THEY NOW
WHERE ARE
THEY NOW
By Carla Valencia de Martinéz
Jack Massing + Michael Galbreth ( a . k . a . the Art Guys )
LOCAL has been publishing for over 18 years and we have the archives to show it . With this column we continue to reach back into our old issues to see “ Where are they now ?”
OCTOBER 1999 SEPTEMBER 2016
Photography by Jack Thompson
Photography by Ricardo Merendoni
VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 10 | OCTOBER 1999 THE ART GUYS
BACK IN OCTOBER 1999 , THE ART GUYS WERE BUSY “ INVADING OUR DAILY CONSCIOUSNESS ,” WITH THEIR FRANKLY WACKED- OUT PROJECTS – FROM THE 1000 COATS OF PAINT BILLBOARD TO THE SUITS PROJECT , WHICH CLIMAXED WITH A STRIPTEASE-LIKE PER- FORMANCE ON JULY 25 , 1999 , AT THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM WHERE THEY STRIPPED OFF TODD OLDHAM-DESIGNED SUITS . THEY GRACED THAT OCTOBER 1999 COVER IN THOSE SUITS WHILE RID- ING A LARGER THAN LIFE BOTTLE OF ABSOLUT VODKA .
WE THOUGHT IT ’ D BE FUN TO CATCH UP WITH THE PAIR .
Carla : I have a few questions for you , if you don ’ t mind . Jack Massing : Not at all . That was really a statement ; not a question .
WHAT PROJECT FROM 1999 IS YOUR FAVORITE AND WHY ? Jack : 12 Events – Every month something new to perform ! I really liked the combination of events because some were very easy to prepare for and had only a few audience members ( like A Length of String which took place in a concrete bayou for about 5 hours ) compared to others that were quite monumental ( like Loop that required 10 different drivers for a 24-hour ride around the 610 loop , or The Longest Street in Houston which took many months of preparation due to the physical nature of walking 29.6 miles in a day ). The entire 12 Events was a very interesting study of , and interaction with , the City of Houston , which was rewarding and fun in many ways . ( For more information about all the events , you can look at the project here : www . theartguys . com / 12events . html .)
Michael Galbreth : In equal proportion , my favorite projects were the Absolut billboard project and the SUITS project . Both of these projects were incredibly fun to do . They were popular and successful but mainly outside of the “ art world .” They seem very prescient today . www . theartguys . com / Absolut . html www . theartguys . com / SUITS . html
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58 L O C A L | september 16