a banner year.

Gotten a lot of emails wondering what "announcement" we made for our 2009 "Crazy 4 Cult 3-D" art show, so I figured I'd just leak the banner we placed really, really high in the gallery that we planned on most missing.



We're not joking.

Jensen
G1988: LA

You need ART to spell party.

We're still fending off an average of 50 customers in the gallery at a time today and actually made a Saturday record with 78 people in the gallery at one time. Michael Rappaport even brought in his kid's whole basketball team. So, not much time for serious blogging sessions, but our friends over at OldManMusings.com posted some pics, and we're happy to steal some. Make sure to CLICK HERE to see more of the pics over at Old Man Musings for yourself.



Crowd shot. You can see our sweet little announcement for the 2009 show up above the window.



Desk Shot. Working hard as LL Cool J on Unplugged, but with a Monster Factory Walter right in front of me.



G4 Genius (of all things including MMA!) Blair Butler and PlasticGod.



Stand By Me and Star Trek star, and one of the subjects of Dave MacDowell's piece "Stand By Snooch," Wil Wheaton poses near the sold painting. Wil was an incredibly nice dude. Hoping to see more of him around 1988.



Mr. Brandon Bird near his sold piece.



Misha near her sold piece. With Blair.



Danielle Rizzolo x VIMBY (cough, sold piece, cough)



Kirk Demaris's first gallery pieces ever = SUCCESS! (you get it)



Who better to celebrate with then Mr. Toast, Dan Goodsell.



Worst/Best/Worst Best picture of Andrew Wilson near his Craz y 4 Cult poster. Sorry, dude.

Anyway, that's all I got in me. I'm on 4 hours sleep for 2 days. Remember, Crazy4Cult.com has everything now, including all the artwork and prints and posters, some available with just a click from PayPal.

Jensen
G1988: LA

The Gist

Listen, I'm dead tired. We had a 2 block line that reached a movie theatre that when I usually pass when walking from the gallery I feel is a long way away. And the line was THAT long for the entire night. Totally crazy. Some insane cult celebs appeared and we announced our special guest for next year, 2009's Crazy 4 Cult 3-D. I'm betting most people didn't even see the banner above the windows on their way out. Weird, huh? More on that later. Tons of stuff sold, people are really loving it - and I think everyone agrees - this is our best show ever.

Anyway....we're live now. Meaning, buy posters and prints at stuff88.com and check out the artwork at Crazy4Cult.com. You can buy from all that. At least what others haven't forced a SOLD tag on.

Ok, that's enough.

Jensen
G1988: LA

How do you put 150 pieces in an art gallery?



Build it and they will come.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Wait, what?

I usually don't blog this early (It's past noon somewhere in the world, right?), but I couldn't resist this one.

I got to the gallery early today to work on some Cult stuff, and heard a knock at the locked back door. Thinking it would be our Fed Ex or UPS guy, I jumped up to answer it, only to notice it was a homeless man screaming at the top of his lung (not a joke). He looked like a run down version of Larry, the upstairs neighbor on Three's Company, which sounds comforting, but trust me, it is not. I obviously didn't open the door, telling him we were closed, trying to get a word in as he screamed and yelled words like "movement" and "transition" - without making any sense at all. Point is, after about a minute and half, he stopped, slid a piece of paper under the door and quietly walked away. And here's the pamphlet...





It's something from "Citizens For Our Betterment" (?) which is totally freaking insane. And inside makes even less sense. Anyway, be on the lookout cause homeless dudes have serious paperwork with them today. I think he took the Crazy 4 "Cult" thing the wrong way, maybe?

Jensen
G1988: LA

Admired From Afar Galaxy

In what has to be one of the coolest things ever, it seems David Macdowell's piece for Crazy 4 Cult II was not only mentioned on the blog of one star that's depicted in the painting (Kevin Smith), but now it has caught the attention of Stand By Me, and Star Trek, star Wil Wheaton. CLICK HERE to read his entry on the painting below.



