Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
giant robot time: 7.26.13 | print by: takashi murakami Theo Ellsworth – Laughing Ghost Nation July 27 – August 14, 2013 Reception: Saturday, July 27, 6:30-10 PM Giant Robot is proud to present Laughing Ghost Nation, an art show featuring new works by Theo Ellsworth. Theo Ellsworth is promising that this is going to be his biggest show ever. That’s a huge promise and we’re ready for him. He now lives in Montana, has an expanded studio and will be in attendance. From Wikipedia: “Ellsworth has published two books, including Capacity and Sleeper Car. A story from Sleeper Car was chosen for The Best American Comics 2010.[1] His work has been described as “a cross between cartooning and art, poetry and the nonsensical ramblings of a writer emerging from a dream.” More Info | Facebook Giant Robot x Tru Protection iPhone Cases 15% of the proceeds goes to Japanese American National Museum. Areaware Micro Cubebots Wooden Cubebots! From a cube to a bot. Matt Furie The Night Riders A nocturnal frog and rat awake at midnight, share a salad of lettuce and bugs, and strike out on an epic dirtbike adventure toward the sunrise. Delfonics Rollbahn Micro Notebook Elastic band secures the notebook. Comes with keychain attachment. Yukinori Dehara Mini Tosa Kenta Vinyl Figure Released along with his latest solo show at our GR2 Gallery. GR Screening: Johnnie To’s Drug War Saturday, August 3 Sundance Sunset Cinema, Los Angeles Master Director Johnnie To’s DRUG WAR Opens August 2nd in LA at Sundance Sunset Cinema! Special event on Saturday night (8/3) hosted by Giant Robot, with prizes from Well Go USA Long considered the master of the Hong Kong crime thriller, Johnnie To’s first mainland production eschews “two guns at once” mayhem in favor of atmosphere and a tightly-wound plot punctuated with impeccably choreographed bursts of violence, making DRUG WAR an intricate puzzle box of a film that ignited a firestorm of controversy in its homeland. Facebook | YouTube Interview with Robert Williams at Comic-Con about the Mr. Bitchin’ documentary By MARTIN WONG Robert Williams is a champion of lowbrow art who has barged past the velvet rope of fine art with wonderfully complex, completely thought out, and masterfully executed oil depictions of Western Civilization gone horribly wrong. >> Comic-Con 2013: Robert Williams, Frank Brunner, William Stout, Paul Pope, Spider-Man, Metallica… By MARTIN WONG After attending for 24 years I still love Comic-Con. Crowds and corporations can’t ruin the annual gathering that is Halloween, Christmas, and the first day of summer for me. >> Comic Con Day 3 (fri) and 4 (sat) By GIANT ROBOT NEWS Pictures of the weekend’s festivities that includes the many signings at the GR booth. >> Comic-Con: From Set up to Day 2 By GIANT ROBOT NEWS The set up wasn’t tough thanks to the great help and the set up looked better than ever. >> SDCC13 Video By GIANT ROBOT NEWS Check out a short clip of what the the...
