Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Mari Inukai’s exhibition, Jungle Gym of My Mind opened last night at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City. I’ve known Mari for years and I’m qualified to say that the subjects of her art progresses with her life. There are dark and light moments and a consistent subject is her daughter Sena. Seeing an image of Mari clothed and sitting in a bathtub is striking. When does one sit in a bathtub clothed? The spectacle piece and perhaps the largest is a portrait of Sena in Japanese traditional attire. She’s posed in the center and is a huge piece of Mari’s life. At times, their relationship seems like they are the best of friends and sometimes, Sena jumps into the mother role. The drawings are simple and refined. The graphite line work tell stories. Female nudes? Yes, she paints them classy. Here are more photos.
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Mari Inukai’s exhibition, Jungle Gym of My Mind opened last night at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City. I’ve known Mari for years and I’m qualified to say that the subjects of her art progresses with her life. There are dark and light moments and a consistent subject is her daughter Sena. Seeing an image of Mari clothed and sitting in a bathtub is striking. When does one sit in a bathtub clothed? The spectacle piece and perhaps the largest is a portrait of Sena in Japanese traditional attire. She’s posed in the center and is a huge piece of Mari’s life. At times, their relationship seems like they are the best of friends and sometimes, Sena jumps into the mother role. The drawings are simple and refined. The graphite line work tell stories. Female nudes? Yes, she paints them classy. Here are more photos.
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On Tuesday, I saw Ronnie Spector‘s Behind The Beehive show at The El Rey. It wasn’t really a concert as much as it was the legendary singer recounting her life’s journey via anecdotes, personal photos, rare video, and song performances. From what I understand, this format is a way for the Original Bad Girl of Rock ‘n’ Noll to give a live performance without getting caught in the spiderweb of legalities spun her infamous ex-husband and producer. Going to the show as a casual fan of Spector, it was mind-blowing to hear firsthand her tales of The Ronettes crashing the Peppermint Lounge, hanging out with Murray The K, playing with The Beatles in England, and touring with The Stones. Taking both of those bands to a BBQ joint in Harlem and recording a 7″ single for Apple. And it was also shocking to hear what a dick Phil Spector was to her as a manager and a husband. Even so, her tone always remained classy and positive and she remained respectful toward his work with her. As a big fan of the She Talks To Rainbows that was produced by Joey Ramone and released by Kill Rock Stars, I was stoked that she played so many songs off it. She said that Joey wrote the title track of that EP for her, and that Brain Wilson wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” for her as a follow-up to “Be My Baby” but that her husband wouldn’t record it because he wouldn’t get all of the royalties. She also played her version of Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” as the second-to-last song of the show before coming back for a short concert that featured “Baby, I Love You” (also great for a Ramones fans like me) and “Be My Baby.” So rad. If she ever makes it to your neighborhood, don’t miss her. Spector’s voice is a national treasure, her story is the history of cool music, and her perseverance is inspiring. The next evening I dropped by the Satellite to catch the latest free #scionrockshow. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with the lineup but the previous two installments of the series featured rippers Fu Manchu and Lecherous Gaze and you can’t go wrong with the LSDJs (featuring homie Don Ngueyn) spinning records. It would be lame not to go–especially since it’s right down the street and free! Openers from Memphis The Dirty Streets were real cool, sounding a little bit like Rod Stewart singing for ZZ Top. Heavy-duty hooks and licks with zero ego and tons of soul on a sweaty little stage in front of practically no one–probably not the band’s dream show but I get to shows early precisely for moments like that. Indian Handcrafts were amazing. The duo from Canada attack their instruments like hungry animals, albeit ones with chops for miles, snapping with massive riffs and the gnarliest of drums–not to mention back-and-forth vocals. I loved the “Bruce Lee” song and the...
