Welcome to the Art Massacre
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Welcome to the Art Massacre
The Los Angeles art scene is where it’s at. Forget New York, forget Chicago. This is where the beautiful people congregate, network, and marvel at how fabulous they are. There’s free bottom shelf wine offered in front of $10,000 paintings, guest lists where only the fashion elite can gain entry, and people raise their whispering voices just loud enough so everyone around them can hear them namedrop whatever celebrity they’re browning their noses with this week. This is the essence of HOLLYWOOD…and this is where I come in.
I’m Bill Shafer and I own Hyaena Gallery in beautiful Burbank, CA. I am the pus bubble staph infection on the ass of LA’s gallery scene. I am the middle finger that rises defiantly off the canvas and lodges itself up the uretha of every pretentious gallery owner on this sinking slab of Californian earth. I moved out to the West coast from the puritanical frathaven of Boston with one simple goal: I want to make art dangerous again.
Real art is in the underground. It’s the propaganda of revolution that pokes fun at the things we blindly accept in life. The worse thing art can be is flaccid (Thomas Kinkade), it’s supposed to scare you, make you think, make you feel anything other than indifference. Dark Art, Outsider Art, Fetish Art, Illustration, True Crime; I go out of my way at Hyaena to show the work that other galleries ignore. No attitude, no egos, just killer art that speaks to the dark, deviant, and inappropriate sides of all our personalities.
Selling $2000 prints to a herd of Juxtaposeur sheep isn’t dangerous, it’s retarded. We’re taking that part of the art world and fisting it with a little bit of old school rebellion. I’m surrounded by such an amazing pack of creative and twisted artists and we’re making our presence felt. Whether you’re a collector, an artist, a fan, or just a free thinker, this is for all of us and I hope you dig it.
I’ll be doing regular updates here for Icons and sharing my ramblings on the art world in general. Mostly, I’m hoping to highlight the art I love and turn people on to some great artists that you wont find plastered limply on the pages of every graffiti/design/”art” magazine with a glossy Lowbrow cover. For three years, I’ve donned my Hyaena guise and roamed CHUD-like around the art sewers…It’s time we lift the manhole covers and show mainstream society what is really happening beneath it all. Oh, and we have bottom shelf wine, too, but there’s always a bottle of Jack behind the counter for those in the know. Come get some.
Amen.
VISIT: WWW.HYAENAGALLERY.COM
Next:
Mark Ryden is not a god.
Write to Bill Shafer at: hyaenaking@hyaenagallery.com
The Los Angeles art scene is where it’s at. Forget New York, forget Chicago. This is where the beautiful people congregate, network, and marvel at how fabulous they are. There’s free bottom shelf wine offered in front of $10,000 paintings, guest lists where only the fashion elite can gain entry, and people raise their whispering voices just loud enough so everyone around them can hear them namedrop whatever celebrity they’re browning their noses with this week. This is the essence of HOLLYWOOD…and this is where I come in.I’m Bill Shafer and I own Hyaena Gallery in beautiful Burbank, CA. I am the pus bubble staph infection on the ass of LA’s gallery scene. I am the middle finger that rises defiantly off the canvas and lodges itself up the uretha of every pretentious gallery owner on this sinking slab of Californian earth. I moved out to the West coast from the puritanical frathaven of Boston with one simple goal: I want to make art dangerous again.
Real art is in the underground. It’s the propaganda of revolution that pokes fun at the things we blindly accept in life. The worse thing art can be is flaccid (Thomas Kinkade), it’s supposed to scare you, make you think, make you feel anything other than indifference. Dark Art, Outsider Art, Fetish Art, Illustration, True Crime; I go out of my way at Hyaena to show the work that other galleries ignore. No attitude, no egos, just killer art that speaks to the dark, deviant, and inappropriate sides of all our personalities.
