last night, i had an opportunity to preview the debut solo exhibit of mr. brainwash, held in hollywood at the former cbs production studios.
the highly derivative, self-deprecating work consists of sculptures, paintings, frescoes, silkscreens and set constructions, but it should really be seen as single, very expansive installation piece. truly impressive, by virtue of its sheer volume, the skillful mimicry on display, with its sly sense of humour, is also noteworthy.
the work could be described as a three-dimensional universe that is populated with easily recognized icons of pop art that have been remixed, recycled and recreated through the mischievous eyes of a street artist, as if one has opened up an art history volume only to discover that it has been given a very playful and thorough once-over by the designers of the video game grand theft auto.
there’s a large set construction that quickly brings edward hopper’s painting, nighthawks, to mind (and perhaps unintentionally, the photography of miriam backström) yet the exterior walls have been spray painted with graffiti, the chairs inside have been turned over and the space has been resolutely converted into a wasteland. a paint-splattered police squad car is parked outside, emergency lights flashing. the scene presents itself as an abandoned urban space, riffing on a collection of dystopian views of the american city that in the late hours of night would be populated by skateboarders, street thugs, and vaguely sinister comic book characters.
mr. brainwash, also known as mbw (and also known as thierry guetta), casts a wide net in his romp through the catalog of pop art icons. here’s your reference to rauschenberg, here’s your warhol, your rosenquist, here’s the signature work by robert indiana, replacing the word LOVE with PUNK.
he makes his weapon of choice very clear: beyond the barely opened door to a vault, one spies a golden arsenal of cans of spray paint, safely stacked behind the security bars, their numbers (and potential to wreak havoc) seem to stretch onwards to infinity.
but the make-over treatment does not stop with pop art, mr. brainwash stomps through the fields of dutch masters, reworking pastoral landscapes into garbage-strewn, graffiti-ridden playgrounds, though it may be lost on some americans that many rural roads in europe actually look like this – that is, these days an ancient mill seen at the terminus of a cobblestone country lane is likely to be surrounded by the pockmarked walls that are covered with graffiti as depicted in mr. brainwash’s re-interpretation.
portraiture from the dutch golden age and the italian renaissance have also been reworked. among others, batman, hannibal lecter and run dmc make appearances in paintings, while mr. brainwash adds a can of spray paint or a table tennis paddle to riffs on the renaissance.
looking years ahead to a day when one will reflect upon this outburst of productivity, one wonders if the work will remain relevant.
surely, the set pieces, making their debuts in the city known for its false fronts, offers an interesting commentary on the cultural values of make-believe and the hollywood treatment, questioning its displaced nostalgia not only for the original work that it references but also for the hollywood/america that likely never existed.
but what about the very topical references to the tabloid stars and political figures of the day (ranging from, among others, britney spears to barack obama, hillary clinton, john mccain)? will they age gracefully? already given a mocking reception (by virtue of the warhol/banksy filter that references works to queen elizabeth and elizabeth taylor, not to mention marilyn monroe), they were likely never intended to be received with dignity, and one suspects that, after the hype, banter and inflated sales, these particular works will fade into the darkened abyss of forgotten cliché.
perhaps the most interesting pieces are those sculptural works that use books as their central motif. the library and book repository have been transformed into piles of literary garbage. a mountain is made out of cast-away thrift store books, with an apple laptop standing triumphantly on its peak. in another work, the books have been repurposed so that they form the walls of a room. they don’t sit on shelves, orderly lining the walls of the room, they are the walls, chaotically fastened, stuffed, or smashed into place, pages splayed open in some cases, and in other places their spines have been battered and bent, suggesting that the books themselves are useful only as a physical object. their contents are no longer needed and therefore their inherent knowledge and wisdom is likely lost in its transformed environment.
as for the origins of mr. brainwash, some say that the driving force behind this work is the notorious banksy. certainly, there’s a lot of similarity between the two – and if it turns out to be bansky, then good for him: he has created another spectacle. if not, then the mysteriously roguish (though carefully constructed) persona of mr. brainwash owes him a huge debt.
links:
life is beautiful at art show 2008.
– © christian svanes kolding
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