SACRAMENTO-RAISED MAN/BOY/ARTIST/BEAST UNLEASHES MIND ALTERING TOME THAT BOTH DISTURBS AND EVOKES KINDNESS VIA STRANGE HALLUCINATORY BATTLES THROUGH TERRIBLE REALITIES.
The new book; “SKINNER: EVERY MAN IS MY ENEMY Selected works 2008 – 2011″, published by Gingko Press, is a must-have for anyone who prefers their art loud, intense, while oozing strange alien scenes that maintain a human familiarization and suggesting “don’t you see the warning here? don’t you get the joke, too?” If it’s too hard for you to look past all the graphic and gory stuff, just try to not take yourself so seriously for a few minutes so you can just appreciate what kind of talented hand and twisted mind have to work together in tandem to produce such bizarre spectacles, let alone think them up in the first place. There’s a style, a strange code to Skinner’s work, that is both unpredictable and logical at once, which is especially evident while browsing so many unique creations in succession, as this collection provides one the chance to do. Oh, and did I mention this cat is from Sacramento, and he’s not afraid to admit it? Hella awesome.
Setting a starkly different tone at the foreword of the book is the dedication to his companion, Kristie, which in my view doubles as an explanation to the universe for who Skinner is, how he got here, how blessed he feels to have arrived, and how hard he had to struggle. We’re not talking about the “staving artist” struggle here. We’re talking about the inner struggle. The journey to overcome the nagging voice of shame and to come to terms with oneself. To come to terms with our fears. To face the reality about our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Skinner begins over 100 pages full of colorful insanity with such a confession; I cannot do it justice here but it should be considered mandatory reading for any one who delves into this volume. Do not skip ahead of it.
As for the art, it is ridiculous. It is psychedelia incarnate. There is humor and there is sadness. There is a primal energy mixed with a Sci-Fi vibe. If you’ve seen Skinner, you already know what I’m talking about. There’s also some fine examples of the newer mediums he has dabbled into lately; toys, snowboards, a three-foot-posable robot… even the alley-wall mural at The Java Lounge off Broadway gets some love. The dozens of eyeballs, extra limbs, gems, lasers, witches, and demons that Skinner has mastered and become world-famous for are well documented. But it’s the old family portraits that Skinner has found and repurposed, the appearances by folks like Hulk Hogan, Jesus Christ, Magic Johnson, He-Man, and John Madden, and the occasional photo collages of good times with real-life people and animals that connect you to the soul within this binding, and make you want to root that much more for the 916 native.
Big props to Skinner for claiming his birthright on the back cover as well. Instead of proclaiming to hail from “Northern California”, as too many of us are guilty of, he makes no bones about his hometown. It’s then reaffirmed in a blurb by another Sacramento son, Brian Posehn, who proclaims:
…like the guys in Deftones, or even Telsa, if I saw Skinner getting into a bar fight I would have to break a bottle on someone’s head. We look out for our own…
If there’s one guy traveling all over the world right now and spreading the Sacramento strangeness. it’s Skinner, and I think he’s looking out for us too. Don’t forget about us when you blow up buddy… oh, wait, he didn’t.
SKINNER: Every Man Is My Enemy, is available online by clicking this link. He’ll be in Sacramento to sell and sign copies of his book as well on February 25th at Dragatomi.
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