Sanrio Small Gift in Los Angeles - Peekaboo Monster and Level Naturals


Sanrio Meets Fight Club in Peekaboo Monster's Installation for Small Gift


It was non-stop casting marathon and a glittery pink explosion in the Pretty In Plastic shop... (previous post - in progress photos) 





Go check out the Kitty Fight Club in person:  Details at the end of article.
 
Below is the article from the LA Times Blog Today!
 
L.A.-based artist Peekaboo Monster has neighbors who make soap. He wanted to include soap in his work for Small Gift, Sanrio's 50th anniversary art show currently running at Santa Monica Barker Hangar. But how was he going to combine the two?

 
Fight Club, of course.
"Honestly, we were all just kind of hanging out one night and drinking and having fun and it just kind of clicked," he said at the November 11 opening party. "I was like, 'Let's tie it into a Fight Club theme. It will tie it in with the soap and we'll make the characters basically kind of being turned into the soap bars.'"
Plastered with posters that read "Sanrio 50th Club: Have you picked a character lately?", Peekaboo Monster's installation is as much a tribute to the gruesome world of Fight Club as it is to the cuteness of Sanrio.

"It was a fun idea," said Peekaboo Monster. "I like the movie. It was different from what Sanrio would normally do with their characters."

 











The installation features four portraits of Sanrio characters who remain easily recognizable despite their bruises and gashes. These paintings-- "Keroppi Hopi Dream," "Badtz Maru Crew," "Hello Kitty Splits What She Sees" and "A Pandapple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away"-- are inspired in part by another pop culture touchstone.
"The idea behind that was almost like Punch Out!!, after you play the game, the frame after the round of them being beat, I kind of wanted it to be like that," he explained.














There are also three resin sculptures in the installation, each one holding a bar of soap made by Peekaboo Monster and his friends from Level Naturals. The hot pink resin gore dripping off one Hello Kitty statue actually glows in the dark.
"It's the biggest sculpture I've done so far, so it was interesting to do one, let alone three of them," said Peekaboo Monster.













 

As for the soap, they're available for sale at the exhibition, separate from the art pieces as well.


http://www.sanrio.com/smallgift/la/

Event Location
Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405 map

Small Gift LA Official Schedule
Here they are! All the dates and times you need to know to celebrate at Small Gift LA. We can't wait to see you there

Friday November 12, 2010
Small Gift L.A. is officially open!
10am to 10pm

Saturday November 13, 2010
10am to 11:30pm
Fan Appreciation Day (day event):
10am to 7:30pm
Sushi, Sunae and Sephora Workshop
(tickets required)
I (Heart) Nerds Party (evening event):
8:30pm to 11:30pm (tickets required)

Sunday November 14, 2010
Happy Anniversary Sanrio! Party
(all day event)
10am to 10pm
All day Scavenger hunt plus workshops
with Gary Baseman and more
(tickets required)

Monday November 15, 2010
11am to 9pm

Tuesday November 16, 2010
11am to 9pm

Wednesday November 17, 2010
11am to 9pm

Thursday November 18, 2010
11am to 9pm

Friday November 19, 2010
11am to 10pm

Saturday November 20, 2010
10am to 11:30pm
Sanrio Celebrates Art (day event):
10am to 7:30pm
Sushi, Felt and Wood Figure Workshops
(tickets required)
Retro 80s Prom Party (evening event):
8:30pm to 11:30pm (tickets required)

Sunday November 21, 2010
Last Day of Small Gift L.A.!
10am to 10pm

 See you there! Julie B.

Pretty In Plastic Inc. is located in Downtown Los Angeles. We are toy couture and do everything from design...sculpt...prototype...limited art runs...to manufacturing...from small scale to large! -Julie B.

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