Last Minute Preview – “Is This Thing On? 2: The Weird Year”

March 9, 2012 in art, Comedy, Movies / Television

Tom Haubrick - "Richard | "Rodney" (ink & wash on paper )

Today is the the day that it all goes down.  For the second year in a row, Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles will host it’s much anticipated group exhibit titled “Is This Thing On?” and the opening is tonight (March 9th) from 7 – 10pm.  This year’s show is being deemed “The Weird Year” both for the fact that MC-ing duties will fall on the shoulder of host,”Weird AlYankovic and because the gallery will also be showcasing a 9-print set of pieces chronicling highlights throughout the famous parodists career.  100 artists in total will be creating depictions of their favorite comedians and it’s likely that at least a few of them will be in attendance (Artists, definitely. Comedians? Quite possibly).  Last year Zach Galifianakis sent a letter to artist, Mike Mitchell and personally thanked him for the piece that he created of him, while also apologizing for his face.  The show is being co-presented by Funny Or Die. Read the rest of this entry →

Entire Weird Al Yankovic Career Retrospective Screenprint set for “Is This Thing On? 2”

March 7, 2012 in art, Comedy, Music

This Friday marks the second annual “Is This Thing On?” exhibit in Los Angeles, which features 100 of the top contemporary artists in the game depicting their favorite comedians through their respective mediums.  Last year’s show yielded some impressive results and this year shouldn’t prove any different.  Never satisfied with hosting a simple art show, the folks over at Gallery 1988 have arranged for “Weird AlYankovic himself to MC/host the opening for the exhibit, which has a full title of “Is This Thing On? 2: The Weird Year” and is co-presented by those zany jokers over at Funny Or Die.  Along with his hosting duties, Yankovic will also be honored with a 9-print set chronicling his career and featuring contributions from a few folks that you may even recognize as artists that we’ve featured on the site over the years.

The opening takes place this Friday March 9th from 7 – 10pm and, as the date approaches, we’ve continued to wait patiently to get glimpses at more and more of the art.  Our accompanying post about the show features our first set of preview images and can be viewed HERE.  As far as the Weird Al pieces, however, we’ve finally got them all available for viewing below.  Along with the images, the following statement was siphoned from the Gallery 1988 blog, which is now delivered via their new tumblr account. Read the rest of this entry →

[PREVIEW] “IS THIS THING ON? 2: The Weird Year” Presented by Gallery 1988 & Funny Or Die

March 7, 2012 in art, Comedy

When the owners of Los AngelesGallery 1988 decided to expand by opening a second location in the Venice Beach area, it wasn’t simply a sound corporate venture.  Another space was, more or less, becoming a necessity.  When the original Melrose location opened back in 2004, the idea of an art gallery that focused heavily of themes that were deeply rooted in popular culture might have seemed like a lofty and unrealistic business model for most people.  Even for those of us who couldn’t help but be instantly drawn to support and embrace such a concept, the longevity of an endeavor as untested and daring as that could still sound questionable.  How many different themes can really be pulled off month after month?  How many dead clydesdales were gonna get their ribs cracked under the force of a Vibram sole or have their skulls shattered with a blackjack?  It should have only been a matter of time before powdered milk dust and air were the only thing left to be squeezed from that pop-art udder, right?  Well, 8 years later, founders, Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp are not only proving any doubters wrong by going stronger than ever, while staying continuously innovative and forward thinking, they’ve also helped to inspire endless other galleries to follow suit by showcasing similar works/artist.

The gallery’s breakout group exhibit Crazy 4 Cult -cohosted annually by director, Kevin Smith- has already run through 5 different installments, with the first 4 being documented with it’s own hardcover book.  While G1988 is equally as passionate about showcasing select highly-level talent, by hosting solo exhibits, and curating incredible one-off exhibits (see our Wet Hot American Summer tribute show coverage HERE), some specific themed group exhibits have been so popular and effective that they demand revisiting.  With each calendar year limited to only 12 months and so many great concepts vying for focus, the new gallery -running separate exhibits simultaneously-  helps to sustains that balance between hosting solos art shows and new experimental group exhibits, while more and more shows claim their spot as annual events.  Whether it is because enough artists want to take a swing at an exhibit that they missed out on, due to reception being so overwhelming, or simply that there is just simply more that could be said, one thing is for sure, the general consensus is that shows like the video game-themed “Multiplayer” exhibit just weren’t over yet and needed to come back for another year.  One such show titled, “Is This Thing On? 2” features 100 different artists depicting some of their favorite comedians and, while the previous show may have been undeniably impressive, this year looks as if it will actually outdo the festivities of last year’s debut. Read the rest of this entry →

Pledge to see TIM & ERIC’$ BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE Un-”Rango’ed” on Youtube or On Demand

January 28, 2012 in Comedy, Movies / Television, The Web, With Video

We here at Monster Fresh are huge fans of the comedy team of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.  These days, the duo is most widely acknowledged for their sketch comedy program Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! that airs on the Cartoon Network‘s late night programming block Adult Swim and features jarring quick-cut editing, flashes of Pokemon-seizure-level anxiety, and public access/early ’80s instructional video aesthetics.

