GERMS Virtual Art Show...Collection Selections #1

[GReedDiamond]

"X-Ray Eye" acrylic on 4 1/8" x 6" wood panel, framed size 7" x 8 1/4".


"Untitled (Sponge Painting)" acrylic on wood, 16" x 24" unframed. I made the high-density polyethylene sponge printing implements which were used on this piece. Similar "sponges" and stencils made by me were used in several other Germs pieces, such as in "Purgatory Mary" (see below).


"Star Spangled Bummer" CD Cover art for album by (my band) Benedict Arnold & The Traitors, 2008. Acrylic on 12" x 12" illustration board, framed size 15 1/2" x 15 1/2".


"Purgatory Mary" acrylic on wood, 18" x 36" (? not sure). There is a limited edition giclee/hand embellished print of this around that size...the original may be larger. Unfortunately, I don't own this original.


"Peckerwood" acrylic on wood, 24" x 24".


"Nacho Cheese" aka "Nacho Libre" (Jack Black) acrylic on canvas, 18" x 36" unframed.


"Mr. Bubbles" acrylic on wood with vintage frame, 13 1/4" x 16 1/2", 2011


"Luchador Americano" acrylic on wood, size ?, with the pvc "toy" modeled on the painting.


"Germus Comb Murex" acrylic on canvas, 15" x 45", 2008.


"Untitled (Wings)" aka "Bug Eyed Germs" , acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"


"Tres Culos" acrylic on wood in repurposed bathroom-door-sized mirror frame.

[lunatica]

1. These are amazing.

I can see why you collected these paintings. They are amazing on so many levels. I find myself reacting to the different elements and the mixture of styles that you almost never see together with excitement and wonder and amazement at how well it works together. It’s as if the artist is proving to the viewer that there is no such thing as subjects or rules that don’t go together.

These paintings are flawless in their execution. They are rendered by someone who has mastered all the rules of art to the point where he can break those rules quite deliberately in order to be true to his vision. He mixes soft beautiful and ethereal elements with harsh strong and sometimes jarring features. Delicate, almost feminine components with strong masculine themed subjects. It’s truly amazing to see this done so well. It’s exciting and gratifying and arresting.

I appreciate his use of Lucha Libre themes, symbols and icons with the animated death symbols of skulls and the undulation of the octopus-like appendages. I makes me remember the different relationship that people have with the theme of death in Mexico where I grew up and lived for 25 years. It’s not easy to explain or pin down the different approach to life and death, but Germs does it.

I also found your album cover very interesting and captivating with the band name also illustrated and integrated in symbolism that illustrates some negative elements of our industrial civilization.

I thoroughly enjoy looking at these! Thanks so much for posting them!

[GReedDiamond]

2. Here's a link to a KCET TV short (11:25) documentary featuring Germs...

...from an episode of "Artbound" which originally aired in February 2014, The Infectious Ephemera of Germs.

Also appearing is Cheech, who talks about Germs and Chicano Art in general.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/the-infectious-ephemera-of-germs

(KCET is the local Los Angeles PBS affiliate.)

[lunatica]

3. Thanks!

I’ll definitely look at it! He’s a very interesting artist.

I’ll see if my perceptions were anywhere close!

[GReedDiamond]

4. One thing to keep in mind, this was going on 7 years ago...

...his work has greatly evolved over that time.

And since the beginning of the pandemic, he has healthed-up to the point where I almost don't recognize him.

I'll definitely be interested in your assessment of the video!

[lunatica]

5. Thank you for posting the video

I learned so much more about what it means to be a Chicano, distinctive and a power in its own right. I did already know there was a uniqueness born from two basic cultures and I’ve been a Cheech and Chong fan from the beginning and deeply appreciate their humorous pocho quality in its own right.

In my heart I love the refusal to “assimilate” and the culture that has grown out of it. I am very comfortable with it as it grows and spreads outside its genesis. I loved it when I lived in California and I love it even more where I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico now. The varied cultures are more integrated in NM, though still distinctly unique, probably because Santa Fe as a center of culture and power is much, much older than our United States as a country is.

I did kind of get it a little just by looking at the paintings, but I get it much more with your video. Thanks!