American filmmaker, John Waters, once wrote: «To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits while watching one of my films, it’s like getting a standing ovation. But one must remember that there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste» (Shock Value: A Tasteful Book About Bad Taste, 1981). That’s exactly the first thing we thought when we saw the first teaser for ‘The Butcher Kings’ art show by Alex Pardee and Skinner at Gallery 1988. We laughed a lot. Something about it immediately reminded us of the weird scenes juxtaposing comedy and surrealistic imagery from Pink Flamingos, Polyester and Harmony Korine’ s Trash Humpers. And guess what? Love at first sight. The two artists have been living, painting and drawing together for almost 5 weeks, incessantly working on over 80 original pieces (all priced between $300 – $1,000) that subvert and overturn common pop culture by exaggerating it to highly humorous and indecent proportions. Adam Green, Director of Hatchet, Frozen & Holliston, commented on the exhibition:“I was offended. After viewing Pardee and Skinner’s “The Butcher Kings” I swallowed half a bottle of cough syrup and slammed my dick in a window repeatedly.  I highly recommend seeing this exhibit while you can”. Well then, aren’t you curious to find out more about the show? Prepare yourself for the worst. Get a peek inside. Read the rest of this entry »