Preview: "Obey Your Master" Art Tribute to Metallica, with Andy Biersack, Black Veil Brides and more
Obey Your Master, an exhibit of art inspired by the music of Metallica, opens at the Exhibit A Gallery in Los Angeles tomorrow night. Earlier this week, My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way talked to AP about his contribution to the exhibit and what the mighty metal band’s music means to him. Late last year, another of the participating artists, Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack, talked to AP about his contribution.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Metallica, as has everyone in my band, and it was exciting to be asked to be a part to this,” he says. “The Black Album [a.k.a. 1991’s Metallica, (1991)] has always been a great inspiration to me, and a lot of the religious imagery lends itself really well to visual art. That said, I think it would be too obvious for me to pick a song from that record, so I’m doing my piece based on the song “Creeping Death” [from 1984’s Ride The Lightning]. I don’t consider myself an artist by any means, but I’ve always painted and had my own style, and oftentimes when I’m writing lyrics, I’ll draw pictures to map out songs. But I’m not going to give you any more details than that right now—you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Biersack isn’t the only Black Veil Brides connection at the event. The gallery owner/creative director of Exhibit A is Richard Villa III, who did the album covers for BVB’s We Stitch These Wounds and Set The World On Fire LPs and the Rebels EP. Patrick Fogarty, who’s the director of the band’s videos for “Knives & Pens,” “The Legacy,” “Rebel Love Song” and “Perfect Weapon,” contributed a sculpture [pictured below, photo by Sammi Doll].
Here’s a sneak preview of the art you’ll be able to see at the event. All photos, except the one of noted artist Shepard Fairey’s contribution, were taken by Sammi Doll.
Nicola Verlato (oil on canvas):
Brian M. Viveros (oil/mixed media on maple board):
Gail Potocki (oil on linen):
Shepard Fairey (original art piece; limited-edition prints of this art piece will also be available):
Other artists who have contributed to Obey Your Master include Clown from Slipknot (a.k.a. Shawn Crahan) and Sammi Doll; a full list is available here. Tomorrow night’s invite-only opening reception will feature guest DJs Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, OFF!) and Shepard Fairey, while limited-edition “Obey Your Master” Alva Exhibit A Gallery skateboard decks will be available, with all proceeds going to the Children's Hospital Of Los Angeles. The exhibit will be open to the public starting Monday, January 23, 2012, but AP will have a wrap-up of the unveiling of the exhibit this weekend only on Altpress.com.
