The Art Of GWAR

I was still in daycare the first time I ever heard of GWAR. My mother, always interested in keeping my impressionable young mind open, shared with me the story of the arrest of Dave Brockie, nee Oderus Urungus, for indecent exposure in Charlotte, NC. "What's indecent exposure?" I remember asking. Much was learned that day. For instance, I learned that in addition to being considered immodest and impolite, it is also illegal to appear in public in a state of disrobe. So I asked my mother if Brockie had been arrested for being naked on stage. But he had not. I also learned that day, that at least to some overzealous enforcers of law, to appear onstage in a costume that involves a three-foot long false phallus is also indecent. My curious young mind was piqued by learning this, so I asked my mother "Why does he wear that?" "Well, thats what art's all about, honey." And thus, the same conversation that introduced me to the single most disgusting, vile, repulsive band to ever disgrace Rock and Roll also introduced me to Art.


GWAR's antics are anything if not well known to those residing in the RVA area, and certainly to any meathead Slayer fan in the world, so I need not spend much time describing them. We are all familiar with the elaborate costumes, the denizens of slaves slain in sacrifice, and the spewing blood, urine and semen that accompanies their live shows. Much controversy has surrounded the act, as well. One can only assume that this is all perpetrated by a group of inbred nitwits with a bent to corrupt young children and convert them to their backwoods, snake-handling, blood-drinking, satanic religion. Or is it? I sat down with Bob Gorman and Matt Maguire of Slave Pit Inc. to smoke some rocks and talk a little about the Art of GWAR as they prepare for a show at Artspace.

Slave Pit Inc. started, as their website (www.slavepitinc.com – see, i told you i'd pimp your site) states, a collective of "aspiring artists and musicians" who wished to follow in the grand examples of Spartacus and Monty Python. It also serves as the corporate face of GWAR, if you want to call it that. As Bob explained, GWAR was formed to be a vehicle to present the art of its members, and to eke out a living off of art, instead of having to get a real job. To be a full-fledged art show that tours like a band.

Given the group's penchant for controversy and just general silliness, Matt concedes that it is sometimes hard to be taken seriously as artists. Both point to Mad Magazine for comparison. "Its all just satire. We're left-leaning people, but, I mean, we killed Clinton onstage, too." Bob says. "We're not classy, but we are well read." Apparantly, even Jerry Springer became visibly flustered during an interview with GWAR as he was not prepared for intelligent responses from the mutant creatures that would later kill him. "We were in there, matching him point for point" Matt recalled. Of course, as artists, difficulty in being taken serious does not bother them. Their general attitude seems to be one of a Bob Dobbsian origin: "If they can't take a joke, fuck 'em!"

However, the art world, never known for being consistant, is showing signs of change that are putting GWAR in a position to be recognized as the artistic tour de force that they are. Bob says that the idea behind GWAR as a "cartoon as sculpture" is beginning to gain acceptance and even popularity among academics. "Students are being encouraged to do the same things that i've been doing for years," musing that if and when he tried to turn in the same things as projects at VCU in his day he would have been summarily rejected; all the while at this point Matt is laughing and agreeing profusely. And, after an 8 year hiatus, GWAR has been showing their art in a gallery environment again. Bob points to the growing popularity of publications like Juxtapoz in this resurgence.

None of this is to say that GWAR has remained a bulwark of artistic principle in the sea of impulse and whim that define art trends. One notable change is the recent dearth of full-length GWAR videos. Once upon a time, these videos were as easily come by as the crack smoked while making them, and nearly as addictive. In fact, their video Phallus in Wonderland was nominated for a Grammy Award in '93 for Best Long-Form Music Video. "I think we lost to Annie Lennox," Bob recalled. A minor controversy ensued when the band showed up to pick up their tickets to the ceremony in full costume and was asked to leave. "Back in the 90's, Metalblade [Records] was throwing money left and right" at GWAR to make these movies, but with the disappearance of music videos from MTV and the coinciding slip in the popularity of metal and hard rock acts in the mainstream, the money simply isn't available.

