| HF exclusive: Buff Monster's "Heavy Metal Ice Cream Smile" interview |
| Written by attaboy Monday, 31 August 2009 17:10 | |||
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Yes. So Saturday is your first solo show in a year since "The Sweetest Thing" at Corey Helford Gallery. We hear there's an installation being built. I remember those great mammary fountain sculptures with balloon growths on the walls from a few years back, they were fantastic. Thanks! Yes, that was a very ambitious installation. There were several people working on that for many many hours. This year, the installation is far less time-consuming, but Im still so excited for it. I cant wait for people to see it! Ive opted to be very ambitious with the paintings on display. 
Ive had a whole year of research and exploration that has gone into this new group of paintings. In the past, Ive wanted each piece to really capture a whole lot of the Buff Monster essence, but for this show Ive chosen to let each piece say what it wants to say. So there is a whole range of paintings. Some are very dark and satanic, some very bright and happy. Im exploring type much more than I ever have and also how traditional landscape paintings fit within the larger art scene and also within my work. In some ways, landscape paintings really capture the essence of painting. 
Yes, Im super anal about how the paint goes down. As I was saying, each piece in this show is different from the rest, and theyre each painted differently. For some pieces I use a particular type of acrylic paint that is very thin and very opaque, so its makes laying down flat areas very easy. Some paintings, Im using tape to mask of areas, and then filling them in with a brush. And as easy it looks and sounds to paint with tape, it really takes a great amount of skill and practice to lay down the paint perfectly even. As my many assistants for this show will attest, its not as easy as it looks. (I actually had to let go of one assistant because he couldnt paint a simple orange triangle). 
Oh, there is a tremendous amount of planning that goes into each piece. Everything is either drawn to scale on paper, or mocked up in Illustrator. Either way the image is transferred to the panel and then I go about filling everything in. I have a little map of each piece, where each color is specified. And, of course, all my colors are pre-mixed, just the way I like em. 
Yeah, its more of an idea drawn from the Egyptians. I tracked down and printed many photos of the Great Pyramids in preparation for the show. 
I did two like that for this show. One is really angry, and one is really happy. I think they could both do some damage!! 
They are definitely in their own world, as am I. I never thought about the sounds theyd make, but Heavy Metal is certainly the soundtrack to their lives. You really seem to integrate your art and your life, like artists like Mike Shine and Sacramento's Skinner. You seem to be covered in pink, always surrounded by gelatinous swirling mammarian masses (some imaginary, some not--I've seen pictures)... Is there a "Buff Monster's Day Off" when you let down your faux hawk and paint brush and paint in mud browns? There are some days that I dont wear a Buff Monster shirt out of the house, but those are rare. 
Oooh, tooth decay. Thats an interesting thought. The underbelly Ive been exploring recently is inspired by Heavy Metal music, particularly Black Metal. I love Black Metal!! There is so much amazing Metal out there and Im so inspired every time I listen to it. Im thinking about putting some Black Metal make-up in my last painting for the show, but havent decided yet. 
All the late nights Ive been pulling for this show, its pretty easy to sleep through! 
     
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