DEVO becomes public art in Akron

I have been most remiss in posting this news from the art world.

A work of public art honoring the legendary band DEVO was unveiled last August in their hometown of Akron, Ohio. The painting is a depiction of a 1978 photograph of the band in their full regalia for the stage. Though the original photo was black and white, the band's yellow jumpsuits were colorized for the street art. The photo was enlarged to life size and placed over the former facade of Chili Dog Mac, a local landmark. Bassist and band co-founder Jerry Casale was onhand for the art's dedication as several fans in jumpsuits and Booji Boy masks flooded the streets.

Janet Macoska, the longtime rock photographer who took the original photo, offered the following dithyramb at the ceremony:

"Hello spuds! I’ve got to say that when we did these photos, the guys from DEVO and myself, we were all just starting out. I was 23, you guys [addressing Casale] were probably about the same age, and this was true collaboration, this is when there’s no barriers between artists and we had fun… “Iconic,” I’m not sure how it turned out that way, but I’m so thrilled, 37 years later, to see this have another life, and to pay tribute to our Akron hometown band, international superstars DEVO!"

Naturally, mobs of people took selfies with the artwork. Who wouldn't? Check it out at the link. You just can't beat that classic look of clean black and white with isolated colorization.

If you're not up on DEVO, then you probably weren't around for Night Flight in the 1980s. If that's the case then you grew up deprived.

I'm afraid that's all I've got in the tank/have time for tonight. This is the night where I'm speaking about blogging to a gathering of writers ("a bitterness of writers" as someone once proposed such a collective to be named, something like "a murder of crows.") I'll let you know how it goes.



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