Selling $2000 prints to a herd of Juxtaposeur sheep isn’t dangerous, it’s retarded. We’re taking that part of the art world and fisting it with a little bit of old school rebellion. I’m surrounded by such an amazing pack of creative and twisted artists and we’re making our presence felt. Whether you’re a collector, an artist, a fan, or just a free thinker, this is for all of us and I hope you dig it.I’ll be doing regular updates here for Icons and sharing my ramblings on the art world in general. Mostly, I’m hoping to highlight the art I love and turn people on to some great artists that you wont find plastered limply on the pages of every graffiti/design/”art” magazine with a glossy Lowbrow cover. For three years, I’ve donned my Hyaena guise and roamed CHUD-like around the art sewers…It’s time we lift the manhole covers and show mainstream society what is really happening beneath it all. Oh, and we have bottom shelf wine, too, but there’s always a bottle of Jack behind the counter for those in the know. Come get some.
Amen.
VISIT: WWW.HYAENAGALLERY.COM
Next:
Mark Ryden is not a god.
Write to Bill Shafer at: hyaenaking@hyaenagallery.com
Comments
Hey Bill, looking forward to your discoveries of art; real, twisted, rotting corpse, soul broken art.
Posted by: Bane | April 3, 2009 07:44 PM
I can breathe because of the success I've had with Hyaena. It's one of the few galleries I really trust and at the same time - I'm always happy to drink Bill under the table
Posted by: Nicolas Caesar | April 6, 2009 02:58 PM
right on!
Posted by: Anonymous | April 6, 2009 07:45 PM
Hyaena is the real deal! Always fresh always new.
Posted by: tatomir | April 6, 2009 07:48 PM
YAY! One of my key supporters and brother in thick of all the stupid out there in the world.
Bill is my sunshine!
Posted by: Big Tasty | April 6, 2009 08:02 PM
Bill, you are the Man. You always will be.
Peace,
Darius
Posted by: Darius James | April 6, 2009 08:48 PM
I wanna fist the art world too! fist it hard!
God speed Bill.
Posted by: The Creep | April 7, 2009 01:17 AM
I look forward to your ryden post
Posted by: Marie | April 7, 2009 06:37 AM
You have to mention Kirk next post.
Posted by: CR | April 9, 2009 11:37 PM
I'm looking forward to this. You're the man Bill!
Posted by: Dan H. | April 10, 2009 01:42 AM
Bill is the biggest bad ass in all of bad assery land!
I wouldnt be doing anything with art now if it wasnt for this guy.
His views on art, the art world and fetishism have positively influenced so many of us.
He once told me he could ".. see the weight of the world in a child's smile"
I think that says it all.
Preach on my friend. The gospel must be heard!
Posted by: Jeremy Cross | April 11, 2009 07:19 AM
All hail the Hyaena King.
And seriously Bill... the donkey really misses you.
Posted by: Mrs. Death | April 13, 2009 02:15 AM
If Thomas Kinkade is the "Painter of Light," then Bill is proof that good things can flourish in the shade. He has created a venue, community, and opportunity shared by those with an affinity for the beauty of darkness. Carry on my friend.....carry on!
Posted by: DIENZO | April 14, 2009 02:47 AM
Hayena gallery is the true place for TRUE lowbrow art and where true artists show and gather.
onward! Bill
cheers
-D
Posted by: Damian Crowley | April 22, 2009 03:44 AM
Bill is the only L.A. gallery owner who doesn't raise his nose to artists and collectors alike. He is more than happy to lower it for you so you can climb inside and browse around the menajere of buggers, sticky stuff, and the twisted art that he has hand selected from his pack of hyaena's to adorn this exterior framework of what lies inside the brian of the great Hyaena King. Amen and Good Day!
Posted by: Frankie Babylon | May 2, 2009 06:40 PM
BanksyPunked
www.banksypunked.com
Posted by: Banksy Punked | May 26, 2009 06:26 PM
What does this mean? I thought it would be cool if Art Massacre had an option for the viewer/visitor to see more drawings by a poster, by simply clicking on the label. So, rather than having silly labels like, for example: animals, dog, cars, etc., loan we are now only using labels by the posters name. Sound cool enough? Comment and tell me what you think of the NEW changes, or if you have an idea for Art Massacre.
Posted by: Jack | July 8, 2009 08:14 AM
CHUD-like! I love it! Can't wait to visit again!!
Posted by: Bill's favorite sister, Amy | October 9, 2009 02:05 PM