Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
You know them from the placemats at Chinese restaurants. Right to left: pig, dog, rooster and half a monkey. Over Memorial Day I got a chance to swing by and see Ai Weiwei’s sculpture exhibit at the Plaza Hotel at the southeast corner of Central Park. Toughest chicken ever! Right to left: rooster, monkey, sheep, horse and snake. The odd thing is that there isn’t a sign describing the heads sitting in the Pulitzer Fountain. There isn’t even a sign that notes the name of the artist or the title of the work (“Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads“). Maybe it was meant to echo China’s silencing of Ai Weiwei via jail. The rabbit is in a rather precarious spot. Right to left: dragon, rabbit, tiger and ox. What is the meaning behind the art itself? Surely it echos the bronze zodiac heads of a famous ancient water clock that were looted from China by British and French forces in the Opium War. It may also be a comment on capital punishment in China (the highest in the world on an annual basis, though not on a per-capita basis). The first time I saw the tiger, I thought it was a bear! Right to left: tiger, ox and rat. Or perhaps the 12 animals represent the mercurial nature and hypocrisy of the Communist Party of China, and the different masks it wears year-to-year, day-to-day, depending on whom it is addressing and what it ultimately wants. I’m just saying. Los Angelenos: Don’t be bummed you’re not in New York City. The exhibit is coming to LACMA in September!
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Ryan McGinness glances and makes eye contact to a question asker, during his entertaining and informative lecture at Giant Robot 2 on Friday, May 27th, 2o11 as part of his 2011 Los Angeles Tour. McGinness and his staff graciously added Giant Robot to his schedule of events and on a calm Southern California friday evening and night, his fans and passers by enjoyed gr/eats made BBQ Chili dogs and Chili burgers, an outdoor projection of a “vintage” McGinness animated video, lecture, and a signing of his books and products. One of our favorite pages captures nearly everything. On the left side, something akin to a butterfly. It’s part of McGinness’s “pretty” imagery, but at the same time, it’s juxtapozed by the “balls” to add masculinity. The bottom left appears to be a sketch for one of his large scale paintings which we learned isn’t orchestrated necessarily by the exact placing of each “icon” screen, but more so as a whole. McGinness did seem to be in a place to perhaps explore the placement of each screen in the future. On the right, a tape cassette that says “Love”, and it’s being torn apart. It’s a sad image. McGinness is often designing buttons, t-shirts, and products which are often never made. They live in his sketchbook. Images from his sketchbook lived on the window at Giant Robot 2 throughout the weekend. [nggallery id=16]
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That’s Jesse Fillingham on left and Jeni Yang at Giant Robot 2. May 14, 2011 [nggallery id=15]
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[nggallery id=14] An amazing evening at Giant Robot 2 curated by Goh Nakamura (on right). We put up the idea of doing a show in store, and he really wanted to do something special so he called upon two other musicians he’s often championing, Jane Lui and Big Phony. We borrowed a speaker from DJ Puffs, and the evening was on. It was a nice weathered wednesday and the show began at around 8pm. Earlier in the day, the three practiced for just a bit so they were familiar with each other’s songs, and live they pulled it off almost like a band. A decent crowd made it to the show which looked like the panoramic photo below! Guess what? We have the makings of a series. We’ll hopefully see you at the next one. Click on this a couple of times, you’ll be able to see it larger.
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[nggallery id=12] If you’re interested in Mari Inukai’s Sekaiseifukudan figures, you can find them at Giant Robot
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