Dave Muller is an artist who likes to party.
His tongue-in-cheek approach to art is clear in his
representations of old rock flyers, exhibition programs and
cartoons. His current show, “Connections,” exhibits a
range of playful work.
Muller’s partying, rock ‘n’ roll, approach to
art is evidenced in the “Three Day Weekend” events he
has hosted in cities all over the world. His next
“Weekend” will be held on Nov. 10 in conjunction with
“Connections” at the Hammer Museum from 5 to 10 p.m.
The event will feature DJs (including himself) and photographer
Patterson Beckwith.
The event enables Muller to merge music, art and photography
into one conceptual party. The public too can interact with the
art. For a small fee (the event itself is free), people will have
the opportunity to pose against an array of backgrounds, and have a
professional photo of the pose of their choice.
His art, which includes artifacts of pop culture such as
personalized versions of Andy Warhol work and Winnie the Pooh, is
not replication, according to Mullen, but personal interpretation
often using cynical humor.
In person, Muller is reassuringly chill and as unpretentious as
his art. He sits back and eats a bagel in a Westwood cafe as
he talks about his work. Anyone who used to watch
“He-Man” will appreciate the poster of
“She-Ra” in classic superhero pose from his
“Cosmos” collection. He places the cartoon figure next
to a poster of the jazz musician Sun Ra.
“”˜Cosmos’ is about order … Ra being their
last name … maybe they’re related?” Muller said.
When it comes to art and rock ‘n’ roll, Muller knows
his stuff. Studying at Davis, he found the social scene a little
dry and took it upon himself to liven things up. There were no
easily accessible clubs at the time, so Muller and his friends
would cough up $200 to get punk bands like The Meat Puppets and
Camper Van Beethoven to play at friends’ houses.
You’ll no doubt hear traces of a punk influence at the
party, where Muller will DJ everything from easygoing jazz to what
he called “techno of some sort.”
Muller’s art is intended to be accessible, as well as fun.
There’s no explanation and no history to read up on, the only
requirement is showing up. When asked what he’d like people
to get from his art and “Three Day Weekend” events, his
answer is as unpretentious as he is.
“Quite frankly, just to keep people from being bored
enough that if they were to wait in line they wouldn’t
leave.”
Muller’s exhibit “Connections” is on display
at the Hammer Museum through Jan. 6, 2003.