Green Day - The Art of Rock

It’s hard to imagine a more fitting environment to showcase artistic innovation and multi-national collaboration than London’s Brick lane, a bustling amalgam of eastern exuberance and western consumerism, a melting pot at the heart of a European metropolis. Nestled among the innumerable curry houses, corner shops lined with Bollywood DVDs and slickly decorated executive bars lies StolenSpace, host, for the next couple of weeks, to an unprecedented exhibition bridging the divide between music and art, ‘The Art of Rock,’ or, ‘The Green Day Art Project,’ as it is otherwise dubbed. Globe straddling platinum artists they may be, but Californian trio Green Day have arguably always remained true to their original punk rock ethic, once more emphasised in a project that serves to undermine common perceptions of the supposedly subordinate nature of art to music in the punk rock community, in the process bringing together artists from around the globe in the cause of free expression. There’s a celebratory air around the gallery for this evening’s private view, little wonder when one considers the logistical hurdles faced to bring the pieces together in one venue, let alone the other organisational implications of such a project.

‘To be honest,’ laughs exhibition curator and renowned stencil artist Logan Hicks, ‘you always expect something to go wrong. It was only two days ago that I saw the pieces in one place, at one time, as due to the artists coming from many different countries; Australia, Italy, Poland, the US and more; it was quicker to ship the pieces direct to Green Day. But it’s great seeing it all up upon the walls, with the variety of medium and subject… it really holds together as an art show.’ Playing a central role in the organisation, and indeed in developing the initial idea of the project, Logan has given as much as anyone to bring this together over the last couple of years along with Green Day themselves and their manager, Pat Magnarella, contributing three portraits of Green Day in the bargain. ‘One of the benefits of art is meeting people along the way,’ he says, ‘and I’ve been fortunate over the last four years and through twenty two countries to meet quite a few people that I click with. I chose people who I knew had a similar approach to their art as Green Day, raw, honest, and from the heart.’

‘The Art of Rock’ consists of twenty one original pieces, with eighteen of these relating to a particular song from Green Day’s recent ‘21st Century Breakdown’ Album. Each artist was provided with the lyrics from one of these songs to take inspiration for their piece, but was not played the music for the song itself, a deliberate move according to Logan. ‘The artists were only given the lyrics of each song, with no music to influence them. Green Day often match really dark lyrics to a pop tune, and we didn’t want this to be pop-art… this way the pieces really tie back into the lyrics.’

Around the gallery it’s easy to see the stylistic links and variations between the pieces, a subversive, underground tone carried through into the contrasting styles of the various artists, creating a striking and diverse display. ‘We used some imagery that we picked out directly from the lyrics sheet that we were given,’ explains Myla, of Australian art duo Dabs and Myla, who created ‘Before the Lobotomy.’ ‘But more so we tried to take from the all over feel of the lyrics...the atmosphere that they seemed to have, and transfer that to our painting.’ Dabs and Myla’s expressive cartoon/graffiti art hybrid is a true meld of the two artist’s individual styles, and is distinctive among some of the more naturalistic works around the packed-to-capacity room. ‘We actually studied together years ago… that’s how we met and fell in love. We have been working alongside each other ever since. But more recently in the last year or so we have started working only as collaborators. All our work, we do together. We are like a two headed monster!’ ‘We were both big fans of Green day, so we were so honored to be able to work on a project for them,’ says Dabs. ‘As a teenager I was a big fan of all the punk rock music coming out of California. It really had a big effect on me! When I was like 14 I was given a tape with Kerplunk on one side and The Descendents "Milo Goes to college" and from that moment I was hooked!’

An equal passion for the worlds of punk rock and art is something that the duo, currently based in LA, share with Logan Hicks, a passion that has seemingly proved a driving force behind the exhibition itself, as he elaborates. ‘When I was growing up I was a big punk rock fan, and I really admired the close relationship between music and art in that community; for example between Black Flag and Raymond Pettibon/Raymond Ginn, Crass and Gee Vaucher, Dead Kennedys and Winston Smith. But in that relationship, art has always kind of been in the supporting role. This was an opportunity for a happy 50/50 partnership between art and music… the two creative forms together at the forefront.’ A vision that has is attested to throughout StolenSpace this evening, alumni from the music world mingling with those of the art community, with a refreshing lack of pretention. Green Day themselves seem enthused about the exhibition, taking some time out from their UK arena tour to attend the view, with drummer, live wire, and all round nice guy Tre cool purchasing ‘Peacemaker’ by Polish artist M-City/Mariusz Waras after a browse around the collection. London Based artist EELUS is also impressed with the exhibition’s initial impact, his unsettling ‘Last of the American Girls’ one of the darkest elements of the show. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen it in the flesh, up close and together, and it’s a really strong show. The online photos don’t do it justice.’ He’s got a point, continued scrutiny of the pieces revealing ever more subtle details, Ron English’s ‘21st Century Breakdown’ a particularly strong example, as are with Hicks’ portraits of the band, backgrounds laden with partially concealed iconography. Describing the creative process as similar to ‘illustrating a book,’ EELUS’s piece is sure to leave an impact on the viewer… ‘I use a mixture of stencils and spraypaint… flat, bold colours often with dark themes. Much of it is drawn from horror and science fiction rather than being especially political; influenced by books and films. Really though, I make pictures for the sake of pictures.’ Like Logan, EELUS was part of last year’s ‘Cans Festival’ organised by legendary street artist Banksy, and with a background in graphic design brings a palpably foreboding atmosphere to his imagery.

