Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Worcester is pronounced “Woosta” in local dialect, yet everyone I met there seemed to be transplants who jokingly aspire to speak that way. There’s not much here on a short visit except historical buildings, associations with Paul Revere, Boston, and the reason I’m there, the Worcester Museum of Art. Their first contact with me was regarding an exhibition. A fellow named Adam Rozan, who’s been part of art establishments including OMCA (he left before SuperAwesome took place) contacted me with powerful enthusiasm. I wondered what could they possibly want with me, and it turns out they have the second largest collection of armor in the US next to New York’s Metropolitan Museum. A samurai show is looming on their horizon, a date set, but the exact concept? In progress. The Worcester Museum of Art is a grand space that’s a city block long. When you think of a museum in a “small” town of 180,000, which is the second largest city in New England after Boston, you wouldn’t think of something that’s akin to a county museum. Instead of focusing on perhaps the majesty of New England, the museum has a world wide focus. Antiquities, foreign objects, statues, rebuilt and relocated buildings, paintings from all eras and from the greatest masters, and more, this building was built in 1898 and has been remodeled and expanded over the years. It’s a serious museum that’s nearly out of place. Perhaps in 1898, Worcester was a metropolitan in the making and had the need to inform the people of the world’s triumphs. Today, it continues on it’s mission with a staff that feels strongly familiar. It’s a challenge to work on a project almost blind and with a staff you don’t know so well. Yet, I’m not sure how it happens, but for some reason, some of my best work comes in conjunction with larger institutions, born out of creative meetings and being on the spot. Sincere ideas jump out, and they’re backed with actual thoughtfulness and confidence. I don’t know where it comes from. Choosing meal plans are more difficult. The day began with a quick look at the exhibition space, which wasn’t so large, but in reality, is more than three GR2 spaces with a higher ceiling. Then we went into the collections department which are shelves of precious items. I saw weaponry including swords, helmets, guns, and armor. We walked in a group and asked questions, listened to explanations, and ended with a viewing of traditional wood block prints by Yoshitoshi. I hope to own one some day. The colors and iconography were beyond belief. We convened for hours, worked through lunch, and into the late afternoon thinking about the space and thematic concepts. Ideas were pondered and broken down, but overall, we came away with the foundation of the exhibition. I can now say that I’m proudly working on a project about samurai at the Worcester Museum of Art. I’ll try to honor the legacy and we’ll see how...
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Giant Robot is proud to present Banana Flats, an exhibition featuring new work by Ako Castuera. Sept 13th – Oct 1st, 2014 at Giant Robot 2 (GR2 Gallery) 2062 Sawtelle Blvd, LA, CA 90025 310.445.9276 There are no Bananas in Banana Flats. “Banana Flats” is an idea for a place where the mind is free. It’s a land of non- geographical dimensions, a twilight zone of creative energy where nature and imagination come into synthesis. It is an environment capable of supporting an abundance of life, impossible for us to witness from Earth except through a portal of artistic expression. Fragile but tenacious, the inhabitants of Banana Flats live all around us, in a state of lively suspension until they are channelled by a sympathetic human who will provide them with a body. The exhibition “Banana Flats” is the first recorded gathering of these bodies, brought into our dimension by the sculptural exertions of artist Ako Castuera. To the average eye, they will look like colorful anthropomorphic sculptures made from a range of clays from locally dug earth to the finest porcelain. Over a time of 9 months Ms. Castuera has provided ceramic bodies to scores of distinct entities from Banana Flats. On Earth, shadows are cast by objects. In Banana Flats it’s the other way around. Our earth shadows project objects into an imaginary world. Our biggest shadows are cast by the abuse humans inflict on each other and on our planet. These shadows crush all kinds of life, making it seem like we are not connected, like we have broken apart and will never come together again. The clay forms from Banana Flats are opposite reactions to the big shadows of Earth. They are small, but in their humble way they have the potential to keep us connected to each other and our humanity. Ako Castuera recently exhibited at the Oakland Museum of California: SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot Opening reception for Banana Flats will take place from 6:30 – 10:00 PM on Saturday, September 13th. Exhibition duration: September 13th – October 1st, 2014 For more information about Ako Castuera, GR2, or anything else: Eric Nakamura / Giant Robot Owner / eric@giantrobot.com
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Giant Robot is proud to present Banana Flats, an exhibition featuring new work by Ako Castuera. Sept 13th - Oct 1st, 2014 at Giant Robot 2 (GR2 Gallery) 2062 Sawtelle Blvd, LA, CA 90025 310.445.9276 There are no Bananas in...
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GR2: 8/23 – 9/10, 2014 – Deth P. Sun and APAK Lost in Light August 23 – September 10th, 2014 Opening Reception with the Artist: Saturday, August 23, 2014, 6:30-10:00 PM Giant Robot 2 (GR2) 2062 Sawtelle Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90025 For more information about Lost in Light, Giant Robot or anything else, please contact: Eric Nakamura eric@giantrobot.com 310-445-9276 Apak is Aaron & Ayumi Piland . Apak are a husband and wife team who create artwork together as a way exploring the beauty, mystery, and magic of life as well as expressing their love for each other. Apak creates rich and colorful gouache/acrylic paintings featuring the utopian lives and adventures of curious little beings exploring lush fantastic environments surrounded by friendly little animals. Their goal is to bring something beautiful and meaningful into the world in hopes of inspiring us all to live simply, peacefully, and harmoniously. Deth P. Sun is a painter and illustrator currently residing in beautiful Berkeley, California. Deth is from San Diego, California, and graduated with a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts. Deth often paints a cast of characters including an unnamed cat and depicts them in fantastic and also mundane situations. About Giant Robot Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994. Over the past 20 years, the Giant Robot brand has expanded to include retail stores and galleries in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, a restaurant, museum and gallery exhibitions, and a popular website. Considered by many as influential in Asian Popular Culture and in pop culture circles in general, it has become an important outlet for a generation of emerging artists, several of whom have achieved mainstream success.
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