Back in 2015, when I met the woman who would become my wife, she told me I should try to visit Banksy's Dismaland in London. I was pretty excited at the prospect of being able to do that, as I was flying there the next day, but Banksy repurposed the location for Syrian refugees. Almost a decade later, I get to experience what I imagine is the Kirklands version of Dismaland: The Mr. Brainwash Museum. That doesn't do the museum justice though. It was worth the trip. I have some complaints in the concepts, but overall, you can tell Mr. Brainwash is about fun for the audience. I had a great time.
Upon entering Mr. Brainwash Art Museum in Beverly Hills, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work on display. This was not expression but rather an intersection of commercialization and saturation. He created so much work and at a few points I felt like he beat me to the punch on projects I thought would be cool explore.*
So much of this feels like the Anti-Banksy. I get the criticism about Mr. Brainwash looking like a Banksy Prank.** But regardless of my feelings on his work, it was a lot of fun. The museum was very interactive. You can tell that this isn't a chore for Mr. Brainwash and his team.
*Like a statue made from books. I have so many books I want to get rid of. I throw so many books away and people keep dumping more off on me. A statue made of unwanted books has been an idea of mine for a while, but alas, I am preemptively a fraud now. Tanks Mr. Brainwash! He made a piano covered in acrylic to display Van Gogh's Starry Night.
This is great. There was an artist in Greece who was doing stuff like this, making statues with acrylic paint scraps from what I imagine was his palette board. I love stuff like this. And it was beautiful.
Street Fighter II in a Monet?! Two things I loved as a teenager but never imagined together.
What more can be done to the Mona Lisa that Mr. Brainwash has not already done?
A portrait of Elon Musk reading comments from users who don't have blue check marks.
I got into a debate a few months ago in London over whether Van Gogh was crazy. I felt his work is too methodical and disciplined to exhibit madness. But if I am wrong, then I guess Hollywood Van Gogh is on point. It's hard not to feel the madness under the Los Angeles sun. The streets are full of people who thought they could come here and find their dreams and instead lost their minds.
Getting around in Liecthtenstein is not only super convenient, but here, stylish.
Not feeling a lot of expression here. This was what I called commercialization saturation. The fact he did it to an iconic Banksy piece is intriguing.
This was an interactive piece that you could walk into but sadly, forgot to ask to get a photo of myself in here. You will have to take my word for it.
So this piece I loved. I have been in a lot of Kusama infinity rooms, but this one with its funhouse mirrors and sunflowers was super fun.
Mr. Brainwash loves Van Gogh. If we were to tally all the painters who he has reditioned, Van Gogh has to be at the top. Or Di Vinci, but the Van Gogh stuff is more inspired.
Ok, this time I got in the piece.
Honestly, I like mine more. This didn't feel like expression at all. Also the original is like 8 feet wide and this was 16 inches. I feel like the original is way more striking in how the light beams through the windows.
More Infinity. I hope Kusama knows about this.
I loved these booths he set up for visitors to have fun with. This is where it's fun.
Go with friends.
**A few years ago, Banksy apparently made a shop with a bunch of crap listed, no prices. If you wanted something, you had to write about why art is important. I wrote many times and those were time that I will never get back. On the bright side, they were times I was not able to use to do something stupider. I regret nothing.
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