Bomb cats & razor blades: Secret Ingredient Arts celebrates Valentine's Day
Detail from Donald Topp's "John Wayne."
When Madison art group Firecracker Studios gave it up at the end of 2008, it was inevitable that someone else would eventually have to muster the tremendous will required to make painters, photographers, screenprinters, and sculptors drink beer and sell art together. The Secret Ingredient Arts collective bravely puts up its hand to do just that this weekend, debuting with a show at Inferno Friday called The Art Of Love And Hate. A few of the show's 20-odd artists were a part of the Firecracker crew, and its smart-assed pop-art spirit shows through in the Valentine's Day-themed exhibition. "It's nice to be kind of evil on that holiday," member Daniel Edwards tells The A.V. Club. Edwards says Secret Ingredient plans to have a themed show like this every two months at Inferno. Friday's includes longtime Madison DJ Al Ritchie spinning '80s love songs as well as performances from Milwaukee's Terrior Bute and others; sponsors like Red Letter News and Selective Video will give away such Valentine's-appropriate prizes as bondage gear and sex toys. All right, so how about the actual art? Edwards sent us images of a few of the show's pieces for a quick preview. From a dramatic ass perspective to a smeary pop-art take on John Wayne, the work certainly eviscerates the Hallmark in this holiday. In addition to this stuff, expect to see stained glass, performance art, and a multimedia-dance-music piece.
SLIDESHOW: BOMB CATS AND RAZOR BLADES