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On Tuesday, I saw Ronnie Spector‘s Behind The Beehive show at The El Rey. It wasn’t really a concert as much as it was the legendary singer recounting her life’s journey via anecdotes, personal photos, rare video, and song performances. From what I understand, this format is a way for the Original Bad Girl of Rock ‘n’ Noll to give a live performance without getting caught in the spiderweb of legalities spun her infamous ex-husband and producer. Going to the show as a casual fan of Spector, it was mind-blowing to hear firsthand her tales of The Ronettes crashing the Peppermint Lounge, hanging out with Murray The K, playing with The Beatles in England, and touring with The Stones. Taking both of those bands to a BBQ joint in Harlem and recording a 7″ single for Apple. And it was also shocking to hear what a dick Phil Spector was to her as a manager and a husband. Even so, her tone always remained classy and positive and she remained respectful toward his work with her. As a big fan of the She Talks To Rainbows that was produced by Joey Ramone and released by Kill Rock Stars, I was stoked that she played so many songs off it. She said that Joey wrote the title track of that EP for her, and that Brain Wilson wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” for her as a follow-up to “Be My Baby” but that her husband wouldn’t record it because he wouldn’t get all of the royalties. She also played her version of Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” as the second-to-last song of the show before coming back for a short concert that featured “Baby, I Love You” (also great for a Ramones fans like me) and “Be My Baby.” So rad. If she ever makes it to your neighborhood, don’t miss her. Spector’s voice is a national treasure, her story is the history of cool music, and her perseverance is inspiring. The next evening I dropped by the Satellite to catch the latest free #scionrockshow. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with the lineup but the previous two installments of the series featured rippers Fu Manchu and Lecherous Gaze and you can’t go wrong with the LSDJs (featuring homie Don Ngueyn) spinning records. It would be lame not to go–especially since it’s right down the street and free! Openers from Memphis The Dirty Streets were real cool, sounding a little bit like Rod Stewart singing for ZZ Top. Heavy-duty hooks and licks with zero ego and tons of soul on a sweaty little stage in front of practically no one–probably not the band’s dream show but I get to shows early precisely for moments like that. Indian Handcrafts were amazing. The duo from Canada attack their instruments like hungry animals, albeit ones with chops for miles, snapping with massive riffs and the gnarliest of drums–not to mention back-and-forth vocals. I loved the “Bruce Lee” song and the...
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giant robot time: 11.1.13 | art by: katsuya terada view in browser Paper Noise Rob Sato and Ryohei Tanaka November 9 – December 4, 2013 Reception: Saturday, November 9, 6:30 – 10 PM Giant Robot is proud to present Paper Noise, an art show featuring new works by Rob Sato and Ryohei Tanaka. Rob Sato and Ryohei Tanaka were once roommates in the infamous “Art’s Crab Shack Apartment” during the late 90s in Oakland, California where they attended the California College of the Arts. They’ve remained friends since. Rob Sato often exhibits with Giant Robot and his work has continued to progress from wild and deranged imagery to a more controlled abstraction. Sato paints with watercolors and succinctly tells a story that’s steeped in historical references. Ryohei Tanaka “paints with scissors” and paper cuts his works. He’ll be exhibiting over 100 paper cuts often depicting beasts and are often bilaterally symmetrical. He’ll also be cutting paper live. Event Mari Nakamura Handmade Ceramics Beautiful handmade ceramic bowls and mugs featuring original patterns. Katsuya Terada Prints Released along with his solo show at our GR2 gallery. Signed by the artist. Oni Motorworks T-shirt A real shop that makes real cool motor vehicles. Kikkerland Nunchuck Pens “Write with more impact” with this cool set of pens that double as small set of nunchucks. Hellen Jo Frontier #2 Drawings, paintings and scenes of a gang of badass girls doing their thing. Battle of the Release Parties: Aziatix vs. Best Coast By MARTIN WONG Making charts is something I really enjoyed and miss about working on Giant Robot magazine, so I figured this was as good an occasion as any to dust off the old format… Enjoy! >> Mongolian Street Skating By MICHELLE BOROK A little sweeter than your average skate video, this brand new short film by Uukhai, a Mongolian skateboarding association, sheds an intimate, honest and unpretentious light on a burgeoning community in Ulaanbaatar. >> 2015 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025 2062 Sawtelle Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90025
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