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Nancy Fouts show extended until end of July. A must see. 52 Oakley Square, NW1
Review Jan 28 2010 « | »
'Destroy All Monsters - Hungry for Death' at Space Josephine Breese and Hannah Barton review these spectacles of the unorthodox

Josephine Breese

Hungry for Death is not a conventionally manageable or easy show. Documenting the history of the '70s cult band Destroy All Monsters, the travelling exhibition is a monument to the subversive group and creates an apt environment reflective of their outspoken individuality. For a band that readily admitted their 'anti-musical' production of 'ugly noise', the discordant battery of their music, erratically framed videos, flashing lights and a room splattered with red paint centering on a man-sized crucified gorilla costume at SPACE is a truly authentic experience.

It soon becomes apparent that despite operating under the terminology of a band, Destroy all Monsters were more of a radical creative collective in the broadest sense. Experimental music, film, visual and performance art (two of the band members, Mike Kelley and Jim Shaw, left to pursue solo art careers in 1976) and graphics, are approached with energetic and anarchic motivation. Alongside a selection of their films, vitrines of their publications and eclectic collections of plastic figurines, 2-D memorabilia of every variety is pinned up, swirling across the walls in suitably arching and swooping patterns.

Posters, magazines, photos, prints and clippings create a disparate collage of psychedelic juxtaposition. Snapshots of Godzilla monster movies such as the 1968 film that they derived their name from, Japanese cartoons, LSD trips and marijuana leaves, horror fiction, papier maché trash sculptures and more are squeezed together here. The exhaustive plethora of hedonistic references leap out from one another, indicating the scattering of Destroy All Monsters' inspirations and ventures. Standing apart from the identity of the '60s and all things related to mainstream popular culture, Destroy All Monsters turned to heavy metal and progressive rock with these unique added twists in pursuit of revolution.

As an exploration of an underground '70s phenomenon, Hungry for Death introduces the alternative cultural scene of Detroit ('Rock City') and Ann Arbor, Michigan, Destroy All Monsters members' university town, hub of leftist activism and home to many of their rock role models and the White Panther Party. This context is elucidated through Strange Früt: Rock Apocrypha, a loosely definable documentary, directed by band member Cary Loren. The film is a disjointed but fascinating tour of happenings in Detroit in the late '60s and early '70s, interspersed with bizarre performative tableaus. Such historical positioning throughout the exhibition is subtly arranged without formal parameters or indicators, culminating in a Freek Summit last Saturday at SPACE including Loren and other prominent figures of the era.

All this adds up to a highly over-stimulated spectacle, which can be enjoyed irrespective of music tastes, as a celebration of an extremely niche band whose music was 'not surprisingly.pretty much despised' according to Kelley. Intentionally hindering a linear understanding of the changing of Destroy All Monsters from 1973 to a reunion in 1995, the exhibition's unconventional format stands out in a way that the group would have fully endorsed. There is no room here for ambient nostalgia or romanticising as with the more accessible sounds of the '60s. The essential character of Destroy All Monsters is maintained, with two fingers held up to the mainstream.

Hannah Barton

Destroy All Monsters - Hungry For Death is an opportunity to see a collection of art and ephemera stemming from a much-mythologised counterculture.

The founding members of Detroit band 'Destroy All Monsters' were Jim Shaw, Cary Loren, Niagara and Mike Kelley. Describing themselves as anti-rock (and termed as the first ever noise band by Thurston Moore) their abrasive, experimental sounds were audible reactions to the 'empty' music of the Seventies. The groups latter manifestation included an ex -Stooge and a member of MC5 and thus musically, despite the sporadic occurrence rate of gigs and releases, their relevance was assured. DAM also behaved as an art collective, producing a range of visual imagery, magazines and films, which, along with collected ephemera from their archive, forms the basis of this exhibition.

Inspired by film noir, psychedelia, monster-movies, comix, and outsider beliefs, their outlay can now be regarded as a critique of their contemporary popular culture - just as their music was a reaction to mainstream releases of their day. There is a vast array of items on display in Hungry for Death, and since much of the significance of the work relates to distinct events and then-present ideologies in America and beyond, a valuable opportunity to associate cultural happenings with a wealth of imagery is provided.

The design of the show is joyfully hyperbolic. Days could be spent attempting to understand the myriad images in their appropriate cultural and historical context. This is key to appreciating the show in its fullest sense - perceiving that the work was produced as a direct response to the society DAM lived in. From the aesthetics used to the messages contained therein, the collection has a synergy - and if visitors are inspired to look further into the body of work and its origins, then they are most likely to enrich their knowledge of this particular period of time. Such an outcome - the propagation of awareness - would be testament to the exhibition.

The palpable authenticity of the imagery in Hungry for Death is refreshing, and considering the societal values attributed to such aesthetics by contemporary image-makers, pertinent questions about the effect of appropriating this type of visual language are thrown into relief.

This reading of Hungry for Death is my own - the shows curation does not force such a slant. Indeed, if one chose to interpret the show in a simplistic way, then there is much to be enjoyed through appreciating the aesthetics on display. However, I believe that perceiving the show superficially would constitute a missed opportunity. Since the work was borne neither from dogma nor manifesto, but purely from a burning desire to create and shape into existence, hindsight gifts the audience with a timely appreciation of its relevance.

But don't expect Hungry for Death to spell anything out to you - this exhibition is an honest reflection of Destroy All Monsters esoteric outlay; intuitive, passionate and immediate. As such, an engaging and germane observation of a cultural schism is presented; an achievement that should be appreciated and enjoyed.

Destroy All Monsters - Hungry for Death is at SPACE until the 20th February.

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