Jensen Karp on Crazy 4 Cult 2 and Gallery 1988

With any art book I receive, I like to let my friends check it out first. It's nice to get the perspective of someone who isn't necessarily an "art parasite" but has a taste for relevant, aesthetically pleasing imagery. That's why I was instantly impressed by Crazy 4 Cult: Cult Movie Art 2. The moment I unpacked Gallery 1988's most recent publication, my roommate snatched the book out of my hand. Her first words: "This is cool." Followed by, "Oh I love Seth Rogan" and periodical "oohs" and "ahs" as she ogled each page. The thing about Crazy 4 Cult 2 is there is a little something for everyone, from Evil Dead illustrations to Ferris Bueller's Day Off graphics. The book itself is a collection of cult movie-themed artwork previously exhibited in Gallery 1988's "Crazy 4 Cult" art show. Recently, I had the pleasure to interview owner Jensen Karp about the history of Gallery 1988, his previous rap career, the "Crazy 4 Cult" exhibitions, and the latest Crazy 4 Cult 2 publication. Read below!

+++ INTERVIEW +++  

Crazy 4 Cult: Cult Movie Art 2 published by Titan Books

For readers who are unfamiliar with Gallery 1988, can you share a brief history?
Ten years ago, my partner, Katie Sutton, and I noticed there was a huge discrepancy amongst our friends between what they were wearing (with $300 Air Jordans and $500 handbags) and what was on their walls ($20 Bed, Bath & Beyond prints). We decided we'd try to fix that by creating an art gallery that focused on 20-35 year old buyers and artists, while also allowing them to depict their pop culture inspirations. Most galleries were ignoring them because they were young and affordable and this early part of their careers, we celebrated them and also didn't censor what they wanted to paint. We opened the first pop culture focused art gallery in the world and we couldn't be more proud to be standing 10 years later, having one of our best years yet.

Did G1988 start off with bang, or did it take time to draw in all those patrons and artists in?
We started with a soft cap gun bang. The first year was mostly Katie and I playing online poker hoping buyers found out we existed. We knew if we stayed the course though, things would work out. We just needed to put in the man hours and we knew being the first gallery of our kind would take some time to break. We would get decent crowds at the opening receptions, but people weren't ready to drop money on pieces until we proved we weren't going anywhere. We were a sound investment. So around year 2 was when we started to make a living and we've been thankful ever since.

Derrek Deal

How has your previous career as a rapper influenced your current career? Have you been able to apply any of your hip-hop/rap skills to managing an art gallery?
More than I ever thought it would, I guess. My rap career was a total shock to even me. I didn't plan on getting a million dollar deal from Interscope, trust me. So I had to adjust professionally for my early 20's. But I learned about marketing and dealing with talent quickly. Working for Jimmy Iovine in essence, and then later for Vince McMahon and the WWE, taught me a lot about running a business. I don't think I could've transitioned from performer to business owner without their influence. So I don't know if freestyling or producing music really helped at the gallery, but the outside skills I witnessed definitely did.

Do you have a background in art?
ZERO. I can't even draw a circle. My partner Katie is an Art History grad from USC and I was a Writing major. She had all the art knowledge. I just knew what I liked and I had fresh enough eyes to work with Katie and agree that paintings of video games and cult movies would sell to our friends. That's all I feel I needed.

Eric Tan

I understand the Crazy 4 Cult exhibitions did not begin until 2007. How did you come up with the idea of Crazy 4 Cult and what led to the first and second book installments?
Creating an art show based on cult movies was something I wanted to do since the moment we opened the gallery. It was purely because, as a film nut, I wanted the work for my wall too. I imagined artwork inspired by David Lynch, or The Big Lebowski, and knew I would hang that stuff. If I would hang it, then so would buyers. That's the inspiration for all of our shows. We only do what we want to see. As far as the books, we always knew we wanted somehow to chronicle all the incredible works from the annual exhibit. We couldn't keep it all on our website and it killed us to watch it basically disappear year after year. So we were introduced to Titan by our friend and Crazy 4 Cult aficionado Kevin Smith, as he had already released books with them. And Titan got the vision immediately and we were a team!

How do you decide what is shown in G1988?

