Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
It’s been rainy in Southern California, so you see boots like these once in a while. They’re not true NYC snow boots that break ice with each stride. These are the kind that look cool and fun even when you walk through inch deep puddles. If they’re holding a GR bag with them on… even better. If you see Michelle Borok on Sawtelle and it’s raining, she might be wearing these. The hipster grifter 2. I saw this at ANAP store on Sawtelle. This girl is apparently well known on Sawtelle blvd as a thief. I wish the photo were bigger. Reportedly, she’s Korean and she’s holding a boba. Childrens! These two were nutty and funny at Scion before the show. Children part 2. That’s Kika. She likes anything warm. My computer gets super hot, and she’ll put her paw and face on it. If I leave, she’ll sleep on the entire keyboard.
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JANM Biennale – Closed! But the last hurrah happened this weekend. This Rafu Shimpo clip may have helped some too. It was quite an honor.
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It’s a rare thing for me to be invited to do something as an artist. It’s maybe my first except something that I’ve done for GR shows, which sort of doesn’t count. I don’t have the nerve to say I’m an artist, although I think the title is used quite liberally. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of “artists” who aren’t artists. Yet, I was gifted this title for the Scion Installation 6 exhibition which is all about video. I’ve blogged about the process before and I worked with Saelee Oh on my project. The opening was spectacular in a way. I pull up later 8:45 ish and there’s actually a line to get in. Here’s a link to the blog post. People are hanging out talking and watching the projections on the walls. This isn’t the most exciting of an art show, in the end, since the videos repeat and repeat, it’s hard to give your full attention to a single project. But people seemed happy, and I think on this day and in this time, people are looking for things to see for free. This ended up being decently fun. I didn’t know most of the people, and most had no idea that I did something here, but oh well, I’m thankful that people came by. Our piece is undoubtedly the cutest piece and maybe the shortest at a minute, but I heard a nice report that kids were playing with the animated bubbles! I think the music by Goh Nakamura really makes this project cohesive. We were interviewed for the Scion site and for Current TV. Here’s a big ass group shot. Some are artists and some are their friends. I’m actually in this photo as an artist. Strange. That’s me and French. It’s nice to see French again. He’s a great lad from Croydon. He told me that I was the first to bring him to America when I put him into a show at Scion. Since then, I think he’s come a half a dozen times and has done plenty of projects with them. He’ll have a few pieces in out Metal Mad show at GRNY. That’s Len and Michelle. Len is from Hawaii and is a great guy. Behind (or in front in this case) of a good man, and a nice lady. Len makes rad cars. Onimotorworks.
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Given a certificate way long ago when I did my Vans interviews (They’re on Youtube and I linked it below), it’s no surprise to me that I made all black shoes. It’s the default when you start designing them. I changed a few things and made them black too and that was it. Boring Vans. At the same time, I tried a few combos of black and red, and multi colors. I almost opted for a blue and red pair which was always a great classic, but maybe next time. In the end, yes, black vans. I’ll wear this color combo the most. The red logo in the back is still a classic. Vans are nearly a tradition in footwear, especially if you’re in Southern California. Believe it or not, I was never a huge fan as a kid. I think it came from the trauma of having a bootleg version of the slip-ons and being made fun of at school. The copy versions were a bit cheaper and actually easier to access, but you were the butt of any shoe joke possible. So today, I have real vans, and all of the rip off brands from way back got reincarnated x 10. So many brands make slip-ons that look just like Vans. The main difference is I doubt you’ll get made fun of for wearing them. Thevansblog
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The actual show closes this sunday, so you have a few days left to see it. But above are cupcakes by bigmanbakes. He’s a huge dude and bakes tiny cupcakes. He’s in downtown LA. That’s how the night started, staring at these cupcakes. It was raining, but 600 people made it out which is a decent crowd. Imagine, some of the openings don’t bring in 600, so this worked out well for a closing night. At three months, this was a fun show, a lot of people came through, it was super nice to meet folks who were either inspired by or do art. I got a lot of congrats, and I’m glad people had a good time. The Japanese American National Museum will be open through sunday. That’s The Binges / GR Table. Honest Tea also set up and gave away some drinks. See the hand at the bottom right? That’s a beer, but there was no beer there. Hmmm… Half of The Binges. Albert Reyes drawing. James Jean, Gary Baseman, and Denise Gray. Gary texted a congrats. That was nice. DJ Puffs. I want one of those speakers she has on the right. The Choe, Bobby and Enna. Raina, Albert and John Pham. Albert got a camera finally. Ali and Me. Someone should make a movie called that. Ben Clark photo. Monica and Souther. I finally made it upstairs and lo and behold, Souther was there. Uh oh forgot her name, and Aaron Brown. Aw how am I supposed to remember? Amir and Calvin are on the right. That’s me, Jessica (Perfect Day in Hawaii Jessica), and Chris. Ako, Rob and James drawing while The Binges played. The Binges rocked it. The lead singer came late, after the first instrumental, and they played on until after 9pm – closing time. Kat, gets a drawing by Rob Sato. Her collection must be large. That’s Pryor in the middle. Anna Serrano and her friend. Anna has a piece in the show.
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