Friday- April 30, 2010. I got an invite to attend a gallery opening in Boston from an old friend, I last saw 20 years ago on the back of a school bus headed to Haverhill High school. So I decided what the hell, it would be nice to catch up and see how Mister Reusch was doing. After all he’d just done some fabulous illustrations for my Beatdom Issue 6 piece LSD 25000 pro bono. So the least I could do was personally hand him a hardcopy of his work.
I hopped on the Purple Line and headed into the city to check out GET YOUR FREAK ON! Celebrating Circus Folk, Carnies & Sideshow Freaks at Space 242 in Boston. As my luck would have it my train was delayed because of the fact as the conductor put it “ Apparently some kids thought it would be funny to throw a shopping carriage under the train and it was now tangled up in the axels.” About twenty minutes of cutting pulling and cursing later the engineer freed the carriage and we were off.
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I arrived at North Station and from there hopped on the Orange Line over to China Town where Space 242 is located at 242 East Berkley St. I’m sitting there with the rest of the rush hour crowd when we witness the crack head love connection of the century. A very friendly and obviously quite wired gentleman is busy talking up everybody in the car. He turns his attention to a drunken land whale and begins talking her up about how he’s going to cash his check and then wants to go party. She’s interested and invites him to party at her house. The next thing we all know he produces a crack stem from his pocket and says “See baby today is your lucky day.” The entire crowd is in shock when they then begin to passionately suck face. This is true junky love at its finest. I hop off the train before I can see what fully transpires but I’m sure it ended in domestic violence over the last push in the stem several hours later. Such is the way of the crack head world.
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It’s a short walk over to Space 242. I arrive and find a long line of Artist types and scenesters awaiting entry into “Boston’s Lowbrow destination.” After about twenty minutes I’m through the line and in the gallery. The art is amazing. The show features over 100 different artists in several different mediums. It’s a bit macabre, but that’s to be expected dealing with this subject. I find Mister Reusch and we catch up on the past twenty years.
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He’s a very accomplished illustrator, Burlesque innovator , and teacher at Mass. Art. Several of his students pieces are on display. It’s very clear Mister Reusch is good at his job, judging by the outstanding works by notables – Felisia Sainz, Jessica Baer, Lindsey Boss Allison Bamford, Caitlin Ryan, Alex Carlson, Greg Miller, and KC Burney. I highly recommend checking this show out if you have a taste demented demons, bearded ladies, killer clowns, or side show culture in general. Space 242 is located @ 242 East Berkley in Boston Massachusetts. The show runs from April 30th-May 21st. There is a second opening this Friday due to the fact the crowd was so large at the first opening and not everyone could gain access. Gallery hours are from 6:30PM- 8:00PM Fridays. I recommend getting there early because the spot fills up fast. To learn more about Space 242 “Boston’s Low Brow Destination” and future shows check out their website www.Space242.com an RSVP is required to attend the shows. To see Mister Reusch’s work check out http://misterreusch.blogspot.com
THE VOICE OF THE DOOMED 