Scott

Yuri’s night was a blast – congrats to Kate and Jared for pulling everyone together and throwing a great party. It was a really fun crowd, and people milled around until well after 1am. Captain Uranus was a most excellent host for the show, and the performances were all top notch. I didn’t get the name of the guy that did the Grim Reaper number, but that was fun. And of course Bambi Galore and L’il Dutch were wonderful.

It’s tough to take photos with tentacle arms, so I don’t have very many. Here’s a few from the end of the night. Speaking of tentacles – hard to believe we actually won the costume contest. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pics of us with our tentacles, so if anyone out there has any please send me a copy!

Artist Chris Bishop and Yuri’s night organizer and artist Jared Davis.

Escape hatch girl Kirstra, intergalactic cigarette girl Sara, and alien Mike.

Garry Gutter and Li’l Dutch.

L’il Dutch was also the model for my painting “Proliferation.”

L’il Dutch and myself.

Celebrate SPACE. Join us for an OUT OF THIS WORLD experience. Dress yourself in your best celestial attire (prizes awarded). See an art exhibition of other-worldly magnitude. Enjoy cosmic concoctions by Stoli Vodka. Experience heavenly bodies through stellar burlesque performances. Space out with a Russian-style, post-punk band. Enjoy, and temporarily elevate yourself from an earthly existence.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Your ticket includes three drink vouchers to be used during the “Hydration Sequence” sponsored by Stoli Vodka (20:00 – 22:00 hrs). What a deal!

You can get tickets and the low-down at www.outofthisworldparty.com.

Jared adds Sputnik to the stage backdrop

Over thirteen visual artists from the Art Whino stable exhibit art that celebrates, reflects, and imagines space, from hard-core science to the low-brow culture.

The band, Mr. Moccasin, will begin at 9 pm. With 7-members and a lead singer who sings in Russian and English, Mr. Moccasin performs world music-inspired post-punk and combines drastic chord changes, big riffs, Eastern-tinged violin, cello, and mandolin.

Taking the stage for two sets (one at 10:30 and the next at midnight) is a Spacey Burlesque Revue, hosted by the enigmatic Master Uranus (with the help of Gary Gutter-Space Janitor) and starring Miss Saturn. New York based Saturn performs with up to 40 orbiting rings (hula hoops)! Joining Miss Saturn in the burlesque line-up is L’il Dutch, a DC-based burlesque artist rocketing to stardom. The next constellation of stars is the heavenly bodies of Gilded Lily Burlesque.

On board throughout the night will be DJ Red Poncho Space Bear, spinning inter-stellar tunes that will bounce your moonwalk. Also come prepared for science fiction’s favorite theatre company, Landless Theatre, and excerpts from their production of “Space Battles, The Musical.”

The Facts:
Date/Time: Saturday, April 12, 8 pm – 2 am.
Location: Art Whino, 717 N. Saint Asaph Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703.462.4135
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Admission includes three drink vouchers for Stoli’s Cosmic Concoctions. 21+ only. Visit www.outofthisworldparty.com for advance sales or call 703.462.4135.

More About Yuri’s Night:
April 12, 1961 Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin embarked on the historic first manned space flight. Twenty years later on 12 April 1981, the US launched the first space shuttle flight. We think that’s something worth celebrating! Every year on April 12th Yuri’s Night parties are held all around the world; it’s like the St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo for space. Visit http://www.yurisnight.net for a list of worldwide parties.

Featured Artists:
Alan Defibaugh, Arabella Proffer-Vendetta, Bryan C, Brandi Read, Chris Bishop, Jared Davis, Jason Snyder, Julie Steiner, Olivier Defaye, Papermonster, Scott G. Brooks, Sean Welker, Shawn Huddleston, and Todd Gardner

Enjoy…

News arrived that my work has been selected to appear in two books.

The first one I heard about was Metamorphosis 2, published by the Beinart International Surreal Arts Collective.

Jon Beinart has been a big promoter of surrealism and pop surrealism the last few years and his site is the place to go for images and links to the top contemporary surreal artists around the world. There are 50 artists in the book “Metamorphasis 2,” including H.R. Giger, Lori Earley, Travis A. Louie, Ron English, Michael Hussar, Jessica Joslin, Chris Mars, Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins, Nathan Spoor, David Stoupakis, Robert Williams, Shawn Barber, Paul Booth, Tiffany Bozic, and Ben Tolman. I’m not sure when it will be released, but I’ll post updates as they come in.

The second book project is very interesting. It’s sponsored by the Innovators Award and is called “Arts and Addiction.” There were 900 entries – 69 were selected for the book, two of which were mine. (Whew. Those are some odds.) It’s an important book, and I’m happy to be included.

From their website:

The Innovators Awards program was established by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to nurture innovation in combating substance abuse, the nation’s number one health problem. Each year the program recognizes five of the nation’s leading lights in substance abuse control with $300,000 awards. The program is headquartered at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where innovation in science and health is a way of life.

More information can be found here.

Both of the paintings selected were done during a more “difficult” time in my life you might say. The jurors deserve credit for selecting work with such graphic imagery. Besides appearing in the book, the art selected will be in several exhibits. First up is an exhibit during the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence in Puerto Rico this June.

The work selected (click for larger images):

“The Fabulosity of God (And God Created Man in His Own Image)”

“Heartache”

Images of the 2008 State Easter Eggs are up on the White House site. You can see them all here. I’m still waiting on the photo of Laura and me, signed by Laura’s automated signature machine, to arrive in the mail. Once I get that I’ll post it as well.