Untitled - Baby Tattooville

P
(above)
Streetview of
The Mission Inn
Hotel & Spa,
Riverside, CA.
PIC I N H ISTORY
and architectural splendor as William
Hearst’s decadent Castle, for more
than a century the Mission Inn has
roomed such world leaders and famous personalities
as Harry Houdini, Cary Grant, Anne Rice and nearly
a dozen American presidents. This palatial pleasure
ground spanning a full city block - rumored to be
haunted - has an atmosphere steeped in mystery. With
its lavish décor, exotic mash-up of antiquities and maze
of secret passages, this location is an aptly grand and
inspiring environment for Baby Tattooville - a unique
annual art event of micro and mammoth proportions.
(Top) The St. Francis Atrio is a
picturesque courtyard - the
entrance to both the Galleria
and the hotel’s very own chapel.
(Opposite top) Inside the
Galleria, Bob Self welcomes
new and returning attendees,
while introducing the year’s
roster of guest artists.
(Right) Traveling in style - this
is what a suitcase belonging
to an art lover looks like.
(Opposite bottom) Attendees
chat and chill in the
Court of the Orient.
For six years, from the tallest bell tower to
the moody underground catacombs, an eclectic
bunch of renegade beatniks, chic bohemians,
and dedicated aficionados have gathered, created,
partied and lived art. Baby Tattooville is an
ephemeral fantasyland attracting some of the finest
creative hands and minds on the planet, with lineups boasting world-renowned artists such Robert
Williams, Coop, Shag, Ron English, Michael
Hussar, Elizabeth McGrath and James Jean.
(above) Strange messages from beyond the grave,
riddles inside antique wooden boxes and even
baby doll heads hidden in attendee hotel rooms
were just some of the curious clues designed to
intrigue the Baby Tattoovillers.
Artists and attendees were
mixed into teams for an
incredile treasure hunt
scattered to all corners of the
hotel. This immersive alternate
reality game was a brilliant
blend of innovative fiction and
hotel history, all masterminded
by 42 Entertainment (who
handled the ARG campaigns for
The Dark Knight, Tron: Legacy
and videogame Halo 2 ).
(left) Teams explore
the Rotunda, a 6-story
optical illusion.
Essential to this experience is a level of intimacy and
creative interaction that is rarely achieved. With less
than fifty golden-ticket holders permitted to attend,
Baby Tattooville feels like an annual meeting of a secret
society, an exclusive peek into the bona fide art lifestyle
and a celebration of imagination. Without the time and
space constraints of a typical convention, gallery opening
or workshop, artists and collectors have a weekend-long
opportunity to intermingle and explore their mutual
interests. As such, Baby Tattooville is a one-of-a-kind art
happening and a whirlwind of sensory delights.
(below)
Rick O’Brien
paints, others eat
ice cream in the
eerie catacombs.
(right)
Lavendar LaRue
poses before
performing a
shipshape pirate
burlesque routine.
(right)
Tony Swatton - the
Master Blacksmith of
Hollywood - in action.
(far right)
Bob Self explains
what it’s really all about.
While playing with different themes and
surprises every single year, one guaranteed
highlight is an around-the-clock collaborative
art jam by all the guest artists. From the wee
small hours to daybreak, dueling layers of
paint create a freeform image that evolves
unpredictably over the course of the
weekend. The piece truly encapsulates the
spirit of Baby Tattooville, and attendees
receive a high-quality giclée of the art jam
painting as a commemorative parting gift,
along with a host of other exclusive goodies.
(below) A relaxed rooftop museum
reception for hungry art lovers.
(bottom) Bob Self holds a limited
edition ‘Son of Baby Tattooville’
poster by KRK Ryden.
A private affair becomes public as the Baby
Tattoovillers trek a few short blocks south of the
Mission Inn to the Riverside Art Museum for their
very own gallery reception. Every year since
2008, RAM has run a companion exhibition in
conjunction with the Baby Tattooville event. The
museum reports that the BTville exhibits have
been highly successful for the art institution,
attracting new fans from across the globe.
(opposite top right) On the floor,
Gary Baseman gets creative during
a special celebrity edition of Dr.
Sketchy’s Anti-Art School with creator
Molly Crabapple as emcee. Mosh,
the world’s number one alternative
model, makes for a stunning muse,
sporting a snazzy latex nurse outfit
complete with catheter.
