Photo by Suzy Poling
As the titular hunk of the glamorously sleazy garage punk outfit Hunx and His Punx, Seth Bogart was always intensely focused on aesthetic. Existing somewhere in the realm of "leather daddy goes to prom," Hunx music videos—as we previously chronicled—feature elaborate handmade backdrops, kitschy makeup, giant neon props, fabulously trashy outfits, and gross-out scenarios reminiscent of John Waters’ camp masterpieces, particularly Pink Flamingos. But for all his interest in this aspect of performance, Bogart never focused purely on visual art—painting, installations, and multimedia mostly—until he grew burnt out on music. After years and years touring with his bands Gravy Train!!!!, Panty Raid, and Hunx, Bogart took a much-needed break following the release of 2013's Street Punk, moving to L.A. and enrolling in a couple art classes. But by that point, he’d already started experimenting outside of the traditional mediums typically expected of visually-minded musicians.
In 2012, Bogart had launched his variety-show web series "Hollywood Nailz," which featured absurd infomercials for galactic fetishes and personalized dipping stations for fast-food condiments, a tequila-fueled court show, and a talent portion featuring Shannon and the Clams and Grass Widow. That same year, Bogart began Wacky Wacko, a record label that quickly shifted to a clothing and accessory line incorporating his own drawings of pop culture icons and beauty products both real and imaginary (example: "Lather Daddy Bodywash: For Daddies Only"). The line resonated with people, so last fall, Wacky Wacko came to life for "The Seth Bogart Show," a multimedia installation at Los Angeles’ 356 Mission Gallery. Stepping through a Pepto-pink entryway reminiscent of his Hairdresser Blues cover, visitors were led to a showroom filled with a few of Bogart’s favorite things, blown up in absurd detail: a giant tube of Crest; Chairy from "Pee-wee’s Playhouse"; a compact mirror with Stones-logo lips and pearly whites the size of small boulders; ceramic and papier-mâché sculptures of grooming tools, inspired by his years as a hairdresser in Oakland. Coming off all that, Bogart’s back musically as well, ditching the Hunx moniker and moving towards a more electro-pop sound on Seth Bogart, out this week. Bogart let us into his wacky world for a wide-ranging conversation about his pop-culture obsessions, his homage-heavy approach to art, and his recent collaboration with Kathleen Hanna.
Pitchfork: How intertwined are your recent installation show and your new album?
Seth Bogart: Honestly, I find so many fields—fashion, art, music—totally boring and restricting if you just stick to one of them and try so hard to fit into that thing. I decided early on that when I perform live, I would want to have a video playing, and was inspired by Le Tigre in that. I love their music, but what I loved most is that they would have video components to their shows that made things so much more exciting; you could really see them more as artists as well. So when we started making all these giant props for my videos, I realized that I really wanted to make my own world that someone can walk into. The installation was inspired by the album because a lot of the large sculptures and videos were based on the new songs. For example, in the live show I’m going to do around the album, we have these fake commercials that I star in. One of them is called "Mantyhose," it's like a pantyhose for men commercial, so we made these gigantic legs and a huge pantyhose container, and those were in the [installation] show. There were also paintings and ceramics that were not really part of the album, and it just made sense to shove it all in one room. I wanted it to be overwhelming rather than going into a white-walled gallery where you look at three things.
Pitchfork: Speaking of Le Tigre, Kathleen Hanna guests on the album. How did that come about?
SB: I went on tour with her maybe five or six times back in...I think the first one was in 1999. I was in this punk band called Panty Raid and we toured with Le Tigre. Then Le Tigre took my other band, Gravy Train!!!!, on tour a few times in the states, then Europe on one of their last tours ever. After that, we'd see each other once and a while, and email sometimes. I always wanted to collaborate with her. Once I started working on this project, it felt like it made the most sense to finally ask her.
Pitchfork: Did Kathleen know she would be playing a giant compact mirror in the "Eating Makeup" video when you approached her for the project?
SB: She didn't know, but I think she likes it! When we were making the video, I was brainstorming and drawing in my sketchbook, and I was inspired by this Dead or Alive video ("In Too Deep") that is based underwater, and Pete Burns jumps out of this giant shell—like, it opens up and he's inside it. When I saw that, I thought, "Oh my God, I want to be like that but in makeup."
Pitchfork: From your videos to your installations to your music, much of your work explores ideas about celebrity and being seen. Who was your first celebrity obsession?
SB: I have so many photos of myself in my room when I was a kid; I had one wall that was all TLC posters that I got free at some record store, then another wall was all Public Enemy, and the last wall was all "90210." I was really into TLC, especially Left Eye—she was one of my early obsessions because I thought her style was so cool and I loved that she wore a condom on her eye. But definitely Pee-wee Herman too. I had this Star Wars toy and I traded it to a kid at school for Pee-wee Herman and my mom couldn't… she's very supportive but just did not understand why I would want a Pee-wee Herman thing over Star Wars. I just was like, ‘Duh that's all I want.’
Pitchfork: I was going to ask about Pee-wee, since Chairy makes an appearance in "The Seth Bogart Show."
SB: I love him [Paul Reubens] so much as an actor and character, but the thing I respond to the most about "Pee-wee’s Playhouse" are the sets, and the artists who created them. I've read books about the team of cool artists who came together to make this world. I relate to it and just want to live there. Everyone's inspired by stuff and copies people, but I think it's the coolest to just own it—to pay tribute instead of trying to play it off as your own. Unless it's totally obvious—like making my own Chairy—I generally try to not copy people. But it's also so impossible not to, because your brain takes in so much stuff.
Pitchfork: Who are some of your favorite visual artists these days, folks who inspire you?
SB: My favorite artists are my friends. Peggy Noland and Christine Stormberg helped me a lot with my show. The three of us have a space in L.A. that is going to be a Wacky Wacko and Peggy Noland store, and Christine will have her art studio in the back. So that's opening at the end of February and it’s kind of what I always wanted, a headquarters with my best friends who make cool stuff. I really like this artist named Katherine Bernhardt, who makes giant paintings that are super sloppy, of Sharpies and Doritos and tacos and sharks. Some others: My friend Jaimie Warren, she's a photographer; my friend Cody [Critcheloe], who does art and music under the name Ssion. But as far as classic artists, I like David Hockney and Pierre et Gilles. I love Gary Panter, who did a lot of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" art. Another artist who I really love—and maybe is really obvious—is Claes Oldenburg, specifically his big food sculptures.
Pitchfork: That’s funny, I wanted to ask you specifically about this Oldenburg quote that reminded me of your ceramic sculptures: "My rule was not to paint things as they were. I wasn’t copying; I was remaking them as my own." I felt this fit so perfectly with how you pull from what’s around you and reinterpret it.
SB: I love when artists make something super-realistic and spend so much time making it, but personally, I love if a thing looks kind of like shit and has the person's personality and handwork. I just like when you can tell a person is in the work somehow, no matter what medium they choose. I don't know why everyone tries to be like everyone else or just tries to make it to the top, when they should be themselves and do their own thing.