Crowds have changed for their live acts, too. The early 90's found GWAR moving out of cult status and into much wider popularity as a musical act. As a result, the stage show had to be simplified. Matt compares a GWAR show to an opera, "You have these people in costume, and it has to look good, but you have to still be able to play." Not to mention convey the idea of the plot to the audience. Initially, people attending a GWAR show would stand and watch, like the indie/emo scenesters do today. But GWAR plays metal, and as the metal crowds began to attend and pits began forming, the players would find it difficult to deliver their lines on stage above the din of the crowd. Samplers fix a lot of that problem today, but the other main concern, and anyone who has attended a GWAR show can attest to this, is that it is oftentimes hard to see the stage. So plots became less complex. "Its like a Loveboat episode," Bob says. "You've got these characters and something happens that causes conflict and by the end everything is fine. It gives us a framework so that we can kill things."

Audiences have certainly noticed a constant evolution in the costumes of GWAR. Bob points to 1994 as the year that costumes reached their maturity. "When we started, none of really knew what we were doing. We learned as we went along." Early props looked like paper-maiche constructions. As the artists learned their craft, they have settled on a mix of polyfoam, fiberglass, and prevulcanized rubber/latex. Since settling on that mix, Bob says little has changed in the process of how a costume is made. But it doesn't take much effort to notice that Oderus' spiked epaulets have grown in height with every tour, or that Gor Gor's appearance has morphed from being a terrifying T-Rex to a more forward, sleek, and vicious Raptor.

So, with all this change in the air, not to mention crack smoke, what do the next 20 years hold for this gang of gore? Certainly most notably, there is their upcoming art show. Artspace gallery administrator and past-president Dana Frostick recollects "I always wanted GWAR to have an art show here in Richmond" and so she has worked resolutely to make it happen. While this will not be their first show here in RVA, it certainly carries a lot of weight, and is causing a lot of excitement, among Artspace members, Slave Pit artisans, GWAR fans, the art and music communities, and the public at large. "I've been getting calls from people in, like, LA saying that they can't make the opening but would I please send them a catalog." The show will be up from January 27 until February 19 and will occupy both the Members' and Main Galleries. Artspace is located in the Plant Zero art complex in Manchester. You'll know you're at the right place if you drive by a big brick warehouse with a garish day-glo courtyard replete with a fountain.

Having returned from what might very well have been their most successful tours since the days of Scumdogs of the Universe, including a spot on the huge "Sounds of the Underground" tour with fellow Richmond metal legends Lamb of God, GWAR also has plans for a new studio album, and a corresponding new tour. And a new tour means a new stage show, which means new costumes, which Bob promises will be "10% scarier." Also in the works is a coffee-table style book on the history of GWAR, and a documentary on the early days of Slave Pit. Matt has designed GWAR action figures which he assures me will be for sale soon. But perhaps most surprising of all the ideas, at least on the surface, is the idea being tossed around of doing a Broadway musical of GWAR. Bob says the inspiration came from a trip to NYC. The cutting humor of musicals like Urinetown are experiencing great runs on Broadway. "Its lowbrow humor being marketed and targeted to Broadway audiences, whereas we're highbrow humor targeted to meatheads." He hopes that with a little tweaking that the project could come off. And it makes sense, for as demented as it is, a GWAR show is basically a touring musical. The possibilities of a Broadway show are endless. "There could be things flying in on wires!" Matt exitedly mentioned. And Bob shed some light on its practical implications. "We could write the music and the script and hire other players to perform it. Or, if we decided to put it on ourselves, we would have week-long engagements, instead of having to unload, setup, and load every night." And as the members age, that sort of stability would ease the stress of road life. And hell, if all else fails, they can all just retire to their homes in Antarctica and live the easy, relaxed life of demigods. After 20 years, they may not have summoned the World Maggot just yet, but they still deserve a little respect and respite, if they so choose.

But don't fret. GWAR's not going anywhere anytime soon. Asked if they had anything that they'd like to say to the too-hip-for-their-own-good readership of this fair magazine, Bob replied: "They'll fall off. And we'll still be doing this."







Check out www.gwar.net and www.slavepitinc.com for more info on GWAR.
Also check out www.artspacegallery.org for more about the show.

Browning Keister would like to thank Bob and Matt for the interview and for showing him around slave pit, and Dana for knowing everyone in Richmond. Oh, and himself for being the tightest thing since before your grandma lost her virginity.