From abstract dreamscapes (‘Viva La Gloria’ by Will Barras,) to touchingly delicate snapshots (‘Last night on Earth’ by Lucamaleonte) and a range of others beside, ‘The Art of Rock’ could scarcely be more varied in style, but the themes promulgated in Green Day’s music appear almost universal among the artists involved. Whether in the realm of ethical, political, theological or personal issues, it’s touched upon within the collection, the link between this art and the music of Green day far more than simply superficial. This in part likely has much to do with the band’s close involvement with the project from its very beginning. ‘Together we picked each artist for a particular song, tracing the story of 21st Century Breakdown,’ Logan says, ‘the troubles and experiences of two characters, Christian and Gloria.’ It’s quite apocalyptically inclined at times with a lot of different imagery, so we worked out which song might work for which artist. We went back and forth between the band and the artists from then on.’ ‘After reading the lyrics I let my mind wander for a bit, while trying to remember at least a few of my associations,’ says PISA73, a German artist whose derisive take on ’21 Guns’ serves to undercut and subvert a depiction of military bombast. ‘A succession of images came up which had to do with - obviously - guns, leading to images of military and uniforms and finally I had to concede that I find all of that quite ludicrous and annoying. I didn't really know what to do with the number 21, all I could remember was the 21 gun salute. Without further investigation I figured that it would work with the army angle in my piece.’ Created using stencil on discarded advertising wheatpastes, ‘21 guns’ seem to be a withering assault on the pomp and grandeur of military ceremony… ‘Most of my paintings and the handful of objects revolve around power issues, bigotry and anger: power - or the lack thereof - expressed through guns, soldiers, riot police, and sex. Bigotry, because I am offended by the double standard at work in our western society where a serious lack of common sense is, well, common. Finally anger, because I am an angry person - angry about being aware of my own powerlessness. In my work those ingredients mixed with a good measure of slogans resulted in bold, propaganda-like images. Recently however, I decided to change my approach and I began to paint much subtler and quieter pieces based on pictures I took at scenes of - sometimes assumed - aggressive or intense energy.’ Such issues and themes are also prominent throughout latter-day Green Day, and resonate in our increasingly fractured society perhaps more than ever before. As the champagne glasses and jugs of Complementary orange juice begin to be packed away towards the conclusion of the private view, there’s time to reflect on the vast achievemen of this exhibition. An unequivocal success in scope and relevance, ‘The Art of Rock’ is a must see for Green Day fans and devotees of underground art alike, driving art and music into previously unknown territory. Throughout their career Green Day have continually pushed the boundaries of ‘what music can do,’ this collaborative project proving no exception… Very impressive stuff.

Green Day Presents ‘The Art of Rock’ runs from the 23rd of October to the 1st of November at StolenSpace Gallery, London. For more information visit www.stolenspace.com or www.greenday.com. For information on any of the participating artists, please follow the links below.

M-city/Mariusz Waras : www.M-city.org

Meggs: www.houseofmegga.com

Peat Wollaeger: www.stensoul.com

PISA73: www.PISA73.com

Ron English: www.popaganda.com

Sadhu: www.myspace.com/SADHU1

Sixten: www.thismachinekills.com

The London Police: www.thelondonpolice.com

Will Barras: www.willbarras.com

Adam (5100) Feibelman: www.adam5100.com

Broken Crow: www.brokencrow.com

C215/Christian Guemy: www.myspace.com/c215

Chris Stain: www.chrisstain.com

Component: www.component.co.nz

Dabs/Myla: www.DABSMYLA.com

EELUS: www.EELUS.com

Jeremiah Garcia: www.n10z.com

Logan Hicks: www.Workhorsevisuals.com

Lucamaleonte: www.lucamaleonte.blogspot.com