All I really wanted to do last weekend was stay home and listen to 97.1, the Drive, because they were hosting two days of “deep tracks”–lesser-known songs off regularly played classic-rock albums, or, as a friend put it, “music that reminds you of your dad on cocaine”–to promote their brand-new Internet-only radio station (WDRV.com), which plays all deep tracks all the time.
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Finally I checked this very paper’s listings and found out about a release party happening Friday night at Bucket Rider Gallery for Art Prostitute, an elegant magazine based in Denton, Texas, whose mission is to get young people interested in collecting art. Ubiquitous local artist Cody Hudson, who designs CD covers for Chocolate Industries, snowboards for Burton, magazine covers for Lumpen and Select, and clothes for Syndrome and Stussy, is one of the four artists showcased in the latest issue, and since he knows Bucket Rider owners Keith Couser and Andrew Rafacz, he helped Art Prostitute founders Mark Searcy and Brian Gibb book the space for their party, which turned out to be very civilized, if a little odd.
The only work Searcy and Gibb had brought on their mini tour–LA, Dallas, Chicago–was four pairs of Vans slip-ons that had been decorated by the four featured artists–Hudson, Gary Baseman, Tiffany Bozic, and the married “collective” Kozyndan. Bozic dipped the toes of her shoes in chocolate-colored acrylic paint, then painted wispy seafoam green birds on them. Kozyndan put pink bunny silhouettes on theirs, and Baseman’s wide-eyed, simpering deer/clown faces floated over green condomlike shapes. Hudson decided to keep the new Vans and turn in an old pair he’d doodled on with black Magic Marker. Little clouds, hearts, trees, and words like lovers and struggle were blurred by muddy stains and splashes of paint.
The winter blahs don’t seem to register if you’re 18, from the suburbs, just took your GED exam and want to celebrate with your friends, and your older cousin told you about a free all-ages party in the city on Saturday night. Which explains the group of long-haired kids–led by my little cuz Kyo–kicking around a hacky sack in the gallery portion of Wicker Park’s High School space at a party for “SeeThru,” a collection of installations that, said the invite, explore the “materiality of the translucent/transparent.” A posting on Friendster asked attendees to wear transparent clothing and “let your intentions be known.” Though the place was decorated with bubble wrap and Plexiglas, no one wore anything see-through.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photos/Andrea Beno, Liz Armstrong.
