July 7, 2005

L.A. Times - Provoking array of oddities and ends

Feral House exhibition celebrates the strange detritus of controversy.

July 7, 2005
By Shana Ting Lipton

They're banned on EBay and would probably be frowned upon by the U.S. government. Nevertheless, a pair of Osama bin Laden propaganda posters make up some of the odd and controversial artifacts for sale at publisher Adam Parfrey's exhibition this month at the Ghettogloss Gallery in Silver Lake.

Parfrey unearthed other unusual pieces for the show --- such as a signed portrait of euthanasia enthusiast Jack Kevorkian and an art piece about cult leader David Koresh --- while researching, writing, editing and publishing books for his Feral House imprint in the last 17 years. This is the first time the items are being publicly displayed for sale.

Feral House has published some esoteric titles: Extreme Islam, Hot Girls of Weimar Berlin and It's a Man's World, among them. The latter figures into the Ghettogloss show in the form of postwar men's adventure magazine paintings. The exhibition will also feature another hard-to-find artistic genre known as "Sots art." The pop political art movement originated in the former Soviet Union just as democracy was being introduced. It mixes images from communist culture with those from Western capitalist consumer culture. Five "Sots" pieces, including "Lenin at McDonald's," appear in the show.

Until now, many of Parfrey's discoveries have been housed in his eccentric Franklin Hills home office --- formerly the residence of an old sea captain. "It's difficult to part with these things, but I can't hang on to the past," he says.

The former Soviet Union's past, however, is a different story. One cherished painting still hangs on a dusky wall of Parfrey's high-ceilinged living room: a 1940 Joseph Stalin portrait.

Friday, July 8, 2005 - 7pm to 11pm
Ghetto Gloss
2380 Glendale Blvd.
Silverlake, CA 90039

See listing in Events for more information.

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