It seems like just yesterday (er…December 2009) Gallery 1988 was hosting the opening night of the LOST Underground Art Project. It was more than just a pretty big deal for fans of the show. The line began to form hours before doors officially opened. The first hundred-plus fans received limited edition Tyler Stout prints that were selling for $1000 on eBay the following morning. Writers and producers hobnobbed with those in attendance. It was, for a LOST fan, quite an event. It was also the last time I went to an art opening at any gallery anywhere in the world. Unless I stumbled drunk onto a gallery crawl downtown…there have been more than a handful of nights since December 2009 where that might have occurred.
If there’s any show on television now that has as cultish a following as LOST, it’s Breaking Bad. Well, Game Of Thrones might be close, too…but Breaking Bad has definitely followed a similar trajectory since its incredible run began in January of 2008. I still remember borrowing the first DVD from work once when my ex was on vacation, and devouring those seven episodes in a little over one day. Then I watched those 7 again with her upon her return to LA. Then I watched them for a third time with Nate…because Nate introduced me to LOST so it’s only fitting that I return the favor at some point. A while later, in 2010, long after the LOST Underground Art Project had left Gallery 1988 and right in the middle of Breaking Bad‘s phenomenal third season, I bumped into Aaron Paul (aka Jesse Pinkman) at — wait for it — a LOST event on the campus of UCLA. I started to praise him and and Breaking Bad, but he cut me off mid-thought and said, “Tonight is about LOST!” He was as fanatical about the show as we were.
And isn’t it fitting that two-plus years later — as Breaking Bad hurtles towards its own inevitable conclusion — fans of the show are treating its final season with the same reverence and fervor as LOST received. Last week, Gallery 1988 played host to the Breaking Bad Art Project, an eerily similar show that featured everything from limited-edition screenprints to clay figurines and mixed media art celebrating all-things Breaking Bad. So, of course I had to check it out for myself. Apparently I’m only interested in art galleries when they’re reflecting pop culture phenomena that I like.
There was a private showing Saturday night for cast members Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, Betsy Brandt, and RJ Mitte as well as show creator Vince Gilligan. And since the gallery was open from just 11am until 6pm all week, it was a chore for me to get across town to see things for myself. But what I saw was super cool:
JoKa's "Breaking Bad" 8"x10" framed acrylic on board painted with toothpicks and mixed media. Love the blue meth in the background!
- Casey Weldon’s “Wooly Walter White”, the wooly willy spoof was the funniest thing I saw at the show. Made with acrylic and mixed media and measuring 17″x22″ it would have been my top choice if I had $600 to spend.
- Jason Marz’s “Meth” was a 16″x12″ framed ink and acrylic on paper piece that was simple but memorable. Ah, the mobile lab. So innocent. Those were the days…
- Matt Taylor’s “No Mas” screenprint fit my budget ($60) so I picked one up. A signed and numbered edition of 50, it does not overtly scream “Breaking Bad” so I can hang it on a wall and not look like a nerd. But other nerds will see it and get it. Pretty cool, right guys!?
Mick Harvey – Out Of Time Man [MP3]
