ARTS REVIEW: GALLERY 1988

3G Installation of the Three Big Gs of '80s Movies: 'Ghostbusters,' 'Goonies,' 'Gremlins'

By: Josh Moorhead

September 6, 2010

(September 3, 2010 in Los Angeles, California) It’s LA. There’s always something going on. It’s hard to know which thing to do, and sometimes, just like any other place, you don’t want to do anything at all. But then, a few hours later, your arms are wrapped around Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) and Seth Green is pulling you out of oncoming traffic. It’s LA.

This particular location on this particular Friday night was the heralded Gallery 1988. Gallery 1988 rules. And it’s pretty LA. The gallery showcases pop art, not like neon-colored soup cans — like pop culture art. One of the most noted recent themes was an art show that focused on Lost and is actually featured on the show’s series collection special features. Friday, September 3rd was the debut of the 3G installation for the three big Gs of ’80s movies: Ghostbusters, Goonies, and Gremlins. The involved arts can be checked out here.

It was my first trip to the gallery, and I was not disappointed. It was a tight space, but the crowd was jovial, and not just because of free beer and tea. These things — pop culture and their inspirations — bring out a real sense of community in these people. Sometimes you want to say everyone like this is a nerd, but then you remember that you have your own favorites, or you look down and realize you’re wearing a joke Star Wars t-shirt, like I did. Seriously, somewhere on the other side of town, a swanky LA club was thumping with plastic-chested women and Jersey Shore-shaped-and-bronzed dudes, but if you could scream over the house music, “Don’t you love Ghostbusters?” they’d be down. This stuff can bring all of us together.

The art was super cool. Not all of it was my taste, but someone that managed to do an 8-bit Nintendo-style painting of Gizmo, Sloth, and Slimer knows what’s up. And some of the paintings were indisputably art…well, insofar as art can be indisputable. A particular painting of Bill Murray comes to mind.

What really rocketed the night off the cool charts was a sequence that went as follows: a friend of mine wanted a picture holding an Ernie Hudson Ghostbusters action figure, as he said Ernie was his favorite. So I nabbed it. Minutes later, the Ecto-1 pulled up outside, and who should step out but the real Ernie Hudson? It’d be akin to holding a Hulk action figure and then having the green one instantly pop through the nearest wall. So we scrambled outside. Snap snap — pictures with Ernie, check. Snap snap, pictures with the Ecto, check. Then, in some kind of nostalgia fight, someone had pulled up a time-traveling converted DeLorean. Okay, so even if Back To The Future isn’t one of the “three Gs,” it’s still ’80s holy film writ. So you’re excited. Who else is? Seth Green. He’s posing for pictures with the Doc Brown mobile and generally being a cool guy — the opposite of himself on Entourage as himself. So your buddy wants a picture with him, snap snap – check – almost. You’re backing into traffic to take the picture not thinking about it, and Seth grabs you, pulls you toward the DeLorean and gets you out of traffic. Thanks, Seth Green.

Apparently this is the type of thing that happens out here in the city of Angels from time to time. Loopy, giddy, goofy randomness with a full tank of nostalgia and some surprise. You just don’t wake up everyday expecting it to end around the Ecto 1 and the DeLorean with Ernie Hudson and Seth Green. But that happens.

And apparently it happens at Gallery 1988 a lot. Having just opened in 2004, the gallery has experienced fast and broad success. Kevin Smith hangs out there, Samuel L. Jackson, Swizz Beats, and Jessica Alba have all been seen admiring its walls… Now they can add Buzzine to their list, but they’ve been pressed the world wide and on national outlets like MSNBC, CNN, and G4. Gallery 1988 is one of those cool LA things that you just can’t get at “home.” But the funny thing is, after any adventure anyone could have anywhere, everyone just kind of wants to get back to the couch and play their favorite piece of nostalgia. Home is where the Gs are.

For more info on Gallery 1988, follow the link.