Buff Monster
Hollywood, United States
Bio
The Buff Monster's primary canvas is the city of Los Angeles. Here he uses his signature ice cream sundaes, breasts and little winged characters (also called Buff Monsters) as a candy coating for the less glossy surfaces of the City of Angels. LA is also home to the porn industry, and The Buff has been known to paint directly onto the bodies of porn stars at Hustler shoots. He’s also painted a room at the Hotel Des Arts in Infectious’ home town of San Francisco. “It’s the first place I got to design where people would be having sex,” he says. Now he wants to use your car as a canvas where he can create what he describes as his “fun world of ice cream and boobies”.
Interview
Describe your style in one sentence:
Super happy art inspired by Heavy Metal music, Kaiju, ice cream, Kawaii and women.
What’s the name of your Infectious art piece?
Super Creamer.
Can you describe Lollipop land, the world in which your characters reside?
It’s a happy, fun place full of ice cream and boobies. Cute little Buff Monsters live there. There are lots of cherries and squirts. It’s totally free of religion, politics and wrong. It’s the most awesomest place and I love to escape to it.
Define your manifesto ‘Pink is power’:
It’s a mix of celebrating your sex, celebrating your individuality, rejecting mindless macho things and acknowledging how much power women have.
You’ve cited porn, ice cream and heavy metal as your main influences. What’s your favorite porno flick, your favorite ice cream flavor and your favorite heavy metal band?
1) Strap-on Sally #22 and my friend Eon McKai’s movies are pretty rad.
2) Along with 29% of Americans, I like vanilla ice cream the best. It’s a really good platform for fresh fruit on top.
3) It’s really hard to pick one favorite heavy metal band. My long-time favorites are Danzig, Iron Maiden and Ozzy. And there are so many that recent finds that I’m really into: Dark Fortress, Celtic Frost, HellHammer, Pentagram, Witchcraft and Satyricon. The list could go on and on.
You once art directed a Hustler shoot where you painted naked girls. You’ve also worked with Vivid. Any plans for any future porny collaborations?
I did some work in the adult industry and it was fun. But if the Wizard of Oz taught us anything, it’s that the fantasy is much better than the reality. And although I still date strippers and porn girls, I have no desire to do anything else in the porn world.
You’ve mentioned that you’re changing up your painting style a bit for your upcoming show, can you describe the new direction?
My new solo show at Giant Robot in New York just opened. In a way, it’s totally different. The pieces have gnarly Kaiju-inspired characters, kanji and geometric patterns. But underneath it all, it’s the same. It’s still my very limited color palette, and it’s still my hand.
What is your dream car?
I’ve considered buying a Delorean. I think it would really complete my look.
What vehicle would you most love to see your art on?
The car whose driver is totally stoked to have it on there.
You’ve sported impressive Mohawks, a shaved head, spectacles, pink wigs and white masks. What does The Buff look like today?
I’ve had a Mohawk for two or three years now. It’s the perfect haircut in my opinion.
What was your last impulse purchase?
I guess it was the Murakami DVD that I bought at the Brooklyn Museum yesterday. I never knew that it existed, and of course, I had to have it.
If you had to change careers, what would be next?
International gigolo? Drummer? Maybe both.
4/21/08
