CAN I GET SOME #BOING OUT THERE?
Comedian Jim Carrey is dead serious about his new career — as a street artist
Jim Carrey with "Baba"Photo via UMCSSA
Jim Carrey's street art, featuring "Baba"Photo via 3 a.m.
After a barrage of strange up-with-people tweets and an unsettling video ode to Emma Stone, image control is not Jim Carrey’s strong suit in recent months.
Perhaps its time for a change.
While many blockbuster stars might choose to pursue film direction or humanitarian work later in their careers, the two-time Golden Globe winner has decided on a different path — street art.
Six months ago, Carrey secured a massive warehouse space in New York’s West Village. Neighbors spot him at all hours of the day, working feverishly on secret artwork with a group of fashionable studio assistants.
“I actually think it’s cool (Carey's) taking it so seriously,” GONZO247 says. “It’s great that he finds the street art counterculture interesting enough to want to be a part of it. It’s kind of phenomenal, really.”
The following week, New York City anti-graffiti authorities whitewashed Carrey's tags, bringing the budding artist out of the studio for a bold second attempt.
“I thought that situation with the NYC clean-up was hilarious,” says Houston grafitti artist GONZO247, who operates the Aerosol Warfare gallery on the East End.
“As a kid, I remember hearing that Sonny Bono was a painter,” he says. “It was strange to think of this funny guy working as a artist. It’s the same thing with Jim Carrey, I suspect. It’s hard not to think of him as a comedian.”
Carrey briefed TMZ last month in a recorded interview about his recently-discovered artistic bliss, a state of being he calls “his Boing.” He’s asked Twitter followers to help define the term, eliciting responses like “Boundless Optimism, Inspiring Non-stop Gladness” and “Being Open Inspires New Growth.”
“I’m having fun, being creative, having the time of my life,” he says in the TMZ video, sheepishly referencing renowned graffiti artist Banksy and 1980s art icon Jean-Michel Basquiat. While there’s certainly a touch of “tiger blood” in Carrey’s art discussions, the actor-turned-artist displays a striking level of earnestness about his new endeavor.
“I actually think it’s cool he’s taking it so seriously,” GONZO247 says. “It’s great that he finds the street art counterculture interesting enough to want to be a part of it. It’s kind of phenomenal, really.”
Speaking to GONZO247, a successful graffiti artist himself, it was hard to mention Mr. Brainwash – the notorious copycat of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop whose street art makes millions of dollars in major art markets.
“Maybe at Aerosol Warfare, we could do a whole room of work by Jim Carrey and Mr. Brainwash,” he joked, unable to avoid the set-up. "Seriously, though, I think it's awesome that he's discovered this great new medium for himself. I can't wait to see his work."
