February 12 2010 from 6-9pm it all pops off over at Band Vibes space in the Greenwood Collective…that’s right my long awaited character series Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos. The show is a collection of my coveted hobo characters that maniacally made their way into Seattle’s streets and the hearts of our NW culture. The collection consists of original pieces that are hand inked and painted with wood stain on various wood panels in a variety of sizes. Besides the originals there will also be limited edition prints, jumbo posters, and a line of limited edition tees that all reflect these grungy agents of chaos. I will be giving away a free print and a free tee randomly to those who sign up at the Band Vibes space. Come join me for a night of bad-ass art and mayhem…It’s gonna be an epic event of diabolical debauchery full of twisted 50’s animated style hobos!
Artist statement (dirt on the show):
Hobo Eaters: Agents of Chaos
The term hobo-eater refers to an entity who, through ritual means, would take on by means garbage and liquor the sins of a deceased bum, thus absolving his or her soul and allowing that person of the street to rest in peace.
What was once a ritual performed by beggars and vagabonds in certain villages of bygone years is now performed in a reverse of roles by animated entities who take on the form of the hobo whose diabolical lifestyle is reflected upon the appearance of the hobo-eater. The hobo-eater would be brought to the dying vagrant’s curbside or stoop, where a neighborhood drifter would place a crust of dumpster pizza on the chest of the dying and pass a 40 oz. of malt liquor to him over the corpse. After reciting the ritual, he would then drink and remove the crust from the derelict tramp and eat it, the act of which would remove the sins and deadbeat-scars from the dying transient and take it into himself.
Often times hobo-eaters are not only filled with the sins and scars of the deceased but take on a ghostly appearance, ragged with the lines of deceit and chemical abuse of the former vessel. The result is a vaporous apparition whose tattered clothes and grungy attitude is forever portrayed among the urban environment. Thus the ethereal term Agents of Chaos has come as a contemporary descriptor for these aeon old hobo-eaters who are destined to drift the streets perpetually consuming fiendish souls.
Below are a few of the Hobo Eaters character pieces that are included in the show:
Vapor Trails:
Below are some updated photos of some of the work included in the show. To avoid rambling on too much about all the pieces I am simply posting the pics including the detailed shots of the artwork. Enjoy!
GURU: Inspired by ancient sages of forgotten lore. The word bubble is Chinese for “Knowledge”.
VAPOR TRAILS: Inspired by all the shredding skateboard bad-asses…you know who you are.
BUMMIN & RUNNIN: Inspired by old 50’s animations, bums, and liquor.
RUBIX DUDE: Inspired by particle theory and physicists worldwide.
THE SHAMBLER: Inspired by Scrooge McDuck, Robert Crumb, and a X-Mas Carol.
CODED: Inspired by zen buddhism and hidden meanings.
ROCKET ROCKER: Inspired by the Rocketeer and dark rockers everywhere.
AGENT OF CHAOS: Inspired by Hells Angels debauchery.
LET THE WHEELS BURN: Inspired by Mars Volta album Octahedron
THE MANNIKIN: Inspired by Robert Bloch’s short story The Mannikin from his collection Mysteries of the Worm
LUMBERING JACK: Inspired by chainsaws and the Pacific Northwest.
BLOOD LIFE: Inspired by gangsta females everywhere.
RUBIX DUDE: 3 versions of all characters. 1. Ink on wood 2. Vector digital design 3. Oil painting.
MICKSTER MCGEE: Inspired by unicycle chimps, hipsters, scenesters, 80’s cartoons, and underground comics.
OL’ TIMER: Inspired by father time, ferrets, chicken suits, tar & feathers, and explicit street vagrants.
PHANTOM BEARD & DOOB: Inspired by Norwegians, black death metal, k-9’s, rebels, counterculture, loud loud loud music.
LYCOSA MASTER: Inspired by wizards, tattoos, medieval sorcerers, devils, demons, warlocks, giant spiders, and reckless gladiators.
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