Continue reading
giant robot time: 7.26.13 | print by: takashi murakami Theo Ellsworth – Laughing Ghost Nation July 27 – August 14, 2013 Reception: Saturday, July 27, 6:30-10 PM Giant Robot is proud to present Laughing Ghost Nation, an art show featuring new works by Theo Ellsworth. Theo Ellsworth is promising that this is going to be his biggest show ever. That’s a huge promise and we’re ready for him. He now lives in Montana, has an expanded studio and will be in attendance. From Wikipedia: “Ellsworth has published two books, including Capacity and Sleeper Car. A story from Sleeper Car was chosen for The Best American Comics 2010.[1] His work has been described as “a cross between cartooning and art, poetry and the nonsensical ramblings of a writer emerging from a dream.” More Info | Facebook Giant Robot x Tru Protection iPhone Cases 15% of the proceeds goes to Japanese American National Museum. Areaware Micro Cubebots Wooden Cubebots! From a cube to a bot. Matt Furie The Night Riders A nocturnal frog and rat awake at midnight, share a salad of lettuce and bugs, and strike out on an epic dirtbike adventure toward the sunrise. Delfonics Rollbahn Micro Notebook Elastic band secures the notebook. Comes with keychain attachment. Yukinori Dehara Mini Tosa Kenta Vinyl Figure Released along with his latest solo show at our GR2 Gallery. GR Screening: Johnnie To’s Drug War Saturday, August 3 Sundance Sunset Cinema, Los Angeles Master Director Johnnie To’s DRUG WAR Opens August 2nd in LA at Sundance Sunset Cinema! Special event on Saturday night (8/3) hosted by Giant Robot, with prizes from Well Go USA Long considered the master of the Hong Kong crime thriller, Johnnie To’s first mainland production eschews “two guns at once” mayhem in favor of atmosphere and a tightly-wound plot punctuated with impeccably choreographed bursts of violence, making DRUG WAR an intricate puzzle box of a film that ignited a firestorm of controversy in its homeland. Facebook | YouTube Interview with Robert Williams at Comic-Con about the Mr. Bitchin’ documentary By MARTIN WONG Robert Williams is a champion of lowbrow art who has barged past the velvet rope of fine art with wonderfully complex, completely thought out, and masterfully executed oil depictions of Western Civilization gone horribly wrong. >> Comic-Con 2013: Robert Williams, Frank Brunner, William Stout, Paul Pope, Spider-Man, Metallica… By MARTIN WONG After attending for 24 years I still love Comic-Con. Crowds and corporations can’t ruin the annual gathering that is Halloween, Christmas, and the first day of summer for me. >> Comic Con Day 3 (fri) and 4 (sat) By GIANT ROBOT NEWS Pictures of the weekend’s festivities that includes the many signings at the GR booth. >> Comic-Con: From Set up to Day 2 By GIANT ROBOT NEWS The set up wasn’t tough thanks to the great help and the set up looked better than ever. >> SDCC13 Video By GIANT ROBOT NEWS Check out a short clip of what the the...
Continue reading
I don’t usually get too excited about the extracurricular events at Comic-Con but when I discovered that Metallica was going to attend a panel about their new 3-D IMAX movie and then play a secret show, I had to make it happen. Through the movie publicists, I was able to catch the Monsters of Rock play for the first time since the And Justice For All… tour. I was stoked to get a killer seat in the second row of the second level with studio folks and lucky Con attendees. When I saw them at the Long Beach Arena way back when, I was kind of freaked out by the crowd of wild heshers that tore cushions off the seats and threw them in the air. The band went on KNAC to persuade fans to behave better during the second show. Probably for the better, Spreckels didn’t have the same sense of danger–although the set was pretty much from that era. They started with a double-shot of “Creeping Death” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and ended with a heavy-duty encore of “Last Caress” and “Seek and Destroy.” And if The Misfits cover wasn’t enough for Comic-Con fans, Kirk turned the Star Wars theme into a sweet solo leading into “Nothing Else Mattered” and “Enter Sandman.” Metallica has and will always rule, and it was very rad of them to play this free set for their fans (and a handful of lucky, undeserving poseurs like me). I was psyched to visit one of my favorite venues the next night. Sadly, I missed the opener and headliner due to food and sleep reasons but mostly wanted to see the middle bands anyway. First there was the one-woman wrecking crew Colleen Green. I dig the cool, effortless style and catchiness of her supremely minimal yet hook-ridden tunes to the max. And then there was Milk Music, a trio that plays super catchy and fuzzed-out melodies, full of primo noise an unconcerned with image. This time around, they seemed to play mostly older stuff of their essential first EP, which was once impossible to find but has been repressed. Fans of Dinosaur Jr. would dig, for sure. I thought we were ending the best Comic-Con even by having dinner with my friends Alyasha and Kien at the Convoy Tofu House. Then Aly mentioned that he knew the DJ and could get us on the list for El Vez at Bark Pink’s sixth anniversary party. I was beat but it was impossible not to be entertained by The Schitzophonics’ high-energy set of garage rock ‘n’ roll. Taking the melody of The Fleshtones, sweat of JSBX, and out-0f-control energy from an electric chair, I had to be careful not to get clocked by the guitar neck as the singer spasmed around the low stage. Amazing. Somehow, The Schizophonics had more than enough energy to be The Mexican Elvis’s backing band. I’ve seen the El Vez for President show and the Merry Mex-Mas show in the...
