As in, this portrait of Mark Zuckerberg — painted by Katsu using human feces — is part of the artist’s “Shithead” series.
The poo portraits were going for $3,500 (for the Facebook impresario) and $4,500 (for the dog) at the opening of Katsu’s first solo show, “Remember the Future,” at The Hole last night.
We didn’t even realize they were done with doo-doo until we walked over to the front desk and asked someone we thought was a gallery assistant about them. Turns out we were talking to @LILINTERNET, a music producer who has shot videos for Diplo and Beyonce. He was in the midst of “live browsing” (basically, surfing 4Chan while a projector showed his every move), but he told us the feces was the artist’s own.
We would’ve asked Katsu himself, but the self-described “graffiti vandal” — known for his signature skull icon and for using paint-filled fire extinguishers to throw up giant versions of his ubiquitous KATSU tag — tends to keep a low profile, so we had no idea what he looks like. In fact, we’re pretty sure he was playing Grand Theft Auto from a remote location, to the befuddlement of those gathered around the live feed.
If he wasn’t last night, he will be during the show’s open hours; the gallery describes the stunt as “an update of the infamous work by Vito Acconci masturbating under the gallery floor.”
Katsu’s “Android selfies” weren’t all that helpful in identifying him.
But anyway, just in case watching the artist shoot up police officers in Liberty City wasn’t unnerving enough in light of current events, he also displayed this interactive sculpture titled “Cop Punch” (the crucifix of LED screens, behind it, is titled “Christ 2.0.”)
When we first told you about this show, we figured the real attention grabbers would be the paintings he created by mounting spray-paint cans onto drones. And they do have their charm. This one kind of reminded us of Oscar the Grouch and, sure enough, is titled “Grouch.”
These are intended to evoke Andy Warhol’s “Marilyns”:
And here’s a classic “dronescape”:
There were 3D-printed “handguns,” naturally.
And, perhaps the centerpiece of the exhibit, these 16 ceramic drones. Mr. President, the whole swarm can be yours for $1,500.
Oh, and here’s Robert De Niro peering out from behind a Nike logo.
“Remember the Future,” through Feb. 22 at The Hole, 312 Bowery, nr. Bleecker St.