Gary Panter @ PCC (old news)

Way back on Monday night, March 15, I was fortunate to witness the opening lecture and reception for Gary Panter's residency at Pasadena City College (March 15-19), the twenty-fourth annual iteration of PCC's Artist-in-Residence Program. I took a bunch of notes with the hope of blogging the event here at TB, but, alas, no, my work schedule beat the stuffings out of me. I can't say much more than that I enjoyed the whole evening and Panter knocked my socks off with his work and his unfiltered, unpretentious, enthusiastic and humane POV.

Panter's talk, free-ranging, instructive and delightful, consisted of about an hour's worth of randomly-sorted autobiography, reflection, and highly personal art criticism. With a lot of visuals.

For me it was a kind of sequel to his MoCCA 2009 panel. In any case, it served to usher visitors (packed to overflowing in the campus's Vosloh Forum lecture hall, and some outside watching the event via video feed) into, or back into, Panter's aesthetic world. Afterward we ventured cross-campus to the PCC Art Gallery, which is directed by my friend Brian Tucker, teacher, artist, and curator. There we basked in an exhibit of Panter's paintings, prints, and one (then in-progress) on-site wall drawing, collectively titled New Planet. Brian, who had introduced Panter and his work earlier, had supervised the mounting of the exhibit (March 15 to May 1) and was clearly agog about being able to bring, wow, Gary Panter to the gallery. Understandably. Anyway, it was a great show, and a testament to Brian's dedication. One print was brand-new, having been pulled that afternoon and mounted, apparently, during Panter's lecture. The wall drawing, a sprawling improvisatory workout, white chalk on black plaster, was a beaut. The gallery reception lasted for a good couple of hours and I could hardly bring myself to go until the very end.

Gossip that I am, I have to say that the large, happy crowd included, besides Brian and many from the PCC community, my friend Michael Dooley and a bevy of other artists, including Coop, Matt Groening, Jaime Hernandez, John Pham, Johnny Ryan, and Robert Williams (whom I'd just seen at CSU Northridge a few days before). The gallery setting was intimate, the vibe welcoming, the evening a lovely, shapeless series of low-key conversations -- goosed momentarily when eager fans gathered round with cameras poised to catch some shots of Panter signing some stuff for his old friend Groening.

BTW, I believe Panter and my father were born in the same town, Durant, Oklahoma.

Photos follow. Some are technically poor but still revealing and fun for me to look at again. This is old news, but I hope you'll enjoy seeing it archived here (click the thumbnails for closer views):

Gary Panter

Brian Tucker

A typical Panter face

 
I can't quite identify the artist whose work is represented in the slide behind Panter. I should be able to, because Panter spoke of him at length (and I took notes). I think it might be Tadanori Yokoo, but can anyone out there help me confirm that? Nope, it's Eduardo Paolozzi: check out the comments below!

 
The gallery reception

Mike Dooley is properly scandalized by Panter!

After the crowd died down, I got some pictures of the exhibit itself. Dig that wall drawing in progress!

A fresh new print for the exhibition

 
Matt Groening gets a signature from Panter

Three good sports face the camera: Mike Dooley, Brian Tucker, and Jaime Hernandez.

Comments

[Michael]

Thank you, Charles; I love this post; it brings back happy memories of this amazing event.

Here are my caption comments...

> Who's the artist behind Gary at the lectern?
Eduardo Paolozzi ("Z.E.E.P.: Hollywood Wax Museum," silkscreen, 1970).
http://gallery.simsreed.com/artists/paolozzi/index.php?stkID=1895

> Why am I scandalized about Gary's Blue Babes in Bras painting?
It's the round, spitting green guy and that curly, severed green tentacle. >shudder<

Cheers,
~ m

[Brian Tucker]

Hey, Charles, it's very nice to see this addition to your excellent web site--it was great having you at the event. The image behind the lecturing Gary Panter in your photo above is a screen print by the British artist Eduardo Paolozzi ("Hollywood Wax Museum," 1970). In case anybody wants to see more images of Gary's residency at PCC, including the finished mural, a few are available on the "Pasadena City College Art Gallery" Facebook page (Michael Dooley posted a group of photos at the reception, too, featuring many of the illustrious folks who were present, including Charles Hatfield). By the way, GP is going to be in the region again for a show at the Scion gallery in Culver City in June.

