We got word of a zine-fest associated with Oakland Museum's current Super Awesome! exhibit that celebrates the art and influence of the wonderful Giant Robot magazine. It was one of their fun "Friday Nights at OMCA" events, where the museum stays open until 9pm. So we went last Friday despite a school event we were supposed to go to. Rider dined and dashed with pizza slices flopping over the edge of his paper plate, leaving a trail of baby carrots. I wish there were more of this kind of activity around (and less potlucks). It was a blast! We picked up an array of zines while really enjoying the upbeat dj. Rock, Paper, Scissors Collective was there and we got a nice stack of inspiring little pieces for just a buck or two each and got to talk with an excited young artist who was representing for them. I love young art kids---feel tremendous maternal benevolence towards them. (In art school, as I went back at the age of 30, one professor called me the mother of the lost boys-a stretch, perhaps, but he nailed my emotional landscape there). We hit Tiny Splendor while Rider added Post-It pictures to their Post-It art wall.
One of Rider's Contributions to the Art Wall.
We love Tiny Splendor's aesthetic and Risograph loveliness-already had a bunch of their publications, but got a few small things. We also picked up some stuff by my new favorite zine artist, Teppei Ando - kinda wish now we had gotten more! Plus, for these events the food trucks come... and there was a band outside - a really festive atmosphere! Unfortunately we were having too much fun to stop to eat and by the time we got out there they were about to drive away. We did take a break to enjoy the herons that haunt the pond there (while contemplating the ethics of the recent tree pruning scandal... or not... herons are rather inscrutable, I find).
Here un dere were herons.
The Super Awesome exhibit was jolly fun, too. Near the entrance was a great film of Giant Robot imagery flashing in sequence...
There were button machines, too! (Got into buttons while living a summer in Philadelphia and hanging out on South Street when I was a preteen-punk buttons and neon dyed army surplus!!!)
Which reminds me of two things---gotta tell about that summer as a Pennsylvania Ballet student from getting locked up in the house of a mad woman who's teenaged son turned tricks to ending up rooming with Charles Bronson's step daughter, a valley girl and another one like her --- and that someone in the zine fest was selling "Post Punk is Not Dead" patches. Wanted one, but they were also selling vegan propaganda and now I eat fish and was wearing a yard sale leather jacket, so I felt weird about it. There was a "Sleeve Face" photo op site!
and a video game car,
and more video stuff---
Also there was a great wall of photos... from various publications by Mr. Hamburger Eyes (aka Ray Potes) blown up in a grid. I really wish we'd picked up some of his zines --- they were in the salon, too. There was too much good stuff there, and they were in the back, so we were kinda done spending for the night. Anyway, a terrific photography/design aesthetic --- wanted to ask the Hamburger Eyes guy (Ray?) more about his printing (mostly black and white, photo based) but he was kinda too hip... in my memory he was sitting behind a mixing board with headphones around his neck, but he wasn't the dj and no music was coming from him... do I just imagine that? The books were spread around and in front of him. Everything around him had the feeling of being part of his entourage.