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Robocabbie
In the current Tumblr era, fan art is everywhere, filling blogs, and graffiti-strewn alleys, and BuzzFeed almost every day with things mashups and tributes. But at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, it gets elevated to the level of fine art. You know, the kind people shell out money to buy – not just reblog.
Since 2004, the LA gallery founded by Katie Cromwell and Jensen Karp has been showcasing elegant pieces by artists paying homage to everything from The Avengers to Lost. Each year the Hollywood spot holds its Crazy 4 Cult art show, where it showcases the best pieces from its most pop-culture-obsessed artists. In recent years, the annual event has even attracted fans like director Edgar Wright and buyers like Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith.
Next week, the gallery will release Crazy 4 Cult: Cult Movie Art 2 – the second collection of the best-of-the-best from the annual event. It's a collection of art ranging from Iron Giant/Vin Diesel mashups to a reimagining of RoboCop as a cabbie in the same universe as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Most are so good they'll make you wish they were entirely true to their source material – come on, don't you kind of wish Alien was really into popsicles like he is in Jason Edmiston's painting? Just a little bit? Karp does.
"Just the idea of the Alien being super into popsicles makes me laugh," Karp said in an email to WIRED. "Like he's a killer and trying to destroy humans, but if you handed him a popsicle, he becomes very loving and child like. That's the type of Alien I could get behind."
WIRED asked Karp to pick out some of his favorites from the second Crazy 4 Cult book collection, and give a little insight into why he loves each piece.
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