Seth Bogart (artist)
Seth Bogart (born 1980) is an American multidisciplinary artist.[4][5] As a musician, he is known for his solo career, as well as Hunx and His Punx and Gravy Train!!!!. As a visual artist, Bogart's paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States, and he has created the World of Wonder web series Feelin' Fruity. He also runs the streetwear line Wacky Wacko.
Seth Bogart | |
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![]() Bogart in 2019 | |
Born | [1][2] Tuczon, AZ[3] | February 28, 1980
Nationality | American |
Known for | Music, painting, ceramics |
Musical career | |
Also known as | Hunx |
Associated acts | |
Website | sethbogart |
Early life and career
Bogart grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where his father was a lawyer and his mother was a nurse.[7] In high school, he started playing the guitar[8][9] and created the punk zine Puberty Strike.[10][11][12][13] He later produced the zine Psycho No. 1 Fan.[14][15][16]
When Bogart was 18, his father committed suicide.[17][18] He moved to Oakland, California shortly thereafter.[7] At 19, he went to beauty school,[3][19][20] and later, in 2006, he co-founded the salon and vintage clothing store Down at Lulu's on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.[4][20][21]
Music
Bogart joined Oakland-based electroclash band Gravy Train!!!! as a backup dancer under the name Hunx shortly after its inception in the early 2000s. He soon began writing songs for the band and performing as the band's singer and guitarist.[9]
In 2008, he founded Hunx and His Punx,[22] a garage punk band,[23] which changed its lineup in 2010 and was renamed to Hunx and His Punkettes. After this lineup disbanded in 2011, Bogart sold Down at Lulu's.[24]
In 2012, Bogart released a solo album as Hunx titled Hairdresser Blues,[25] and, in 2015, Bogart came out with an eponymous solo album under his own name.[26]
Clothing
Bogart relocated to Los Angeles in 2013,[24] and, in 2014, he started streetwear label Wacky Wacko.[4] Initially, it was to be a record label, until he lost interest in that idea.[10][25] The line grew in popularity, and could be seen on Miley Cyrus, Tavi Gevinson, and Kathleen Hanna.[27] From 2014–17, the label had a store on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park.[10][28][29]
Bogart has also collaborated with fashion house Saint Laurent.[3][30] Director Hedi Slimane was a fan of Bogart's work,[27] and used his drawings in a Saint Laurent fabric pattern[30] and a song by Hunx and His Punx in a promotional video.[31]
Video
In 2011, Bogart and longtime collaborator Brande Bytheway launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a TV show.[32][33] Hollywood Nailz launched as a web series in November 2012,[34] and was likened to a "bizarro '80s Public Access-style variety show".[35]
In May 2018, World of Wonder launched the web series Feelin' Fruity, a variety show which starred Bogart,[4] and was inspired by Disneyland's Toontown and Pee-wee's Playhouse.[36] It featured such guests as Alice Bag, Kate Berlant, Tammie Brown, John Early, Cole Escola, Manila Luzon, and Allison Wolfe.[36][37][38]
Sculpture and paintings
Bogart began taking classes at ArtCenter College of Design in 2013,[25] and began selling ceramic versions of familiar objects—including perfume bottles and grooming supplies—at the Wacky Wacko store shortly thereafter.[39]
In 2014, Los Angeles art gallery 365 Mission included a painting by Bogart in a group show,[40] and, in 2015, 365 Mission gave him a solo show, in which he transformed the gallery space into The Seth Bogart Show, an immersive experience that displayed sculpture, paintings, ceramics, and video, as well as served as a performance venue.[41][42]
Nino Mier gave Bogart a show in their Los Angeles gallery in 2018. Entitled Lick, it transformed the space into a sex shop, and included paintings and ceramic pieces by Bogart.[1]
In 2019, Chicago's Soccer Club Club gallery hosted 100 Toothbrushes, a solo exhibit of 100 ceramic toothbrushes by Bogart.[43]
Personal life
Bogart is openly gay.[7][22] He came out to his friends while in high school, and to his mother when he was eighteen.[7]
Discography
As Hunx and His Punx
Studio albums
- Too Young to Be in Love (2011)
- Street Punk (2013)
Compilations
- Gay Singles (2010)
As Hunx
Studio albums
- Hairdresser Blues (2012)
As H.U.N.X.
Singles
- I Vant to Suck (2012)
As Seth Bogart
Studio albums
- Seth Bogart (2016)
- Men On The Verge Of Nothing (2020)
Singles
- "Eating Makeup" (2015) featuring Kathleen Hanna
- "Club with Me" (2016)
As S.L.I.N.K.
Singles
- "Pink Christmas" (2014)[44]
Published works
Zines
Books
- Seth Bogart: Ceramics 2014–2016. Brain Dead Books. 2017.
- 100 Toothbrushes. Drag City. 2019.
Exhibitions
Solo
Group
- 2014 – Another Cats Show, 356 Mission, Los Angeles[40]
- 2014 – You're My Playground Love, KK Gallery, Los Angeles[45]
- 2014 – Perfume Mania Installation, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles
- 2016 – Volatile! A Poetry and Scent Exhibition, Poetry Foundation, Chicago[46]
- 2016 – THINGS: A Queer Legacy of Graphic Art & Play, ONE Archives, Los Angeles[47]
- 2016 – THINGS: A Queer Legacy of Graphic Art & Play, Participant Inc., New York[48]
- 2017 – Last, Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles
- 2018 – Tom House, Mike Kelley Mobile Homestead, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit[49]
- 2019 – Circus of Books, Fierman Gallery, New York City[50]
References
- "Seth Bogart – Lick". Nino Mier Gallery.
- @sethbogartofficial (February 28, 2020). "It's my bday..." Instagram.
