RSS
Home
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda rocks Little Tokyo with new art exhibit at the JANM
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Glorious Excess opening night. Liane Shih
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda rocked my world last night. With his new art exhibit Glorious Excess (Dies), that is. Not having seen the first exhibit Glorious Excess (Born) that was part 1 of this two part installment, I wasn't really expecting a lot. But, was I impressed. The boy's got skills.
The line to get into the museum snaked all the way around the front stairs of the museum and curved back to the street, everyone anxious and hoping to catch a glimpse of the vocalist. Mostly a young crowd, but there were a few other old folks like me.
When I finally was able to get into the museum, the atmosphere inside was energetic and hip, with a DJ playing an eclectic mix of current and old school hip hop and dance. There was an area where you could buy Mike Shinoda designed skate decks for $75, or $275 for a set of four skatedecks, or the "Neuphoria" print from the exhibit for $100. Upstairs, Shinoda was signing in person to a lot of eager fans.
The exhibit, on the first floor, started off with lots of magazine clippings and photos of celebrities and covered the walls, accented with spray paint and paint, transforming into tentacle shapes. Flourescent pink neon lettering on the walls described his theme for the show, though it blinded my eyes somewhat trying to read all the way through. I liked his concept though, which was a continuation of paintings describing a character he portrayed in his first show Glorious Excess (Born). It chronicles the rise and fall of a nameless main character who has climbed to celebrity status and has reaped the rewards of his stardom, indulging in his fame and money to excess. It is a commentary on celebrity status, fame, and how we as consumers are influenced by celebrities and much of our choices are seemingly controlled by whatever it is that is "hot" at the moment according to celebrities.
This second installment shows the demise of said nameless character, showing the aftermath of his death, and Shinoda uses more earthtones in his paintings to describe his death. My favorite group of paintings were the four celebrity paintings done as four seasons--John Lennon as Winter, James Dean as Autumn, Kurt Cobain as Summer, and Andy Warhol as Spring. Beautifully rendered in acrylic paint, but with an amazing sensitivity to line and color, it reminded me of the graphic novel style of illustrator Adrian Tomine. These paintings would make Bob Kato at Art Center proud. (He teaches acrylic painting at Art Center and is the master of acrylic technique.) I also really loved his painting titled "Sketch for Four Seasons" which is also wonderfully painted with oils. Did I mention that Shinoda graduated from Art Center? He's really done our school proud. The exhibit ends with a video documentary showing Shinoda's process of working, where he digitally creates his images first, then uses spray paint, ink, and pencil on top, as well as some clips of him taking a celebrity tour around Los Angeles and talking to a tour bus driver to get her perspective.
I left the exhibit with a newfound respect for Shinoda not just for his music, but for his artistic abilities as well. Storytelling, technique, and great graphic flair all combine in this exhibit to really make a powerful statement. It's got a gritty raw street feel, yet is tempered with his skill at beautiful execution. The silver skeleton in a coffin at the end of the exhibit borders on being a little over-theatrical, but I suppose it goes along with his theme of excess and overindulgence. This exhibit will be up until October 4, 2009. All proceeds from the sale of his art pieces to benefit the Michael K. Shinoda Endowed Scholarship at Art Center. Don't forget to check out his customized 2010 Honda "Icon" Fury, in collaboration with the Japanese American National Museum and Honda, in which he has specially designed the artwork for the motorcycle and it is currently on auction for a lucky bidder until September 5, 2009,
For more articles like this, click here.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
