Monday, June 09, 2008

Viva Pomona: Miripolsky Has Arrived



The banners are all around town. Some have an air of mystery: black background with hot pink letters that simply say "Miripolsky." At first, I wondered if this was the third party candidate for the upcoming Assembly race. Pomona's savior has come! Then Richard sent me a photograph of the banner on the Fox Theater marque.





So I'm like, "You mean THAT Miripolsky?" While not a political coupe, it is certainly an artistic one: Andre Miripolsky is coming to Pomona care of dA Center for the Arts.


Here's what the Inland Empire Weekly had to say about the show:

"Miripolsky + Miripolsky
By Stacy Davies

"The IE gets superstar artistic treatment once again when world-renowned art provocateur Andre Miripolsky comes to town for a wildly colorful exhibit that’s unofficially being billed as “Viva Pomona.” The title is in reference to the artist’s famous 2005 Viva LA 3-D wallscape that was so well received that it now serves as the slogan for the revitalizing downtown.




"Miripolsky is best known to the public for his Absolut Vodka bottle art that ran on billboards during the ’90s,



"as well as for painting the entire UCLA basketball floor for MTV’s Rock and Jock B-Ball Jam exhibitions. A favorite of celebrities, Miripolsky designed Elton John’s famous “piano keyboard” suit for his 1997 tour, album covers for Bette Midler and the performance stage on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, to name a few of his more famous endeavors.

"With a style that somewhat recalls Keith Haring mixed with graffiti street art, Miripolsky strives to express not only the electrifying beauty of people and spaces, but also to illuminate causes and ideas that serve to propel us toward all things good: from large-scale AIDS awareness, Pro-Peace, Artists for Disarmament and “save the salmon” activism to his mantra “Fear no Art,” Miripolsky’s range of expression spans all creative mediums. In another stroke of dA genius, at this show Miripolsky’s artwork will be coupled with that of his father Bert, a vibrant abstract artist in his own right. A father and son show with dad’s day right around the corner? Just another one of those art imitating life mysteries.

"Miripolsky + Miripolsky at the dA Center for the Arts, 252 S Main Street, Pomona Arts Colony, Pomona, (909) 397-9716; www.dacenter.org. June 4–28. Grand Opening Reception June 14"




GoP: This show is just in time for the second Saturday art walk this weekend, and will continue until the last Saturday art walk in two and a half weeks. I am thinking Miripolsky may not be able to resist making art out of the empty lots on Second Street while he's in town. At least I'm hoping.

I was just emailed second hand a press night V.I.P. pass to meet the artist. I think in Pomona that counts as being invited, tho I'm not above crashing the party. Viva Pomona!!!

THE END

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, you are OFFICIALLY invited!...and it is PRESS NIGHT, by which I thing you certainly qualify!

;D

Anonymous said...

oops! I meant "think", but you know a "think" of a "thing" is a thing unto itself.

;/

me said...

Well thanks for the first hand invite, A.S. And it's nice to see some Second Streeter names around these parts. I thing I'll try to go.

G of P

Anonymous said...

I checked out the Miripolsky show Saturday night.
1. The stuff out front was whimsical but it drives me nuts to see printed material sold as original art.
2. The art in back must have been pulled out af some closet. It dated to the mid sixties on & was so dusty, some paintings were obscured by dirt.
3. It was hotter than hell in that building. I could barely take 10 minutes.
Mark