Next up? Does Jerry O' Connell have a blog? Let's keep this thing going.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Fastest Animal

Almost there! Basically half the show is hung, and we're gearing up for Friday's opening gala for Crazy 4 Cult 2: This Time It's Personal with every hand on deck. I feel like I may have said this once before for the Stan Lee show, so my credibility might be up there with those John Edwards VP hopes, but I do genuinely think this is the best show we've ever had in LA. The work is just so good, every box I open sets a brand new standard. I mean, we're building a temporary wall in the gallery to house this much work! And this is why we cherish our themed group shows at 1988 so much. Other similar shows are great events or parties, but we really feel like we create an art show over everything else. And this Crazy 4 Cult will prove it. Hands down, thumbs up. Oh, don't believe me? Then feast your eyes on the funniest painting I have ever seen.



Brandon Bird's "I Am Night" which references Philip Seymour Hoffman's turn as a male nurse in the underrated PTA nod to the San Fernando Valley, "Magnolia." And yes, this kid is wearing one of those cheap Thirfty Drug Store Halloween costumes to be Mr. Hoffman, as if they made those. I am actually laughing right now.

Oh, so I did a podcast to promote the show with 1988 friends Gariana and Grae (www.popcornmafia.com) and you can listen to it by CLICKING HERE. I think it's funny, but I also have serious cinematic beliefs (which you'll hear now) and made a lot of jokes about young actresses (yes, that young. And yes, I'm joking).

And speaking of talking, our Lord and Savior Kevin Smith will be on Kevin and Bean (which I call Kevin, Bean & Ralph Garmen due to my love for that man) on KROQ Friday morning at 7:20 AM. The fact that Kevin is waking up at 7:20 to promote the show on a day he knows he'll be shooting the shit till late here at the gallery shows you want kind of guy he his, and the love he has for the art. Anyway, please listen cause I know he'll make you laugh way more than my podcast appearance.

Jensen
G1988: LA

This show might be overboxed.

Hey Mr. Trash Man, that's a lot of box.

Crazy 4 Cult install 2008.

CLICK HERE for your last super sneak peek from our friends at SlashFilm.com.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Monster Blog Post

This is the most pics I've ever put in one blog post, but I'm in a great mood today because our Paper Pushers show was awesome last night and I want to share the pics with you...


First off, Gene Guynn did an amazing job selling five of his eight pieces in the show! Gene is one of our amazing interns here at 1988SF and his work got quite a bit of attention last night! Very exciting! Matt Dangler also has an insane piece in the show, which is to the left of Gene's work. Kinda blurry, but you can see a much better pic on the Available Artwork page HERE - http://paperpushers1988.blogspot.com/








Irma Rivera also works here at the SF gallery. I have to say, we work with some really talented artists! There is so much detail in her pieces (middle of the above image), you can tell she spent a lot of time on these and they're only $350.00! Incredible!










And last, but def not least for the 1988 gang, here's Cory Benhatzel's work in the above image. She made these really sweet framed pieces and hand painted each frame to match! "Owl Music Box" is my favorite! Again, blurry pic, but you can see a much better one on our website.














We use photobucket for uploading the show artwork to the web and unfortunately they don't like adult-ish images. So, I wanted to show you the uncensored image of Rude's "Lolitas." This is what the piece really looks like...



And lastly, because I'm in a good mood today I wanted to show you one of the new prints we're working on. I'm especially excited because we just printed the first one and they look SO GOOD!




See you all in LA for Cult this Friday!

Katie
G1988 San Francisco

Poo Pretzels

Katie is knee deep in an SF Paper Pushers opening as I type this, and I'm supposed to be on a "vacation," but still had to fill you in on two things...

CLICK HERE TO SEE SILENT BOB SPEAK AND GIVE YOU A FEW MORE SNEAK PEEKS at CFC2.

And tune into NBC Saturday morning for LXTV: 1st Look LA" at 7:30 AM (OK...then just TiVo it) and again at 1:00 AM after SNL for a nice little story on the upcoming CFC2.

Cut!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Launchers

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW STUFF88.COM!

Now buy 1988 products with just the PayPal click of a button. And to celebrate, we put up a limited number of the Angry Woebots shirt/print combos for the first time via the Internet(s), so go over now. That's where we'll be selling the Scott Campbell, Andrew Wilson and 2cents Crazy 4 Cult posters on August 23rd, so get used to it.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Chicken Dinner

Gallery 1988 is proud to announce the winner of the Aint It Cool/G1988 contest for Crazy 4 Cult.....and it's.....



