G (with hand in the air on the left) on Stage With Prince (on the far right)
Where does the time go? I just want to give a shout out on the 10 year anniversary to remember one of the craziest weeks I’ve ever had. When Prince’s career was seriously in the toilet, he opened up his recording studio complex, Paisley Park, up to his fan club for a week of love and music. From June 12 – June 17, 2001, Prince fans from all over the world flocked to Minneapolis, Minnesota to have the chance to hang out in the ultimate Prince mecca – Paisley Park. The rules were simple – Paisley Park would be open during the day and fans could just hang out inside the grounds. In the evenings, live music at Paisley Park would be provided by the likes of Erykah Badu, Maceo Parker, Common, Alicia Keys, The Time, George Clinton, Nikka Costa and of course, Prince! Afterwards, an all night dance party would be held in the sound stages of Paisley with Prince DJing!
On the very first day, my brother and I were first in line to enter Paisley Park (I know, some things never change), and immediately upon entering the grounds, we were taken into one of Prince’s soundstages. After we entered the soundstage, the door closed behind us and there were my brother, myself and Prince, by ourselves! Prince was just converting to the Jehovah’s Witness religion and he and I got in a heated argument about religion. He was trying to tell me that there was only one way to believe and I respectfully disagreed. I got upset that he wasn’t even listening to me and instead was just trying to tell me how “it is.” That was the first 5 minutes of my week long trip!
Mr. Brainwash has done it again. On the heels of his extremely successful Icons art show in New York, he’s remixed the exhibit. For those who have already seen this exhibit, you are going to have to go back and see all the changes. The top floor is completely different. The pieces have been traded out for newer models. The Madonna wall, the Matchbox taxi and the extremely large paint can are still in tact, but the images above and below (and many more) have been added to the exhibit. Gone from the bottom floor are the Iconic rock stars made out of broken vinyl record pieces and instead the exhibit has become interactive where cans of spray paint are left out for visitors to make their own art on the walls of the gallery! I attended the exhibit on opening day as I did for the initial “Icons” exhibit and like the first time, it was quite a scene. The first 300 people received a free “Charlie Chaplin Love” print, hand signed by Mr. Brainwash and people lined up as early as 6 o’clock in the morning to get their hands on MBW’s latest work. The print distribution system was slightly better organized than the February opening, but it was still mayhem as New Yorkers stood outside on an extremely windy and cold day. Mr. Brainwash got a chance to mingle during the opening and he was gracious enough to autograph a few pictures that I took of him during the February opening. Once again, he was super nice and he was pretty impressed by my photography skills as he made the comment to me during our encounter. There’s been quite a bit of controversy about MBW in the art world as the movie Exit Through The Gift Shopis being regarded as “Banksy’s biggest prank,” but the great thing about the film is that you can judge for yourself after you see it. Either way, I am one of the many that’s been Brainwashed.
The track “It’s So Cool,” by Madonna was only released as an Itunes bonus track from her latest album, “Celebration,” and according2g, it’s one of the best tracks she’s done in years. What you are about to see is a fan-made video, and it’s so cool. I think this is a fun little way to kick off the Spring season.
Artist Mr. Brainwash is back in action posting his cover shot of Madonna’s rapidly sinking greatest hits album “Celebration” on the streets of New York City.
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