Prior to the Awesome Show, Tim and Eric starred-in/created Tom Goes to the Mayor, another Adult Swim program that, unlike it’s follow-up, was primarily animated and much more story-based.  The limited animation style of TGTTM was created from highly expressive (both facially and bodily) still images -processed through photo-shop to resemble photocopies and making for incredibly jumpy transitional movements for the characters- to tell the stories.  The program, which evolved from a web series, had a very specific aesthetic of it’s own, while including random live action clips interspersed throughout it.  When the Awesome Show was created, it adopted some of those same live action characters (ie. married news team, Jan and Wayne Skylar).  It also brought with it some of the many co-stars/cameos that Heidecker and Wareheim had managed to work with on Tom Goes to the Mayor (Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Jeff Goldblum, etc.).  With the shift into the more fragmented approach of the Awesome Show, an altogether new, yet equally distinct, aesthetic was created that came to define the duo.  Eschewing the static imagery and stiff facsimile look of the two-tone TOM for schizophrenic blips and the diced-up scattered imagery of their new program, the live action felt decidedly more “animated” and, for lack of a better word, psychedelic.  It was like laying half-chloroformed in a bin of mixed candy’s while a wall of televisions flipped through clips of Max Headroom, QVC, white noise, Univision, and Sid and Mary Krofft outtakes.  While TGTTM was like a pill high (or, low, rather), The Awesome Show was like floating out of an LSD or Molly trip, while spiking your high back up with OJ, wasabi, and a cocktail of  the shit that gets you crunk, but wasn’t necessarily created for that intended purpose (solvents, dramamine, nitrous, Robitussin).  The strychnine was dirty.  The cinematography often felt like a real life John Kricfalusi cartoon. This was a style that followed Wareheim into directorial work in videos for the likes of MGMT, The Bird and the Bee, Major Lazer, and Depeche Mode, as well as commercials for Old Spice.  They’ve done live tours and even some short films for HBO‘s Funny Or Die presents, but this week the comedy duo is attempting to translate their trademark tomfoolery onto the big screen (or small screen, depending) with a handful of somewhat unorthodox promotional methods. Read the rest of this entry →

No Plan B – MARC MARON Live @ the Neptune [Seattle]

January 16, 2012 in Comedy, Reviews, The Web

Marc Maron
Neptune Theatre
Seattle, WA
11.25.11

So you’re probably thinking, “Jesus Christ, Devon. What the fuck?  This goddamn show was, like, two months ago. What the hell took so long?”  I know.  I understand.  I’m a little upset about it all myself.  But here’s the thing, see… it’s Marc Maron.  I love the guy, I really do, but sometimes he can be a little rough for me.  Not him or his material per se, but the thing is that, when I talk about Marc Maron, or when I think about Marc Maron, I can’t help but think about myself.  I can’t help but think about how I think about myself, how much I do, and why and when.  Once I start getting into self-examination like that, well, it can get a little overwhelming, and it can get a little paralyzing.  But at the end of it all, it’s why I love Marc Maron.  It’s why I’ve listened to all two-hundred forty-something episodes of his podcast.  It’s why I bought all four of his stand-up records, and why I’ve read his book more than once.  It’s why I snagged a ticket to 2010’s Bumbershoot festival, just so that I could see a live taping of his podcast.  It’s all because I know that I should look inside myself – I want to and I feel like I’m ready to- and it’s not something that I was ever compelled to do before I got into this one stand-up comedian. Read the rest of this entry →

PREVIEW: [GALLERY 1988 x ADULT SWIM] Group Art Exhibit (Melrose)

January 13, 2012 in art, Comedy, Movies / Television

GALLERY 1988: MELROSE

“Gallery 1988 x Adult Swim”

Opening Reception: Friday, Jan. 13, 7-10pm

January 13 – February 4, 2011

When it comes to the pop-culture-themed art exhibits, no gallery has proven more consistent or prolific than the Los Angeles area’s Gallery 1988.  Since 2004, G1988 has become one of the foremost destinations to view high quality work from from some of the most talented established and up-and-coming contemporary artists in the game.  With popularity and interest growing for their original space (located on the corner of Melrose and Labrea), founders, Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp, found themselves expanding with a second location in Venice, allowing them to consistently run two separate, but equally impressive, exhibits simultaneously and in different areas of the city.  [The Venice location is currently hosting a solo exhibit by Robert Brandenburg].  Perhaps, best known for their themed group art exhibits -a coffee table book based around their annual Crazy4Cult show was just released, featuring a foreward written by yearly host/filmmaker, Kevin Smith- G1998 has become much more than just an underground forum for underground contemporary artists and the nerd culture to express their affinity for film, video games, and TV; they’ve actually received tremendous feedback, praise, and cooperation from the entertainment personalities and corporations behind the inspirations that they are paying tribute to.  Actors like Paul Rudd have personally purchased artwork, Funny Or Die co-presented the stand-up comedy-inspired IS This Thing On? exhibit that we previewed last year, and the Wet Hot American Summer-themed exhibit not only featured a screening for the cult film’s 10yr anniversary, but was actually presented with a Q&A with writer/director, David Wain.

Tonight’s [Adult Swim]-themed show is slated to set off the new year with one of the greatest exhibits that the gallery has curated/hosted yet.  Officially sponsored by the Cartoon Networks infamous late-night programming block, [GALLERY 1988 x ADULT SWIM] will feature more than 100 contributions from upcoming talent, G1988 regulars, and big name artists whose careers the gallery has often helped to play an integral role in over the years. Read the rest of this entry →