DESIGN(^32) | APRIL 2016
MIKE PERRY
WIGGLY POP SENSATIONS
above
World Within a World
Facebook Commission
NYC
2015
“FOUR AND THREE AND TWO AND ONE-ONE!”
Fans will recognize the opening countdown to Broad
City, that revolutionary feminist show on Comedy
Central. Each episode has a different invigorating title
animation powered by the hand of Mike Perry. Like a DJ,
he instigates the energy in the room with everything he
makes. Prolific in both design and art, he is a genuinely
happy dude, and the joy in his work is contagious.
Juxtapoz: What adjective best describes your aesthetic?
Mike Perry: I don’t know if I’m allowed to use the term, but
I’ve been playing with the idea of Pop Surrealism. I’ve been
in a surrealistic headspace for a while, but I didn’t realize it
until I started to do a little research. I was always interested
in art history as a concept, but never found it relevant. The
older I get, the more comfort I find in history repeating
itself, and in theories and methodologies. I got introduced
to some of the bigger principals of Surrealism and thought
they were amazing. If I could go back in time and hang out
with anybody, it would be the Surrealists. I know Pop art is
a thing, and I participate in pop culture, and I like those two
things combined into this goofy, banana-filled, fluorescent
pink landscape.
Tell us about your upcoming show of paintings.
I’m attempting to push the Pop Surreal aesthetic, but at
the same time, go back to this world of historical art by
celebrating the classic elements: the figure, the still life and
the landscape. There will be some naked people and some
weird bowls of fruit. I’m just trying to be painterly and feel
good and loose about it.
What’s a new skill you’ve recently picked up that has
changed your work?
Animation has changed my life completely. I didn’t even
know I was interested in it until I did the Broad City stuff.