Twisting Pop Culture, Alex Pardee Art Gallery

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Alex Pardee is a freelance artist, apparel designer, and a writer from California, who is best known for illustrating The Used’s album artwork.

Escaped Conviction

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Batman and Foes

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Zombie

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Garfield

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Dexter

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Batman and Daffy

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Who Tang

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Candyman

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Tarman (Return of the Living Dead)

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Iron Man & Mega Man

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Predator

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Wolverine and Hulk

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Ren & Stimpy

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“What inspires you?”
I fucking hate that question.

I’m inspired by Jim Henson. By Rod Serling. By Tim Burton. By Terry Gilliam.

I’m inspired by Scooby Doo and the notion that a cartoon about a teenage LSD addict who thinks his dog can talk and that everyone he meets is a silly monster can actually get made into an iconic television show for kids.

I’m inspired by new kids shows like Adventure Time, Yo Gabba Gabba, and The Aquabats for helping adults remember that its ok to act like a kid. I’m inspired by imagination.

I’ve recently been inspired by “Cabin In The Woods”, and by “Ready Player One”, and by anything that I see, read or hear that makes me run home and want to add more elements to someone else’s world in hopes of holding on to that experience by selfishly expanding it.

By horror movies from the 80’s and the creation of boogeymen and how one person can inject nightmares into someone for their whole life just by putting sharp teeth on a clown or finger-knives on a burn-victim.

I’m inspired by David Choe and by his book “SLOW JAMS”, which I read in 1999 and have since never read a graphic novel as personal and honest.

I’m inspired by other artists like Sam Kieth, Jhonen Vasquez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, Harmony Korine & Jim Phillips, for pushing the boundaries before me because it continues to encourage me that I don’t have to conform to expectations.

Inspired by my Dad for letting me sneak down and watch Poltergeist at my sister’s slumber party, for suggesting Stephen King novels to me when I was 12, and for introducing me to The Watchmen, Hard Boiled and The Killing Joke when I was 14.

I’m inspired when I stumble across something that catches me off guard and opens my eyes to new possibilities. At 6 it was my parents. At 14 it was Robocop. At 15 it was The Maxx. At 16 it was Street Fighter. At 17 it was graffiti. At 20 it was the discovering of zines and self-publishing.

Sincerely yours,
Alex Pardee & the Breakfast Club.

Surreal Pop Culture Paintings, Dave Macdowell Art Gallery

Surreal Pop Culture Paintings, Dave Macdowell Art Gallery | Third Monk image 19

Dave MacDowell’s art melds satire with an unapologetic wit.

The style of MacDowell’s work pairs surreal visuals with deliberately recognizable pop culture references to transform the known into a hilarious commentary on society.

Disney Brainwash

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The Last Friday

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Pryor on Fire

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AM: And you are entirely self taught. What methods did you use to educate yourself in the art of making a good painting? You seem to have a wonderful, and quite individual, grasp on color theory…

DM: Downloading color wheels from the Internet, and struggling with the illusion that I was doing it right. As a career decision from the start, I decided to always use a small script brush to make the work super detailed, and to keep the themes varied and entertaining. – Dave Macdowell, Arrested Motion

Seven in the Box

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Saving the Princess

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Bad Motha Eraserhead

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AM: Some of the great lowbrow painters such as Robt Williams and Todd Schorr must be a huge inspiration to you. Where else do your significant inspirations lie?

DM: I need to tell stories and express what I feel. I always figured that if everything was painted really well, you could say whatever you wanted. I think hidden behind a lot of my candy colored pieces are revolutionary slants leaning toward the misfits and underdogs. Subtle jabs at Classism, racism, greed and commodified sexuality. It’s all in there, but never in your face. – Dave Macdowell, Arrested Motion

Hendrix in Wonderland

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Something Wicked This Way Comes

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Imagine

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Alice in Limbo

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The Dude Abides

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The Dude

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When Yoko Ate Ringo

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AM: You had a dalliance with Banksy and also the planned Banksy Unveiling show in the UK not too long back. How did that come about and what happened?

DM: Banksy wrote and said he was a fan of my stuff years ago on Myspace {Remember Myspace anyone?}. My friend in London curated a show with the pitch of revealing the guy. Of course they never did, it was all cheeky fun. Banksy and those guys are all tight anyway, so their Broken Britain madness continues. – Dave Macdowell, Arrested Motion

Merging Views of Paint and Sculpture, Giant Robot Art Gallery

Merging Views of Paint and Sculpture, Giant Robot Art Gallery | Third Monk image 21

Third Monk is happy to bring you images from Merging Views, the first 2014 exhibition at Giant Robot’s art gallery.

Merging Views featured the art work of great artists from Los Angeles and beyond. From 40 clay sculptures by children’s book artist, Godeleine de Rosamel; silk screener hero Dan McCarthy, who captures Cape Cod, life long ago and worlds beyond, to painters which range in styles.

Wayne Johnson uses oils in a time tested technique that echoes both contemporary and historical works. Kwanchai Moriya works faster and creates pieces based on sci-fi and the fantastic, yet at times captures his local environment.

Stasia Burrington mixes an illustration style often using watercolors. Dan-ah Kim works with whimsical and contemplative images, often using only a handful of colors, her distinctive work remains complex despite it’s perceived simplicity.

Kwanchai Moriya

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In your art journey, are there any physical objects that have inspired you? 

Actually right now I’m really digging this little postcard that a friend bought me recently. It’s the cover of some obscure old sci-fi novel called, “The Gods Hate Kansas,” and it’s perfect. It has all my favorite things in one painting: guy in space suit with laser gun, space ship, giant beast with glowing eyes, ridiculous title, and the color blue.

As far as artists that are important to me as a painter, I’m inspired by the likes of J.C. Leyendecker, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, John Singer Sargent, and Bernie Fuchs, among others. As far as contemporary artists, I really like Sachin Teng and Charlie Immer. – Kwanchai Moriya, Giant Robot Interview

Dan McCarthy

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Stasia Burrington

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You have other endeavors along with your fine art. Can you talk about what you do there, and how that intertwines with your work?

I’m a full-time freelance illustrator/artist, which is amazing. I’m currently working on illustrating a how-to bondage guide-book, and recent projects have included tattoo designs, wedding invitations, and an original-art deck of cards. Each project has different challenges and are especially great when they require lots of research.

I idolize and am most inspired by the work of other artists, mostly painters: I’ve had lasting infatuations with many classic artists: Mucha, Klimt, Rodin, Schiele, Hokusai – and contemporary: Kiki Smith, Sam Weber, Jillian Tamaki, Yuko Shimizu and James Jean. – Stasia Burrington, Giant Robot Interview

Wayne Johnson

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Dan-ah Kim

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In your art journey, are there any physical objects that have inspired you?

Books! I love finding old books with worn pages to paint on, or ones with faded illustrations and handwritten notes. I always have a stack of reference books near me when I work. About gardening, weaponry, maps, or inspiring artists (Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Cornell, Yayoi Kusama, Henry Darger are some favorites). Trees and weapons are some of my favorite things to draw. – Dan-ah Kim, Giant Robot Interview

Godeleine de Rosamel

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What have been the biggest obstacles in your art career development and how did you get through them?
The biggest obstacles on my career development i think, have been a total lack of talent in self-promotion and lack of related shmoozing skills. I’m pretty shy. I’m still working on this. I probably will still be working on it for many years. – Godeleine de Rosamel, Giant Robot Interview

Merging Views will be open through January 29, 2014 at Giant Robot 2 in Los Angeles.

For more information about Giant Robot, Merging Views, the artists or anything else, please contact GR Editor Eric Nakamura.