Analog Inclined Artist Brad Baker VHSaves Home Video Junkers from Total Trash Oblivion by Transforming Them Into Radical Pieces of Rewind Art! DIG IT!
There he is! We can actually see what he's watching. Cool. And Groovy shades, mang.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your artistic inclinations / past projects? Ever since I was a kid I’ve always had an interest in art and film. When I was younger, whatever spare time I had was usually spent sketching in spiral notebooks and watching Joe Bob Briggs host MonsterVision late at night. As I grew older I began to take note of all the art styles that appealed to me and decided to seek out and study those works. I guess my own personal art style has always been influenced by the horror genre. After studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Charlotte and floating around to various corporate signage jobs, I decided to devote more time to freelance work. Some past projects of mine include painting large scale murals at NC State’s free expression tunnel, the “Candy Bucket From Hell” Myers House NC t-shirt design and contributing artwork for the current Deadpit.com logo.
The tape that started it all! At least, this is the first incarnation of Brad's analog art that I encountered. So dope, mang.
Sounds like you’re keeping bust, mang! The hand-painted VHS you’ve been doing have garnered a radical reaction from Tapeheads on the world weird web. What was the inspiration to put these together? It’s always such a shame to see broken or unwanted tapes being thrown away. So instead of trashing them I decided to use them as “canvases”. The idea was rooted in my love for the format and the jaw-dropping box art I used to come across while wandering the horror section of my local video store. Rather than burying these tapes in trash bags, I decided to try and breathe a little life back into them.
Here's a piece entitled "Sherbert Worship" that you can pick for just 40 bones, mang. This dude was hungry.
Can you talk about the technique / media you’re working with? It looks like acrylics and spray paint, maybe? Yeah, for right now it’s all acrylic. I like to cover the front of the tape in a particular blend of colors and use that as my background. After it has dried for awhile, I’ll start on the main image. If it happens to be a character with a lot of gore, I’ll lay those colors down first, then go back and outline the image in black while also adding small details. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on the more grisly and grotesque images, so I’ll keep doing those for sure.
This VHScreamer is entitled "Hemorrhage" . Of course, we all know why. That was indeed a quote from THE SANDLOT, and this slab can be yours for just 40 bones. DIG IT.
How much are these going for? Are you taking special rewind requests? If so, where can peeps get a hold of you? It usually depends on the piece and how long it took to complete. Right now most of the tapes I do range from $30-$60. I am absolutely open to the idea of taking requests. If anyone is interested they can contact me on Facebook or email me at midnightnerve@gmail.com
All hail "King Moss"! I'd hang with this dude, and you can, too, for just 50 bucks, mang. Not too VHshabby for this radical piece of original analog art.
You’re a collector. What is it about the format that really does it for you, duder? What are some of your favorite slabs of magnetic magic? I have a deep love for the format because of the amount of time I’ve spent with it over the years. From grade school to adulthood, VHS has always been in my life. My local mom and pop video store (Video Club) definitely started my VHS obsession. Their selection was pretty impressive and I spent countless hours roaming their massive horror section. I distinctly remember gazing at the cover of Eyes of Fire (1983). That artwork and back cover are totally entrancing. I also have fond memories of seeing fresh copies of Cannibal Campout (1988), the Genesis Home Video release of The Alien Dead (1980) and the holographic cover for Mirror, Mirror (1990) all sitting on the shelf waiting to be taken home. Growing up with a place like that was priceless. My first job was at a Newsstand which was housed directly inside of this indie video store called Visart Video. DVD was on the rise but VHS was still being rented out just as much it seemed like. This was the type of place that honored certain directors with their very own section (David Lynch, John Waters etc…) and you could totally rent a copy of Begotten (1990) or Salo, or the 120 days of Sodom (1975) if you felt like it. Working at that place was great. Free rentals and NO LATE FEES!
All three of Brad's newest pieces lined up and lookin' mad groovy. MMMMMM Gim'me dat!
You KNOW we can dig that lack of late fees! What cool people. What’s next for you, mang? More recycled rewind renditions? Any other projects you wanna talk about? I’ll be staying busy with various freelance projects but I’ll always find the time to keep painting tapes. I really enjoy being able to reuse injured or discarded versions of my favorite format . I’m also hard at work putting together issue # 4 of my zine, Midnight Nerve.
Brad's newest issue of his horror fanzine MIDNIGHT NERVE. Lookin' GOOD, mang.
Anything else you wanna shout out to all the analog-obsessed eyeballs reading through these here Spare Parts, Brad? I’d like to thank everyone for checking out my work and encouraging me to keep at it. More tapes are on the way…And we’ll be on the lookout, mang! Brad’s endeavor to save these tapes with an artistic inclination is absolutely radical, Tapeheads. Beyond the beautification of our VHShelves, his work has the power to inspire others to take a stab at their own variation of post-play preservation. And that’s pretty groovy, man. The three pieces you’ve VHSeen here are all for sale, so if you’re interested, just give him a shout and if they’re still available, they can be yours! He’s also down for totally custom pieces, so if you’re OG copy of Critters totally craps out, but you just can’t toss it in the can, contact Brad. He should be able to re-animate it with his rendition of a kooky crite, and make it all rewind right. Groovy again, mang. Oh! And don’t’ forget to check out Brad’s bitchin’ indie horror zine Midnight Nerve. You’ll be glad you did.
Groove and Groove and Happy Birthday, dude!! (Yes, it’s Brad’s Birthday!! COOL!!)
Josh Schafer