Movies taught me everything
Faces 5
In college I had a pair of shorts that had these colors, depicting some sort of beach theme. They were cheap and obnoxious and I loved them. No one else did. That in mind, I consider this work risky as they are not ‘good’ colors.
This piece is more in the graphic vein. I tried something different with chunky hatching. I think it is fun. In 87 I made a series of prints that were heavily influenced by Nagel. Over the years, Nagel sunk slowly into my DNA, especially with graphic designs. The pose, the hard edges, flat color fields, and expressive highlights stem from studying that school of poster and advertising design.
Find This Movie 1 – Straight To Hell
STRAIGHT TO HELL
1987 Alex Cox-Director
Starring: Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, Dick Rude, Courtney Love
A story of blood, money, guns, coffee, and sexual tension.
This is a surreal parody of spaghetti westerns. The protagonists are 3 hit men with a pregnant woman, all on the lamb heading to Mexico. Their car breaks down in the middle of a desert. They hide a briefcase of money from a bank they robbed after fleeing their failed hit, find a a town from the old west. They have to navigate the inhabitants of the town, the MCMahon clan. A vile bunch of interrelated coffee addicts that think of nothing but family, murder and hot dogs.
I love the characters. The salsa y ketchup song is catchy. Dick rude is hysterical. The plethora of side characters are fascinating. And this movie is infinitely quotable.
I saw this first on video in 87 or 88. My roommate Bill and I put it in heavy rotation soon after. I’ve never got tired of it. This led me to more Alex Cox films. The rewards continue as I learned more about indie film.
I can’t pinpoint how this movie influenced me other than solidifying that I love dark humor and stream of conscious storytelling. Nothing needs to make sense as long as the narrative flows. Maybe a love of Alex Cox films.