Continue reading
I don’t usually get too excited about the extracurricular events at Comic-Con but when I discovered that Metallica was going to attend a panel about their new 3-D IMAX movie and then play a secret show, I had to make it happen. Through the movie publicists, I was able to catch the Monsters of Rock play for the first time since the And Justice For All… tour. I was stoked to get a killer seat in the second row of the second level with studio folks and lucky Con attendees. When I saw them at the Long Beach Arena way back when, I was kind of freaked out by the crowd of wild heshers that tore cushions off the seats and threw them in the air. The band went on KNAC to persuade fans to behave better during the second show. Probably for the better, Spreckels didn’t have the same sense of danger–although the set was pretty much from that era. They started with a double-shot of “Creeping Death” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and ended with a heavy-duty encore of “Last Caress” and “Seek and Destroy.” And if The Misfits cover wasn’t enough for Comic-Con fans, Kirk turned the Star Wars theme into a sweet solo leading into “Nothing Else Mattered” and “Enter Sandman.” Metallica has and will always rule, and it was very rad of them to play this free set for their fans (and a handful of lucky, undeserving poseurs like me). I was psyched to visit one of my favorite venues the next night. Sadly, I missed the opener and headliner due to food and sleep reasons but mostly wanted to see the middle bands anyway. First there was the one-woman wrecking crew Colleen Green. I dig the cool, effortless style and catchiness of her supremely minimal yet hook-ridden tunes to the max. And then there was Milk Music, a trio that plays super catchy and fuzzed-out melodies, full of primo noise an unconcerned with image. This time around, they seemed to play mostly older stuff of their essential first EP, which was once impossible to find but has been repressed. Fans of Dinosaur Jr. would dig, for sure. I thought we were ending the best Comic-Con even by having dinner with my friends Alyasha and Kien at the Convoy Tofu House. Then Aly mentioned that he knew the DJ and could get us on the list for El Vez at Bark Pink’s sixth anniversary party. I was beat but it was impossible not to be entertained by The Schitzophonics’ high-energy set of garage rock ‘n’ roll. Taking the melody of The Fleshtones, sweat of JSBX, and out-0f-control energy from an electric chair, I had to be careful not to get clocked by the guitar neck as the singer spasmed around the low stage. Amazing. Somehow, The Schizophonics had more than enough energy to be The Mexican Elvis’s backing band. I’ve seen the El Vez for President show and the Merry Mex-Mas show in the...
Continue reading
Robert Williams is a champion of lowbrow art who has barged past the velvet rope of fine art with wonderfully complex, completely thought out, and masterfully executed oil depictions of Western Civilization gone horribly wrong. His work is so far out from the fine art world that he was forced to found Juxtapoz magazine to not only create context for his work but start a movement of street-level creativity as well. Even so, he is largely dismissed in high art circles and equally ignored in pop culture realms. When the excellent documentary on the artist was screened last week at Comic-Con, he was introduced as “Robin Williams.”
Mr. Bitchin’ should help prevent such mistakes in the future. It details the artist’s evolution from hot-rod garages to high-end galleries, and features luminaries such as Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Don Ed Hardy, and R. Crumb, as well as members of Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blondie, and Butthole Surfers. While effectively and convincingly telling William’s story, it provides quite a primer on subcultures.
I met with Williams the day after the movie showing and a subsequent panel about him. As affable as he is intelligent, we had a casual yet charged conversation in the compound of Gentle Giant (which has released a miniature bust of the artist and is assisting the artist in realizing a series of large sculptures) in anticipation of the film’s release on DVD and digital platforms on July 30.