Charles Cochran's ode to Clockwork Orange, "Singin' In The Rain." The Florida artist will not only get a sweet CFC2 prize package, but we're hoping you'll see his piece, and be able to buy an edition of his piece, at the show opening on the 22nd.

Congratulations Charles and to all our contestants, who we've listed below. You can reference the numbers with the pieces below, as the contest finalists are still here on the blog's front page (these are not in an judged order, just the random order seen below).

#1 - Ezra Haidet
#2 - Marcus Parcus
#3 - Yukinao Takashima
#4 - Emma Overman
#5 - Apricot Mantle
#6 - Marcus Parcus (our only double finalist, and he's former winner of another 1988 contest last year!)
#7 - Ben Becker
#8 - Tony Caruso
#9 - Maurice Mechan
#10 - Our winner, Charles Cochran
#11 - Donald Smith

THANKS again everyone and congrats Charles! Now everyone start working on that Andrew Wilson poster contest!

Jensen
G1988: LA

Pushers Installation

We're about 1/2 way done installing the new Paper Pushers show. This is total insanity. We'll have just about 200 pieces for sale!





Back to work!

Katie
G1988 SF

Last, but not least....

And the last artist announced for this year's Crazy 4 Cult...



Shepard Fairey.

I think that's all for now.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Game Over

One of the coolest installations in our gallery's history from LA artist 2cents was created today for the Crazy 4 Cult 2 show...











It gets no better.

And for those who are working endlessly on naming all of the cult characters in Andrew Wilson's poster...you can put away the magnifying glass (at least the real one), as Andrew and pals have created an amazing website (and virtual magnifying glass) that allows you to get up close and personal with each icon. And use the key glass on the right side to see the corresponding number of each as well, helping you out one by one. YOU CAN SEE THIS SITE BY CLICKING HERE. Good job, guys!

Not enough cool shit? Well, then feast your eyes on the very first Cable Guy inspired piece by Ken Garduno.



OK, that's just too much.

Drive by the gallery and check out the outside installation! So you know, we won't be following normal gallery hours starting Tuesday and going right up to the opening on the 22nd, so make sure to call before you come down, or go ahead and just email us with any orders, questions or concerns. And if you're an artist dropping off or shipping work, don't worry - that's all worked out, so just come on down or put those stamps on your shipment. It's all good.

Jensen
G1988: LA

No O.J., No Straw

And there it is. Scott Campbell's 2008 Crazy 4 Cult poster. So awesome. It really is so smart and insane. All of these cult icons, chilling in the tree. My personal favorite section is Kurt Russell from Big Trouble, Little China talking to Kurt Russell from Escape From NY. Or Pee-Wee on his bike hanging with ET in his bike. Or Sloth and Chunk sharing a pizza slice with Spiccoli. Or Edward Scissorhands comparing knives with Freddy Kreuger. I see something new everytime. Anyway, this poster will first be available for only $20 at Crazy 4 Cult 2's opening reception August 22nd from 7-11 PM, then available by phone or email order starting the next day! Good pairing with the Andrew Wilson poster in frames next to each other? CHECK. And for those with a little more in their wallet, we will have the original painting of this for sale at the show as well - and some new showdowns as a sequel to last year's tremendously successful series.

details...







And in non-related 90's hip-hop event news, tomorrow, Saturday August 9th, at Golden Apple Comics next door to us here in LA, Wu-Tang Clan's Johnny Blaze himself (or the Jamaican drug dealer from "The Wackness" for those who didn't throw up their W's years earlier), Method Man will be signing his new comic book at noon. Always a stand-out from my favorite rap group of all-time (I consider "Enter the 36 Chambers" to be the best rap album ever for the record), I'm excited to meet the dude. They'll have a limited t-shirt for sale too, so swing on by and Bring the Pain. Oh, here's the video so we can debate what the hell he did to his eye to make it look like that....



Oh, and did you see the the Gremlins and the Ewok dancing together? This poster rules.

Jensen
G1988: LA

New Contest Ya'll

Those on our mailing list may have seen this announcement already, but now the contest is about to go full swing. Andrew Wilson's cult poster is causing quite a stir, as it should, it's freaking amazing. Besides being available for only $35 starting August 22 at 7 PM, e also are having a contest where if you can name every character name depicted in the piece, you win not only the actual print signed by Andrew Wilson and some surprise guests, but you also get a ton of other Crazy 4 Cult prints and merch too! It's a full fledged contest, like we did last year with Chris Lee's Cult poster. Here is the poster, and it's blank numbered counterpart.





