“Los Angeles is a beautiful meat grinder for the creatives who come here with aspirations of stardom, recognition, wealth etc. Seven years ago I was no different.
I moved here like so many to pursue a career in comedy, film, art; shit – anything. I was doing stand up comedy at the time and getting some major traction, when all of the sudden I found myself on the outside. (Partially because I can be a gregarious unapologetic narcissist.) Some genuine political bullshit got me fired and banned from the World Famous Comedy Store. Frustrated with the situation, I decided to paint my way out of depression. I painted the comedy club…. getting evaporated by a laser beam from a giant old school robot.
That’s how it all started…
I began work on a full series. I wanted to do something that was not just visually amusing, but also carried a deeper symbolism. This series was a great way to symbolically transmit a broader message, while also conveying a narrative of my own life in Los Angeles – by focusing on areas that I lived in and the places I have worked.
(I carry absolutely no animosity or desire to do harm to anyone or any place, and I see a Giant Robots painting as similar to getting roasted by Don Rickles.)
I chose to paint the series in a manner that was reminiscent of 1950s Sci-Fi films, which were also visually amusing but indicative of the political undercurrents of the time. Back then it was The Red Scare…Communist invaders and McCarthism.
Nowadays, not much has changed, except it is terrorism we fear. Battered over our collective heads for years, is the threat of terrorists blowing us up unaided, is equally as ridiculous as giant robots blowing us up with laser beams.”
See the rest of the series below, and be sure to follow Austin on Instagram! You can see his work on November 7th at the Exact Science Gallery.
PAINTINGS BY AUSTIN HORTON
ALL PAINTINGS ON SALE – SEE MORE ON INSTAGRAM
