~SHEPARD FAIREY/MAYDAY OPENING

mayday # 4
yep, the line snaked right around the block – !!
SHEPARD FAIREY – ‘MAYDAY’ – OPENING SAT MAY 1, 2010
the show runs thru MAY 29, 2010 – DEITCH PROJECTS – 18 WOOSTER ST – SOHO – NYC.

mayday # 5
but JOSH HARRIS, was just about the most famous person there, until ADRIEN BRODY showed !!
with him, on the left: SIMON CERIGO, artlovers critic-at-large & music reviewer – who happened to hitchhike a ride into local notorious acclaim – with his ‘unscripted’ cameo performance in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – figure it out for yourself.

mayday # 1
it was definite ‘MAYDAY’ – as in distress signal – as opposed to MAY DAY !! – the celebration.
what a diff a space makes.
the old phone was pretty good metaphor for what was happening in real time – a jerry-rigged BP oil rig blew – and was spilling a huge huge sick greasy slick into the Gulf of Mexico – aka – the global ocean and, no PLAN B.

mayday # 2
SHEPARD FAIREY – I guess calling the shots – right on the money – makes him a legend – he did say his Houston St. wall mural was about “Climate Change”, didn’t he. and here it comes – double time – now.
what can I say, I cried when my coppery-colored pet goldfish died. we won it at the San Gennaro Street Festival in Little Italy and it grew to be huge and we all swear it made eye contact and communicated via E.S.P.

mayday # 3
JEFFREY DEITCH. he seemed pretty pleased with the show . . . his last (for now !!) in NYC.
he’s off to MOCA in L.A. !!
see: JEFFREY DEITCH/NEW DIRECTOR/MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART – LOS ANGELES

mayday # 6
a very cool – ADRIEN BRODY !!
a little later on – he was spotted sporting a tiny NOAH LYON ‘McHITLER’ button !! in his lapel.

mayday # 10
speaking of ‘evil’ RONALD McDONALD !! and everything else wrong with middle America !!
and making sure you know it – NOAH LYON and his wife, MARIA !!

mayday # 6
also in the crowd – TAYLOR McKIMENS. looks like his life – is in KATHY GRAYSON’S hands, now ???

mayday # 8
LANCE DE LOS REYES aka sometimes as RAMBO – !! – with his new son, XAVIER and the very beautiful mom – GINA !!

mayday  - Bill
everybody’s fave – BILL BRADY of ATM GALLERY – wearing a TOMOO GOKITA T-SHIRT – what else !!

mayday # 11
the show was mostly about ICONS !! the new ‘still life’ -or- ‘mistress’ pix – if you were PICASSO . . .
mistress pix out – Pop icons, in.
in fact, people in the street talking a little bit more kindly on MR. BRAINWASH and his show of icons, now.
big diff – Shepard aced the MAYDAY !! – MR. BRAINWASH just missed ALEXANDER McQUEEN . . .
yep, you have to be that good – !!

mayday # 12
Shepard even scrambled around with his own icon-making – MR. OBEY aka OBEY GIANT.
am I the only one who sees ALFREDO MARTINEZ – the big ape – in that face ?
ok. gun maker and BASQUIAT FORGER.
(well he’s still in China and artlovers apparently is banned or blocked in China – so I’m safe for now. now don’t you – drop the dime on me. Josh told me Alfredo is living in the Internet cafe in the local town. literally, under one of the tables.)

mayday # 13
JIMI HENDRIX. I think its actually one of the very few things that speak well of contemporary America – its musicians are mass culture icons.

mayday # 14
this one had beautiful beautiful stencil work, and layering.
they were definite images – as in, paintings – rather than collages or worked-on photo-collages. they didn’t even strike you as photo-derived – but hand-drawn from from the get-go ?
albeit hand-drawn from photos !! well cone on – these guys are all dead, they couldn’t sit for their portraits, could they.
(aside to MR. BRAINWASH – still love your huge photo-based JEAN MICHEL !! and why can’t the filmmaker change places with the painter, if the painter becomes the filmmaker and expects everyone to to be down with that ? underdogs – unite.)

mayday # 15
a great one – !! – KEITH HARING.

mayday # 16
a super abstract – as opposed to a portrait one – OBEY. super nice scramble, Shepard.

mayday # 17
we’ll end on this note: “HIGH TIME” !! – “PEACE”.

mayday # 18
meanwhile – across the street – watching on – the new keepers of the flame.

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT – NANCY SMITH
SHEPARD FAIREY – ‘MAYDAY’ OPENING – DEITCH PROJECTS. NYC, MAY 1, 2010

POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – WED MAY 5, 2010 – 4:35 PM