Live art smackdown at Artslam 7 with Buff Monster, Lamour Supreme, and Japanther

ARTSLAM! 7, this year's edition of SA's one-day art and music phantasmagoria, promises to be a high/low mix of art in chaos that will embarrass those who write-off live painting — a signature of the event — as amateur entertainment. Though many of the participating artists live on the fringe, coming from the worlds of street art and underground comics, there will be some major talent in the house this Saturday. The three guest visual artists: Buff Monster (NY), Lamour Supreme (NY), and Nychos (Vienna, Austria), have each received international acclaim. Buff Monster and Lamour Supreme have done a number of live painting shows together — most recently in Paris.

Buff Monster's pink paintings of ice cream cone characters flaunt a style that, like guest musical artist Japanther, conjures thoughts of the Asian art scene. Lamour Supreme is active in skater culture, designing graphics for apparel store Mishka, and illustrating posters and comics with stylings that trip from Japan to classic black light Americana. Both artists design kaiju — the vinyl toys from Japan that began as movie collectables in the days of Godzilla.

Nychos the Weird, based in Vienna, and working in Paris and Brooklyn, is a street artist who, though gathering attention, remains ellusive — a habit no doubt learned on the streets of Europe, where his complicated murals based on graffiti techniques adorn many an urban wall. "He paints dissected animals being pulled apart, where you get to see the guts and everything," Lamour Supreme told us. "It's a real cool style."

BUFF MONSTER

Raised in Hawaii, Buff Monster did "regular, plain-old graffiti" before moving to L.A., where he dropped the spray can to focus on poster art, which garnered him attention that led to gallery shows. He relocated to New York four months ago. His work ranges from paintings (usually pink) that blend flat, graphic design with allegorical landscapes populated by ice cream cone heroes, to vinyl toys and other 3-D work. We asked him what his Melty Misfits vinyl toy series is about.

Buff Monster: I'm a huge Garbage Pail Kids collector. It's not the largest collection, but it's filled with all kinds of crazy, one of a kind items. The Melty Misfits are the most ambitious Garbage Pail Kids homage, or parody, or whatever. I've put in all kinds of details that only die-hards would notice.

I see Takashi Murakami-style Superflat effects in your paintings.

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