04/17/08
Text: Nik Mercer
L.A.'s graffiti/pop artist, Ryan McGinness has been all over the place recently; from Tokyo to Miami. Now his Have You Seen Him? mural is on display at the P.S.1 center in New York City. The 200-foot-long piece was constructed from fifty enamel paintings, originally for the Art Positions gallery containers at Art Basel Miami Beach 2007 (pictured).
The colossal painting will be on display in the P.S.1 courtyard through May 3, so be sure to check it out if you're in the area, a McGinness fan, or just looking for some free fun in this period of economic recession!
Oh, and there's a pretty nifty back-story to the piece:
McGinness’ title, Have You Seen Him? was taken from the 1987 Powell Peralta skate video “The Search for Animal Chin” in which the Bones Brigade (Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill and Lance Mountain) embarked on a journey to find Won Ton “Animal Chin.” In this video, Animal Chin was a legendary skate guru that some say was responsible for inventing skateboarding after he stuck roller-skate wheels on a 2 by 4. As a reaction to the commercialization of skateboarding, Animal Chin went underground and disappeared from the skate world. The Bones Brigade set out to find him and recover the true spirit of skateboarding.
