Evan Gruzis Conjures the Dystopian Eighties
With all the venetian shades, shattered Ray Bans, and menacing palm trees in former Los Angeleno Evan Gruzis’ ink paintings, it’s no surprise that the artist lists Bret Easton Ellis as a major influence. The foreboding Eighties imagery that permeates through Gruzis’ smoggy dystopia matches Less Than Zero‘s particular brand of numbed So-Cal excess far more accurately than the Robert Downey Jr.-starring pseudo-adaptation, which turned a soul-crushing satire of Reagan-era alienation into an after school special about the dangers of narcotics. Gruzis’ paintings also conjure the aforementioned era’s seductively vacuous reinterpretation of film noir thrillers: Michael Mann’s Manhunter, William Fridekin’s To Live and Die in L.A., Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo, and Brian De Palma’s Body Double, to name a few disparate examples. It was an unsung cinematic movement marked by chaste indulgence, with gold-plated Mercedes, black velvet, and bachelor pads full of stuffy extravagance serving as a backdrop for gruff men on sexually violent missions that involved guns, broken mirrors, and synth-heavy, droning musical scores. It all adds up to a seemingly disaffected, almost hopeless mystery. But Gruzis makes a specific point to distance himself from mere nihilist void-gazing, embedding underneath the dark sense of humor a subtle tenderness that makes his work all the more fascinating. From Fecal Face‘s fantastic interview with Gruzis:
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a very hard line to not cross, but when it works it’s a joy to look at and sense.
and this isnt particulary engaged but it just occured to me that what if this conjuring satire were to appear back *during* the 80s? can you imagine seeing this then? haha it’s like a compounded nightmare. i love these images but i’m a little sad that the only reason they arent as frightening as they could be is because we can fondly remember the weird folly of that time (we’ve since multiplied into less obvious excesses). it aint bad to be cynical, but i agree that making it the point is a bad road to end up on.
ps: orbit ad finally made it to davis.
I really like the banality of them, yet they just feel too hip for their own good. I do love the blinking time reflecting off the mirrors and the silhouettes of the plants onto the blinds.
You should post a blog about me
and only me
do it
seriously, do it
You missed my fave L.A. 80′s noir, 8 Million Ways to Die — tell me you’ve seen it. Jeff bridges, man