“Ronald & Wizard” by Wizard Skull; acrylic and Sharpie on “He-Man” animation cel (acetate) with original hand-painted background.
A couple of street artists known for appropriating pop iconography have been dipping into the world of animation recently.
First, tonight at Bowery Electric, East Village-based artist Brandon Sines will premiere a stop-motion animated film (his first) featuring Frank Ape, the signature character that’s appeared on walls all over town and commandeered a bodega back in May. As Brooklyn-based jazz/roots trio Les Racquet jams out a live soundtrack, Frank will go about a typical working-schlub day amidst dreams of rock stardom and space travel. The night (part of Les Racquet’s July residency at Bowery Electric) will also feature storytelling by Xandra Clark, spoken word by Professor Lefty, and theater by Kim Katzberg.
Meanwhile, Wizard Skull, the Brooklyn artist whose renderings of a randy Ronald McDonald have popped up all over Bushwick, e-mails to tell us he’s been working on something he calls “The Michael Bay Series” (we’re not sure why). He writes, “I am creating reboot art by taking original animation cels that were used to produce He-Man and other cartoons, and adding myself and other characters into them.” Hence the above mash-up of Man-At-Arms chilling with Ronald McDonald and the artist. See more here, but be warned — you’ll never look at Gargamel the same way.