Mr. Bob Self, president of
publishing house Baby Tattoo,
is the enigmatic, mad-magician
behind the curtain of this artistic
Mecca. ‘Baby Tattooville is a
place where people that love art,
whether they create or consume it,
get together and have a weekend
that is all about what makes the
art-centric lifestyle great.’
(left)
Technicolor
woodcutter
Miss Mindy
deep in artistic
thought during
Dr. Sketchy’s.
(opposite right)
Tim Biskup
vs. The Super
Giant Helper,
an amazing
life-size creation.
(Below) Gris Grimly
jams with Amy Sol.
(Above) Inside the Ho-O-Kan
Room, home of the art jam,
Anthony Ausgang ponders
his next brushstroke.
(Right) Lola pushes paint,
alongside Brandi Milne,
Travis Louie & James Gurney.
(2nd Right) Shag mixes up a
signature tiki art cocktail.
(3rd Right) Bearded lowbrow
legend Coop gets devilish,
while William Stout breaths
life into a T-Rex.
Jazz meets paint and brush
at the art jam. An organic,
collaborative and sometimes
competive process, this is true
art anarchy in action and a
fascinating spectacle to watch
unfold. Mini-masterpieces
may survive to the end, or
perhaps for only a brief few
hours, dissappearing forever
under the strokes of another
painter’s brush. All’s fair in
love and art jams, but there is
one winner - art itself.
(left) Ron English deep
in thought, chewing
over his next stroke.
(below) Elizabeth
McGrath works on a
creepy, cute creation.
(below left) Brandi Milne
and Travis Louie.
(Left) Dr.Sketchy’s
creator Molly
Crabapple.
(above) Clockwise,
last minute jam
touches by Greg
Simkins, Miss
Mindy, Audrey
Kawasaki, Johnny
Rodriguez and
Buff Monster.
(right) Heroic
figure artist
Van Arno.
(left)
KMNDZ reveals a
beautiful giant painting
of a robot riding a
bomb, which one lucky
Baby Tattooviller will
walk away with.
(below left)
The fifty attendees
each pull an envelope
from a bag in order to
determine the painting’s
new home.
(above) Carnival sideshow
fun at Baby Tattooville - fifty
blank circus punks were
inked and painted by the
artists over the weekend.
(left and below left) Attendees
toss bean bags at their
favorite artist’s work to take
home a custom prize.
(below) Detail of Gris
Grimly’s suitably clownthemed Circus Punk.
(above right)
Bob Self instructs
the attendees to
open their envelopes
simultaneously.
Shock, laughter and
confusion ensue
when everyone finds
a winning ticket
waiting inside.
(right)
KMNDZ flips the
panel to reveal
the truth - every
attendee will be
going home with a
piece of a breakapart painting.
(top)
William Stout keeps
a straight face shooting
his old Zap Comix
colleague a real zinger.
(2nd from top)
‘Hey, do you remember
that time..?’ Coop ribs
Spain Rodriguez about
the good ol’ days.
(2nd from bottom)
Cheeky cartoonist
Johnny Ryan always
maintains the utmost
restraint and respect.
(bottom)
A Galleria crammed
with Baby Tattoovillers
hangs on every word.
The Grandaddy of pop surrealism,
founder of Juztapoz and reluctant
coiner of the lowbrow phrase, had an
immeasurable influence on nearly
every artist in the room. For the
Roast of Robert Williams, both peers
and young upstarts put the ol’ timer
through the shredder, but the master
wisecracker and raconteur, gave as
good as he got with hilarious results.
(right) Around midnight
at the Mission Inn,
‘Wünderland’, hosted
by Michael Hussar,
opens its secret door
for a night of painting,
drinking & fraternizing.
(below) Fetish legend
Mosh poses in the
star-strewn bohemian
den of iniquity.
(right, top three) Multiple
models parade amongst
artists ready with ink
and paper in a free-for-all
creative playground. One
highlight is a photobooth
for both artists and
attendees, with Michael
Hussar providing an
eclectic selection of
props and costumes.
(left)
Danni Doll
pulls a pose as
Rick O’Brien
and Miss Mindy
open their
hotel room for
late-night life
drawing.
(left) A farewell speech over brunch in
the Spanish Art Gallery.
( below) Numbered goodie bags
ready for distribution.
(right) Until next year - an
auspicious rainbow falls
over the bell tower.
(below) Yoskay Yamamoto.
An unposed photograph at
the end of Baby Tattooville.