Last Monday I went to see a pop-up art show. I’ve heard of pop up events in larger cities. Pop up restaurants, pop up fashion shows, pop up parties, etc.  A trend best exemplified by the Old Brewery experiment earlier this spring and sporadically witnessed at various Midtown venues. Memphis culture tends to run a little behind the curve, so when I heard the first pop-up Trans-American Art Tour decided to make a stop here I had to go check it out. 

The show at Amurica started at 6pm. Early even for a Monday. I dutifully set out around 5:30 so I could grab a beer at the Hi Tone Lounge beforehand. I stumbled upon an intriguing gathering called Bitchcraft. Before I worked up the courage to ask about it, Jamie Harmon burst in (a la Michael Richards) to let me know the show was open.  As pop-up might imply, the art was arranged with a Spartan aesthetic.  A shoal of raw wooden easels bisected the glittery red floor and canvases hung interestingly framed by the eclectic outbursts lining the walls. The collection is a pop-up tour of pop culture icons and Amurica’s decor complements that perfectly. Very meta. I loved it. The exaggerated nature of Zox’s style creates a fun-house effect in his portraits. You know you are looking at iconic pieces, but they aren’t quite exact. That’s the point.

Zox aims to play with the effect that pop culture has on art and challenge the power of attraction in modern society. If that isn’t already mind-bending enough, Stevo is documenting everything on film so they can make a documentary after it’s all done.  They hope to break down the mystery of “pop” as a phenomenon and bring symbolism to the forefront of today’s art.  The theme of the show is Idol, Icon, Avatar and it’s sincerity makes the whole thing approachable for everyman.

That doesn’t discount the eerie perspective you get on human nature, but it’s not so over the top that you have to look away.  The art is compelling. From a stark 6 foot Miley Cyrus to the soft watercolor of Goldie Hawn, the essence of each portrait is clear. These are images already weighted with hefty associations. The faces of people that exist more as symbols than actual individuals. Just when you get comfortable with the style of Zox’s images, he throws you a curve ball like the Mona-LitChe. A play on symbolism that confuses your eye because it’s familiar and yet it isn’t.  A tongue-in-cheek approach to hackneyed imagery that exemplifies the innate silliness of pop culture.

These two guys are a blast to hang out with and their stories from the road are endlessly entertaining. Jamie Harmon, local merrymaker, pulled out his hairdresser chair for some photo ops while we waited for patrons to make their way toward Crosstown. Zox and Stevo took their turns in the chair while I got a chance to hear about unusual places like the “Center of the Universe”.  Apparently, somewhere west of here there is a spot on a bridge where you can stand and from that singular place your voice echoes god-like around you.  Move over Beeblebrox.

Zox has been involved in the west coast art scene for longer than I’ve been alive. Spending time in a community home affectionately called The Launch, he cut his teeth looking toward the future instead of wrangling with the present.  His history reads like a spiritual journey and this tour seems to summarize his lifetime of speculation about humanity.  When you are standing in front of this vivacious man and see the earnestness in his green eyes, it all makes perfect sense.  Naming influences such as Stewart Brand and the MIT Media Lab, I was offered glimpses of a world I barely knew existed.

We continued to shoot the shit while the sun set over Memphis. A few looky-loos came by to check out the show and there was a ukelele lesson going on in the back room to keep things lively. I set out for more adventure around 8pm, somewhat reluctant to leave the small party. I feel blessed by Serendipity once again.  I will certainly be on the lookout for more one-of-a-kind experiences like this one.  Hopefully the kickstarter for this tour will reach success and places like Memphis will see more work like this in the future.