So, just match the character's name from the cult movie with the corresponding number and send it over to our email address, gallery1988@aol.com by August 28 and we'll select one winner to take home an awesome prize package. Now, I know these are a little small to do your thang, but we've posted larger, clickable versions on www.crazy4cult.com now, so use those as your points of reference. Good luck to all, you'll need it. 130?????

Jensen
G1988: LA

Test the Contest

So a few months back we announced a contest with our friends at AintItCool.com where artists could send in their Crazy 4 Cult cult movie-themed submissions tot he gallery, and a winner would be chosen to have their piece included in the actual show, as well win a prize package of signed prints and posters. Well the deadline to turn in pieces for that contest have come and gone, and we've narrowed it down to 11 finalists. There is a panel of esteemed judges now affixing points to each piece, from their favorite to their....less favorite than the one before it, but I figured why not let the blog in on the process. If you want, leave a comment or send in an email with your opinions (we gave each piece a number, leaving off the artists' names for now leveling the playing field) and we'll incorporate it into our scoring process in some way. Be nice, cause mean comments get denied like The Jonas Brothers trying to buy Rolling Rocks.

#1 - Todd Browning's Freaks


#2 - Eraserhead


#3 - West World (GREAT movie, rent it if you haven't seen it)


#4 - Todd Browning's Freaks


#5 - Ju-On


#6 - El Topo


#7 - Attack of the Killer Tomatoes


#8 - Porky's


#9 - The Japanese Horror Genre


#10 - Clockwork Orange


#11 - The Warriors/Trainspotting


There ya go. Thanks to everyone who submitted work for the contest and good luck to our finalists.

Also, speaking, we will officially open our Andrew Wilson cult poster contest tomorrow...so get your thinking caps ready. And for those who have already read about the contest from our email, we'll be posting larger poster pictures for you to work with on crazy4cult.com in the next day or so.

Jensen
G1988: LA

Paper Preview

"Paper Pushers 2008" is right around the corner and we're starting to get the artwork in. There is so much amazing work in this show! Here are just a few previews...


Laura Laine



Jonathan Bergeron



Lani Imre



Dan Goodsell



Handiedan



Rude



Melissa Haslam


There's a lot more work coming, so get excited! The show is all works on paper, so there are some GREAT pieces at very affordable prices!

More previews for the blog readers coming soon...

Katie
G1988 SF

It was cool...

Today is the last day of our AintItCool.com contest, where you can send in your cult-movie inspired submissions, and a group of judges (we're still trying to get Judge Dredd involved) will select one winner to be included in the actual Crazy 4 Cult 2 show, as well as get a nice prize package of goodies. So if you've been waiting to send in your submission, make sure to get it in today. We've gotten almost 100 entries, so this is gonna be a fun one to narrow down. We'll be posting the finalists next week, and we'd love to hear your opinions.

In the meanwhile....they're coming...



Jensen
G1988: LA

Poster Postings

It takes a lot for me to geek out. I'm not easily impressed in other words. But Crazy 4 Cult is the one show a year where every entry just makes me wanna scream in joy. Like when Kathie Olivas posted this genius teaser on message boards depicting the creepy twins from The Shining -



INSANELY GOOD. And now I'm geeked out. Just like that. Maybe it is easier than I thought.

But the one thing I can say I've been geeked out on since the idea was tossed around is Andrew Wilson's Crazy 4 Cult 2 poster. Andrew is a 1988 frequent contributer, and artist at Rockstar Games San Diego, who put in over 130 man hours to create this beauty, which puts hundreds of cult icons, done in his classic Post It Pets, in a line waiting to enter the highly anticipated art show. This is so cool, I'm not even sure the blog can do it justice. It's 39 1/2 x 12 inches and amazing. And only $35! A steal. And these will first be available at Crazy 4 Cult 2 on August 22nd. Here is a large pic, and some details...









SO PERFECT. The detail is bonkers. You can even see last year's cult poster hanging in there. And yes, we will be doing a contest to see who can name all of the references...

You HAVE TO pick one of these up.

Jensen
G1988: LA