This past weekend, Adam Green of the now defunct The Moldy Peaches presented his second art show, "Cartoon and Complaint," for a private reception at Dustin Yellin's newly opened Intercourse studio in Red Hook.
Saturday's guests included Green's adorable mother who proudly donned an Adam Green t-shirt, Macaulay Culkin (who starred in Green's iPhone flick "The Wrong Ferrari"), close friends and fellow artists who gathered to view the show, while enjoying some kegs and sausage outside the remarkable space.
Yellin recently purchased the massive 24,000-square foot, Civil War-era warehouse for $3.7 million with hopes to create a "utopian art center." Green's opening reception marks Intercourse's first official show.
HUFFPOSTNY: How did you get connected to Intercourse?
GREEN: I've known Dustin for awhile, long before he opened up the space. I think Intercourse has the potential to be kind of like a junior MoMa PS1 with artists in residence, a music studio, their garden and foster different kinds of artists. I feel really lucky to exhibit here. In the art world, musicians are sometimes perceived as a minus. But I don't feel that here.
How does "Cartoon and Complaint" differ from Teen Tech, your first show?
Teen Tech was a cartoon show as well, but with a lot more sculptures that I had been creating in my house. I had just gotten divorced and had been inflicting a lot of self harm onto myself, so the sculptures have a lot of chains around necks. Most of the works were created in my home and I had been creating a huge mess, so the sculptures were almost like a way of getting revenge on my old house to forget what happened there. "Cartoon and Complaint" exhibits more control over paint because of the experience I've developed since Teen Tech.
Inspiration for today's show?
I'm really inspired by expressionist painters, particularly Georges Rouault who utilized a lot of thick, black lines in his works. For Cartoon and Complaint there are two parts. The cartoon part has a lot of symbols that we're all familiar with. The complaint part is what I did to those symbols, reassembling them with bruises. This show also grew out of my film "The Wrong Ferrari" I directed starring Macaulay Culkin.
Any music you've been working on?
I'm making an album with Binki Shapiro from Little Joy and that should be out next year.
Is there a connection between your music and art?
You know how people are always looking for a unifying theory? I was looking for a unifiying theory of art expression. I was trying to create some kind of fluidity with my music, art, writing. If you listen to my songs, especially from The Moldy Peaches, you see they're kind of cartoonish. I try to make songs like my paintings. When creating my movie, I tried to create more of a song.
There are some paintings on display you've done with Fabrizio Moretti. How'd that develop?
The Moldy Peaches and The Strokes began our careers on tour together, so I've known Fabrizzio since I've been 18. We've done a lot of drawings together over the years. He's actually doing his own art show in Paris right now. He's a great visual artist.
Favorite Moldy Peaches song?
NYC's Like a Graveyard.
Cartoon and Complaint up until June 26th (by appointment only).
See photos from Saturday's opening, including pics of Yellin and Green's mother posing in front of their favorite pieces, below:
