the making of the legend

somewhat normal paintings

2005-06-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

I went through this phase where I actually tried to paint paintings and sell them. What should I paint? I thought. Hot chicks! I thought back. So I painted things like Kate Moss here. I actually sold a few paintings like this, but it was a lot of hard work and not very fun.

thrift-store stuffed animals on buildings

2005-06-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

I went through phases were I tried really small and simple projects, like hanging stuffed animals from trees and buildings. The problem with these projects is sometimes you look at your work and think, this is kind of stupid.

Mark Michaels' Pancake House

2005-06-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Mark Michaels' Pancake House (2001?) I-275, Northern Florida. I took this road trip to Atlanta with Bask and Courtney Kessel. Along the way we screwed with a few road signs. I figured a pretend pancake house was innocuous enough. But a few weeks later my sign was gone.

The Box Named Fred

2005-06-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

"The Box Named Fred" 2001, St. Petersburg, FL. This one is hard to explain: I invented this magical "Box Named Fred" and offered it for sale. Joey Vitale bought it (for $10). Then to commemorate the sale, I put up this sign on a vacant lot. From there, the public confusion ensued.

2005-06-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Apparently the "Box named Fred" sign aroused so much curiosity on 4th St., that a news article was written to help solve the mystery of what the hec it was. One theory was that it had something to do with Fred Flemings Bar-B-Que. But it was just me again.

Alien Abduction Zone

2005-06-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Alien Abduction Sign (1997?) This is one of the first "guerilla art" signs I ever did. One minute I was studying 10 hours a day in law school, and then the next minute I was like: "screw this! I'd rather make funny signs!"

Shagging Britney, Beating Fred

2005-06-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

At some point I got this idea that by associating my name with "stars," I would become a "star" of some sort myself. (Eventually, some switched the "shagged" and "beat-up" parts of these two signs).

2005-06-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Pinellas Park, FL. (200?) I'm not exactly sure what year I did this, except it was during the time when Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) still kind of mattered.

The Messiah! (& His Big Yellow Boxes)

2005-06-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

"Giant Yellow Boxes" Orlando (2000?) After thinking I had conquered Tampa Bay (read: a couple news stories) I did this project in Orlando where I proclaimed myself the "Messiah" of American art.

2005-06-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

The Giant Yellow Messiah Boxes of Orlando kind of mark a fizzling point of my "guerilla art" career. After they failed to make a splash, I scaled down my art projects and scaled up my beer drinking.

Art Bomb!

2005-06-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

"The Art Bomb" 1999, St. Petersburg, FL. I always wanted to get attention as an artist, but this stunt may have worked to well. After furtively placing this barrel in from of the St. Petersburg Times building on a sunny afternoon, all hec broke loose. The hasmat squad was called, fire engines, etc.

Bubblehead!

2005-06-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

A scene from "Bubblehead!" 2004. Starring Mark Michaels, and John Vitale. With special help from Matt Simmons.

Paperhead!

2005-06-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a climactic scene where Paperhead attacks Matt with the leaf blower. Matt was doing his taxes on the back patio (and they all get blown away).

2005-06-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

This is a scene from a movie called "Paperhead" that I made with Matt Simmons in 2004. It came from a conversation where one of us said, "Wouldn't it be funny if there was a monster that used a leaf blower instead of a chainsaw, or axe, etc.." And voila! Paperhead was born.