[Gene Kannenberg, Jr.]

"[U]nfiltered, unpretentious, enthusiastic and humane" is just how I'd describe Panter after meeting him at MoCCA. I'd also add knowledgeable, wide-ranging, and hilarious. Plus, he looks like he could be David Letterman's brother :-)

After meeting him I re-read the JIMBO book from the 80s and I was just blown away in a way I hadn't been on my first reading. Now to re-read JIMBO IN PURGATORY!

[Charles Hatfield]

@ Mike:

Hey, thanks for weighing in, and for setting me straight re: the identity of the mystery artist, Eduardo Paolozzi!

My notes must have been confused; for some reason I associated that image with Gary's discussion of Japanese Pop artists, and of course it turns out to be an Italian Scotsman instead. :)

For our readers, the Tate has an excellent collection of Paolozzi:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1738&page=1

And London's Independent Gallery also shows some nice Paolozzi images, with emphasis on his "Bunk" compilation of collages/screenprints:

http://www.independentgallery.co.uk/en/pop/artist/eduardo_paolozzi/

Also useful is this website about the Independent Group, of which Paolozzi was part:

http://www.independentgroup.org.uk/contributors/paolozzi/index.html

Wow, I love learning stuff! :)

Thanks for the Z.E.E.P. link, Mike!

Everyone should take a look at Michael's own Panter reception photo gallery on Facebook, which is much fuller and more useful than my own:

http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=44330e3b857af299ca32bf4568111e2e&#!/album.php?aid=56772&id=1140872285

Great mementos, Mike, thanks!

(Look closely at picture number 8, the long shot of the lecture hall, and you'll see yours truly sitting directly across from Panter's podium, thanks to Brian Tucker generously giving me that seat!)

[Charles Hatfield]

@ Brian:

Thanks for the kind words, Brian, and for the tips!

Readers, the Facebook "Pasadena City College Art Gallery" is well worth visiting. It includes several excellent shots from Panter's residency, including in-progress and FINISHED views of the wall drawing (wow):

http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=44330e3b857af299ca32bf4568111e2e&#!/pages/Pasadena-CA/Pasadena-City-College-Art-Gallery/326556303280?v=photos&ref=search

It also includes images from several other fine shows curated by Brian at the PCC gallery, including "Love and Rockets: The Comic Art of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez," which ran back 2005. Check it out!

PS. As far as I can tell, the Scion Space site doesn't yet have news up about the pending Panter show, but I've bookmarked it and will keep checking back:

http://www.scion.com/space/index.html

[Charles Hatfield]

@ Gene:

I remember that I was skeptical, or just plain obtuse, re: Panter's work for a long time. Then, while working on "Alternative Comics," it hit me:

"Panter's style is the anti-clear line!"

Something just clicked, right then. :)

There's a lot of his work that I still need to read and delve into!

(BTW, I chatted with Panter re: my forthcoming Kirby book. Nice.)

[Brian Tucker]

Charles and local readers: here's the skinny on Gary Panter's next foray into our region, lifted from a June 8 entry on GP's blog (at garypanter.com):

In a week I am going to Los Angeles to do a big wall drawing as part of a three person show at the Scion Space in Culver City and, while in LA, the band I am in, Devin Gary & Ross, is going to play on Melrose. We are excited about the art show and the musical event. Hope to see you there.

The painting show is here:
Scion presents: ZPFfffft!!!
A group exhibition with Bob Zoell, Gary Panter and Devin Flynn
June 19 – July 10, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 19, 2010 | 7-10pm

Scion Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Ave (at National)
Culver City, CA. 90232
Gallery Phone: 310.815.8840
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM & by appointment

Devin Gary & Ross musical show is here:
http://synchronicityonmelrose.blogspot.com/
under June 22nd on the Synchronicity site calendar.

[Charles Hatfield]

Thanks, Brian! Good to have this info, and to be given another reason to revisit GP's site!

Bookmark it, folks, or subscribe. Goodness awaits.