Jon Smith

After ten years of being in business, we actually don't do a ton of deciding anymore. The artists we show monthly have been with us a long time and we know they get what we do, mostly because they helped build it. We have so much trust in them, and for good reason. We will add 10-15% new artists to a large group show and that happens through submissions and us just scouring the internet. And we just sort of get lucky that everything has worked. Curating is both a talent and also not really a job at the same time. You just have to know who to depend on and know what fits your space. That's the secret.

G1988 has been referred to as a "lowbrow" or "pop surrealist" gallery. How do you feel about those terms in reference to the work G1988 carries?
I don't think we're either of those. I think we're a "pop culture" gallery. We show both low brow artists and pop surrealists, but we've never even really used those terms for what we're doing. Lowbrow reminds me of the motorcycle tattoo artists that ruled the 80's and 90's in LA, and truthfully, we sort of opened G1988 solely because that stuff was so boring to our age group. And we've shown such talented artists like Greg Simkins or Travis Louie who fall into the Pop Surreal category, but when they've shown with us, it has a G1988 angle. We sort of lived in our own world for maybe 7-8 years, and now there's a dozen "pop culture" galleries. But yeah, regardless, we're pretty sure we know who we are.

What was the first exhibition G1988 held?
It was called "The Difference," which had two meanings. It was in reference to the idea that we were going to be different than every other gallery in Los Angeles, and this first show was the proof. And also, we exhibited two traditional painters with paint and canvas (Nikki Van Pelt & Tofer) and two digital artists with screenprints and giclees (PlasticGod and ESM Artificial). I look back at that show even ten years later, and think we actually nailed our vibe pretty fast. We made some failed experiments later, but we knew where we were trying to go early.

Joshua Budich

Are you familiar with most of the artists that are shown at G1988? Do you establish a personal relationship with them or are the majority works shown submission based?
Either Katie or I have a relationship with every artist who shows with us. We have two great gallery managers, but at least the initial conversations are always with Katie or I. I think it's important that we show how interested we are in the work. Katie and I do all the curating, so it's always our decision. We want that expressed, so the easiest way is for us to do all the early correspondence. Even when it's a submission, one of us will write back to start the relationship.

How did you narrow down your choices for Crazy 4 Cult 2? Any images or artists that were left out that you wish had made the cut this round?
We actually let Titan do most of those decisions. We will send in a huge folder with pictures, and they'll make cuts. We will look at those cuts and give our notes. It just gets broken down that way until we have the amount we want. We will save some for sure. But yeah, some always get cut that we know will show up in later volumes. That's just how it works. Let's just hope for a later volume.

Can we expect a Crazy 4 Cult 3 in the near future?
Buy Crazy 4 Cult 2 and I'm sure it'll happen. I learned that's how the book industry works.

+++ RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS +++


I like to ask a couple of random questions that don't really pertain to anything. That way fans and readers can get to know you a little more. These are like rapid-fire questions--it's all about your gut response--so don't think about them too long!

Ken Garduno

What are you going to be for Halloween?

I actually haven't decided. There's a Clippers game and that's all I really care about in life, so I'll go to
that and play it by ear. I always have the Verizon guy to lean back on.


Grumpy cat or keyboard cat?
Grumpy Cat. Keyboard Cat seems like a diva.

If you could live on/travel to any planet, which would you choose and why?
Mars because of Total Recall.

Ultimate meal?
I grew up in the Valley here in Los Angeles and there are just items from places there that I would piece together to make the ultimate meal of nostalgia. A sub sandwich from Dan's Subs, pizza and bread rolls from Pizza Cookery in Woodland Hills, a fro-yo from Humphrey Yogurt in Sherman Oaks and a pita from Tarzana Armenian Deli. PRETTY SPECIFIC.

Favorite rap song?
I have a few as I've studied the art form my whole life. I really like "Around The Way Girl" by LL Cool J, and two of the late 80's pro-peace posse songs, "Self Destruction" and "We're All In The Same Gang," but in reality anything off Gravediggaz "6 Feet Deep" is my favorite rap song.

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 If you want to get your hands on a copy of Crazy4Cult2 you can purchase it here on Amazon.

Also, be sure to check out Karp's gallery, Gallery 1988.