Clips from Goo

In 1990 when Sonic Youth released their album Goo (that’s the one with the iconic Raymond Pettibon cover), they asked a bunch of artists and filmmakers to produce the accompanying music videos.  One of the contributors was a young Tony Oursler (the inclusion of a toy panda with a human mouth in the video above is the giveaway I reckon…).  He chose Tunic (Song For Karen) “…for its classic SY sound and tragic subject: the self destruction of mega-popstar Karen Carpenter”.

Pervy photographer Richard Kern had a go too.  That’s his video above, for the track Scooter and Jinx.

Raymond Pettibon, film-maker

LOL’s just discovered a suite of early films by Raymond Pettibon, all shot by the artist in 1989 using home video equipment. The tapes address various elements of West Coast American subcultures from Charlie Manson and The Family (in Judgement Day Theatre: The Book of Manson) to the kidnapping of Patti Hearst by militant group The Symbionese Liberation Army (in Citizen Tania). The last of these videos, Sir Drone (above), focuses on the emergence of the American punk movement, to which Pettibon was intrinsically linked though his work with Black Flag and SST Records.  In it, Mike Watt of the Minute Men and the late Mike Kelly (formerly of Destroy All Monsters) play teen punks trying to start a band.  Pettibon himself also makes an appearance, as a character called Vomit.  Shot over two days, Sir Drone contains a rambling script read awkwardly from cue cards.  Despite their crudeness, Kelly later claimed that “Raymond’s tapes are strangely moving: he is a brilliant script writer”.  LOL leaves you to be the judge of that…

More Rad Programming from MOCAtv

MOCAtv has produced a 3 part series on ‘The Art of Punk’.  The first episode (above) explores of the art of Black Flag, focusing on their iconic four bar logo and associated gig memorabilia designed by artist Raymond Pettibon (who also happens to be Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn’s brother).  Installments on the Dead Kennedys and Crass to follow later this month.

Raymond Pettibon, Whuytuyp

Here’s a great new clip from MOCAtv featuring Raymond Pettibon being interviewed by Alia Shawkat at his Venice Beach studio.  The artist creates graphic and gritty works on paper, often with a political bent.  He also has deep connections to the punk rock movement, particularly Black Flag; and it was Pettibon who created the band’s iconic logo.  (He’s also the guy behind Sonic Youth’s infamous album cover for Goo  – below).

Black Flag band logo designed by Raymond Pettibon

Pettibon’s an eccentric character.  Whilst serving 3 years in Pelican Bay penitentiary for copyright violation, the artist inadvertently received a questionable back tattoo from his cellmate: he was expecting a portrait of his girlfriend, but ended up with an enormous swastika instead (you can read more about that in this Vice interview).

Pettibon-designed album cover for Sonic Youh

Pettibon’s got a contentious twitter account too.  Since he materialised online midway through last year he’s been generating absurd content like; “Gucci’s on iyt,I mean,the btchs like to lick his face to the bone,like the mane’s an ice cream cone”.  The man loves to tweet, so if these sorts of statements are to your liking, you can follow him here.

MOCAtv now transmitting

MOCAtv launched quietly on YouTube at the start of October and has been regularly posting original content on their channel ever since.  Conceived as a digital extension of MOCA’s education and exhibition programming, the material on MOCAtv is roughly divided into four categories; artist video projects, art in the streets (focusing on street artists), Art+Music (featuring music videos and artist/musician collaborations) and MOCA U (a series of interactive art education talks).  Recently MOCAtv invited rapper The Game to check out an exhibition by Agathe Snow and have a chat about the work (above) and it’s nice to see personalised content like this, including voices beyond the usual suspects.

New content is released each week so keep any eye out for forthcoming contributions from the likes of Raymond Pettibon, Bruce Conner and Spike Jonze.

Domestic Stuff

Opening of ‘Domestic Stuff’ at Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta

Last night Leg of Lamb attended the opening of Domestic Stuff, a group exhibition at Cemeti Art House curated by Cemeti Co-Director and artist Mella Jaarsma. Using shared domestic experience as a point of departure, Jaarsma invited a group of 7 Indonesian artists to in turn enter into artistic partnerships with collaborators working across different disciplines.  Of particular interest was ‘Titian Catatanku Dari Rumah’, an installation by Mufti ‘Amenk’ Priyanka who was invited to join the exhibition by ceramicist Sekarputri.

Mufti ‘Amenk’ Priyanka, ‘Titian Catatanku Dari Rumah’, 2012

Priyanka combines heavy metal imagery (good to see an early Metallica poster making an appearance here!) and other found pop culture memorabilia with small hand painted works  on paper that offer vignettes into the artist’s personal life.  Indebted to the style of American artist Raymond Pettibon, Priyaka’s black and white drawings combine everyday domestic imagery with handwritten texts and family photos that lend the installation a diaristic quality akin to stepping into a teenage boy’s bedroom; and it’s this fusion of rock and roll bravado and intimacy that makes the work so engaging.

Domestic Stuff, at Cemeti Art House, Jl. D.I. Panjaitan 41, until August 25th