>>PREVIEW
KUSTOM BIZARRE
Runs August 13 to September 18
Room II Design
Get your motors running – Kustom Bizarre roars into Calgary’s Room II Design gallery beginning August 13.
Part political action, part visual arts exhibition, Kustom Bizarre will feature everything from a custom chopper (to be built on-site) to an airbrush demonstration from a California-based artist.
Described by its curator, Katherine Thompson, as "artistic democracy," Kustom Bizarre promises the opposite atmosphere from your stereotypical art gallery full of highbrow staff fluent in artspeak.
Instead, the event, where any leather-lovin’ biker might feel at home, is designed to showcase creative pursuits that are of the streets, for the streets.
"Room II Design is a unique concept store, whose motto is ‘design the world you wish to live in,’" says Thompson. "The idea… was to bring many of the arts together under one roof and one concept."
Scouring the country (and the world) for people who create using methods and materials that are outside the norm, Room II Design is now beginning to host events to showcase these artists’ talents. Kustom Bizarre celebrates those involved in "kustomizing," from bike builders to graffiti and tattoo artists, says Thompson. "It combines to create a vibrant and unique environment in which to cultivate and enhance the cultural environment of the community of Calgary and beyond."
One of those from "beyond" is Danny Henry, 37. A professional football player-turned-airbrush artist, Henry grew up in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles. He became interested in creating graffiti influenced by the hip hop and B-boy (break dancer) movements that first emerged in New York City during the 1970s. Now known for his custom airbrush designs on choppers, Henry will be in Calgary to find out what happens when a guy with the heart of a tiger is taken off the streets and put into a gallery.
"His style is an interesting mix of pin-up girls of the Betty Paige style, with graffiti lettering and symbols," says Thompson. "So his style is pretty unique, being not of the ‘flames’ school of airbrushing. With the Kustom Bizarre exhibition, it was a chance for Danny to try out his art on a different surface, canvas, and in a different world to that of the custom bike world. He wants to see what it’s like to showcase his work in the world of the art gallery."
For those who want to try out their own artistic skills, there will be a graffiti "free-for-all" wall set up at the gallery where you can test your aptitude with a can of paint without worrying about being arrested. Also present will be a crew of local graffiti artists who’ll conduct a live demonstration of their work. It’s a rare opportunity to see some folks in action who, when practising their form of art, often only come out at night.
"Maybe there will be an undercover police officer in the crowd," muses Thompson. Whether you consider graffiti to be vandalism or art, it’s just another example of what this event is all about, she adds.
"Kustom Bizarre celebrates the world of ‘kustomizing,’ be it a wall, a train, a body, a motorbike or a skateboard," she says. "It celebrates art and cultures which grew out of the underground street scenes, and through a desire to be unique and to leave a mark."
Kustom Bizarre opens Saturday, August 13 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Room II Design, located at 5934 Centre Street S.E. Admission is free. |
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