Mr. Brainwash presents ICONS

Last night Ana and I checked out the Mr. Brainwash ICONS show in the Meatpacking District. I remember being drawn to it because of the huge can of pink paint (I've been wanting to paint my closets this color for months); noticing a few other blogs cynically and aggressively hating it made me want to go more. It opened a month ago to lines around the block, but last night at 8pm it was practically ours.





As the name suggests, the show is about cultural icons. The style is similar to Banksy's, and some people even think that Banksy is Mr. Brainwash. Banksy made a movie called Exit Through The Gift Shop that screened at Sundance and apparently features him. The trailer reminds me of A Cross The Universe in a way, and I want to get my hands on it.



Anyway, about the show. There were lots of screen prints of people's faces - an art wall featuring guys like Basquiat, Damien Hirst, and Roy Lichtenstein; two fashion walls facing each other, one with models and the other featuring designers; lots of Madonna. There were also musician portraits made from pieces of broken up LPs, replicas of famous paintings with bits of contemporary culture snuck in, and installations of familiar brands & symbols. Two of my favorites were the Michelin man constructed out of tires, and a full-sized NYC taxi in Matchbox Car packaging. Brand names ranging from Campbell's Soup to Louis Vuitton were displayed on big spray paint cans. And there was a HUGE boom box downstairs.







ICONS is open until 31st March and has super convenient hours; free signed posters too. See some more pictures in this Flickr set.

Mr. Brainwash presents ICONS
415 W. 13th Street
www.mrbrainwash.com