I’m honored to be part of Gauntlet Gallery’s 1 year anniversary group exhibition Sex Drugs Money & Guns. The theme of this show ties in perfectly with the razored edge of my work and general grunge aesthetics. For the exhibition Beery Method created an icon for each theme element. Taking what is considered to be celebrity icons as imagery which represents the nefarious subtext of the overall theme allowed me to create a series that work harmoniously well together and also as singular premier pieces.
The first of the series represents SEX and is properly titled Pop Sex Vamp. Using a mixed media technique of collage, aerosol stencils, and screen printing I tweaked the infamous sexual female icon Marilyn Monroe. Putting the vampirical twist on the beauty is subtle with her baring vampire fangs with that come and get some stare. The red cross painted behind her hints at the old religious icon of cross used to ward off vampires as well as the medical cross reminiscent of a nurse. She will take care of you and ruin you all at once is the premise here. JFK may have had a better take on all of that. The collage are vintage clippings from 1960’s testosterone driven male magazines. Under the layers of poly and paint are interesting swatches of sexual article artifacts text and photos straight from the days of her captivating grace.
The second of the series represents DRUGS and is a direct pop cult phenom reference entitled Cold Blooded. The godfather of funk, cocaine, and 1980’s ghetto ménage à trois Rick James seemed to be the perfect idol to represent the drug culture. Title tracks like Mary Jane and Bustin Out are obvious marijuana references and Rick constantly talks about getting stoned not only on his albums but as a musician in general. This piece is collaged vintage comic Slash Marauder No. 6 of 6 1988. I used this particular comic because of the year it was published as well as the flamboyant clothing that adorn the characters. They literally could have been a part of Rick James tour back in the day.
Rick James portrait is a 3 color screen print with classic glow in the dark inks. With the lights on you see just a portrait of Rick James with a long joint hanging from his lips. In the dark suddenly sunglasses appear with cannabis leaves. Above the glasses on his jheri curl glows ドープ Kanji that says DOPE.
The third of the series representing GUNS is the titled piece Beastwood. An obvious reference to Clint Eastwood and all the bad ass gun toting roles he played throughout his film making career. Eastwood is the pinnacle tough guy whether playing the good, the bad, or the ugly. He always knew how to carry a gun and make his enemies pay with blood. He is a BEAST! The portrait is a highly half tone stylized 3 color screen print. Red accents on my signature skele crossbones on his hat as well as aerosol drops of glowing red pupils and cigar cherry set it off. I was going for a subtle Terminator feel with the red eyes. More of DC Comic’s Slash Marauder No. 6 of 6 1988 is used as the backdrop for a couple of reasons. Firstly, every character in that comic is blowing things up with guns constantly and secondly the artists obviously used Clint Eastwood as reference for the hero Slash in the book. This backdrop ties in with the others making the series more of a collectable set.
All photos and images ©Nick Beery | Beery Method Studios | All rights reserved.