bump for pictures that flatstock attendees might have missed.
thanks for putting this on, chuck.
awesome that ballard wrote that preview piece. did he show up? i miss that guy.
didn't see him there.
good press dude
thanks! we even got a mention and a few pics from the opening night in this weeks city paper, although the air guitar competition got top billing:
Photos From This Week's Social Scene - Calendar - The Scene - Charleston City Paper - Charleston
got another mention in the charleston city paper in the arts section this week. the gregory and riding mentioned in the article are two artists diplaying abstract nature art at two galleries in town.
an intriguing show asks: art or advertisement?
at the other end of the spectrum there's a poster show at 52.5 records. judging by the art on show there, the artists would gleefully pour gas on the soothing natural surroundings that inspire gregory and riding, then drop a lit match on the grass. decades of art history, graphic design, and pop culture help fuel their fire.
the posters are mostly ads for bands, including the melvins, spoon, and the decemberists. references range from 60's commercial art (standard design, "stereolab") and hernandez-style comics (casey burns, "nomeansno"), to disney movies. in tooth's "birthday suits", bambi humps a nude. the exertion seems to have been too much for the poor deer, since his corpse is on the adjacent poster (john pundt's "deerhoof").
kudos to artist chuck keppler who put up the bulk of the show, had the art shipped to his home, and obviously put a lot of thought into the juxtaposition of the images. the secondhand references may be clear, but that doesn't make the art any less powerful - in fact, the pop homages give them an extra layer of meaning.
combined, the posters have a lot to say about human nature, desire, and destructive impulses, wrangling abstract concepts with familiar imagery. the 52.5 show is at 561 king st., and it will be up until the end of the month.
if no one minds, clay wants to leave the posters up for another week or so. the show's been pretty successful (sales-wise and it's drawing a nice crowd to the store). if anyone needs their posters back pronto, send me an email or PM me and i'll get them into the mail for you.