- Read, Bridget (February 5, 2019). "Don't Ever Call Seth Bogart an Influencer". Vogue.
- George, Cassidy (May 8, 2018). "Feelin' Fruity with Seth Bogart". Office Magazine.
- Tuite, John (October 2, 2015). "Hunx and His Punx Frontman Seth Bogart Closes His L.A. Art Show with a Bang". i-D.
- Moreland, Quinn (February 17, 2016). "New King of Camp Seth Bogart on Turning Pop Music Into Pop Art". Pitchfork.
- Gopalan, Nisha (June 16, 2010). "Need to Know: Seth Bogart". www.out.com. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
- Sandberg, Patrik (March 10, 2016). "City of Angels: Seth Bogart". V.
- Strachota, Dan (July 4, 2007). "All the Sweet Stuff". SF Weekly.
- Brown, August (March 11, 2016). "Seth Bogart is poised to make a splash with his new album and Wacky Wacko pop-up store". Los Angeles Times.
- "Puberty strike". SAIC Digital Collections.
- ""Puberty Strike," January 1997". Smith College Libraries.
- "selling this collectors item from 1998 to raise money for the fest". DEAR DIARY. January 28, 2019.
- Rypl, Khrista (November 4, 2015). "Your Angst-Ridden Youth is Now in a Library". WNYC.
- "Individual: Seth Bogart". Queer Zine Archive Project.
- Bogart, Seth. Psycho No. 1 Fan. Queer Zine Archive Project.
- Rathe, Adam (February 21, 2012). "The indie punk's alter ego, Hunx, takes a somber turn". Out.
- @sethbogartofficial (December 2, 2017). "20 years ago I️ found my father's suicide note locked inside his desk, in an unusually dark and quiet house". Instagram.
- Flanders, Kai (March 15, 2012). "Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx on Being a Gay Punk and Jay Reatard Giving Him a Foot Massage". LA Weekly.
- Stosuy, Brandon (February 14, 2011). "Quit Your Day Job: Hunx And His Punx". Stereogum.
- Vaziri, Aidin (March 25, 2011). "Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx". San Francisco Chronicle.
- Gray, Kristina (August 31, 2011). "A Bubblegum Twist: Hunx and His Punx". The Washington Post.
- Lymangrover, Jason. "Hunx & His Punx". AllMusic. All Media Network.
- Carroll, Elle (June 27, 2018). "Second coming of Hunx and His Punx". Bay Area Reporter.
- Ohanesian, Liz (September 2, 2015). "The Leader of Hunx and His Punx, Seth Bogart, Has a Wacky New Art Show". LA Weekly.
- McGarry, Kevin (March 7, 2016). "A Queer Pop-Punk Cult Hero Strikes Out on His Own". New York Times.
- Hyland, Véronique (August 18, 2014). "Saint Laurent's Latest Collaborator Loves Miley, Designs Tampon Tees". The Cut. New York magazine.
- @wackywacko (August 22, 2014). "OPENING TOMORROW". Instagram.
- @wackywacko (June 15, 2017). "BIG NEWS: Wacky Wacko's LA SHOP is closing on June 26 2017 (new location might happen later this year – if anyone has any dream spots get in touch )". Instagram.
- Williamson, Sue (August 28, 2014). "Hunx Goes High-End". W.
- "Spring/Summer 2014". Saint Laurent.
- "HOLLYWOOD NAILS TV SHOW – Make Your Dreams Come True!". Kickstarter.
- "King Tuff vs. Hunx". Hardly Art Magazine. 3: 10. 2012.
- "Check Out Seth Bogart and Brande Bytheway's Hollywood Nailz (Paper Premiere)". Paper. November 14, 2012.
- Schreiber, Abby (January 5, 2016). "Premiere: Listen to Seth Bogart's New Track, "Forgotten Fantazy"". Paper.
- d'Avignon, Angella (July 20, 2018). "Seth Bogart's Feelin' Fruity Is Bringing a Punk Aesthetic to TV". Vulture. New York magazine.
- "Feelin' Fruity". WOW Presents Plus. World of Wonder.
- @WorldOfWonder (May 7, 2018). "Are you Feeling Fruity?!? Coming to WOW Presents Plus tomorrow is our new show with @SethBogartOK featuring guest stars like @thetammiebrown, @bejohnce, @kateberlant, @manilaluzon, @ColeEscola & a bunch of others! Watch the trailer on @them!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Muraben, Billie (February 2, 2015). "Seth Bogart's sleazy ceramic homages to salon life". It's Nice That.
- "Another Cats Show – August 16 – September 14, 2014". 356 Mission.
- "The Seth Bogart Show – September 3 – October 2, 2015". 356 Mission.
- Guth, Dana (February 22, 2016). "Seth Bogart Makes Pop Where Life Imitates Art". Nylon.
- "Soccer Club Club". Archived from the original on May 22, 2019.
- Saxelby, Ruth (December 10, 2014). "SSION, Hunx and His Punx, and Samantha Urbani Wish You a 'Pink Christmas'". Fader.
- "You're My Playground Love". KK Gallery. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015.
- "Volatile! A Poetry and Scent Exhibition". Poetry Foundation.
- "THINGS: A Queer Legacy of Graphic Art & Play – September 17, 2016 to December 11, 2016". ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.
- "Curt McDowell, Tom Rubnitz, Robert Ford, Seth Bogart, Rafa Esparza, Aimee Goguen, Brontez Purnell – THINGS – Curated by Bradford Nordeen – Jul 17–Aug 21, 2016". PARTICIPANT INC.
- "Mike Kelley's Mobile Homestead – Tom House: The Life and Work of Tom of Finland". Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
- "Circus of Books". Fierman Gallery.