Quentin Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick are giants when it comes to filmmaking.
Each is known for forward-thinking moving images.
Both have their place in history.
This is what inspired artists Jon Sanchez, Jeremy Montoya and Nicole Riner to host the “Tarantino vs Kubrick Art Show” opening tonight at Downtown Contemporary Gallery.
The trio invited more than 30 local artists to create pieces inspired by Tarantino and Kubrick.
One of the artists in the show is Christian Michael Gallegos.
And he was inspired by the work of Kubrick – specifically the 1951 documentary “Day of the Fight.”
“I was inspired by the black-and-white aspect of his film,” he says. “And the cinematography. There was some graffiti in the film and that’s what I work with. It was clean. The whole thing was up my alley.”
Gallegos says he was asked by Sanchez to participate in the art show.
“Jon had invited me to work on a previous show inspired by Stephen King,” he says. “Doing these types of shows gets me out of my comfort zone. I’m able to challenge myself in the entire creation of a new piece.”
Also featured is Everett Kelley, an illustrator, comic artist and digital designer.
“I grew up reading comic books, watching films and drawing my little heart away. For the last 19 years, I’ve never put my pencil down nor spared any ink,” Kelley says. “The subject of my work is predominantly set in pop culture/comic books. I use a mixture of traditional comic book penciling, inking, hand color and digital design. For my work in the ‘Tarantino vs. Kubrick Show,’ I used recycled wood for canvas and built the shadow boxes from scavenged pallets found around the city to represent the raw, pulpy feel of all Quentin Tarantino’s films. Each piece has a symbolic ‘complement’ to convey ’cause of death’ from each film.”
The event will also feature music by DJ Cali5 and Jack Rabbit Slims $5 Milkshakes.
The show runs through Sept. 16, and the gallery is open noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays or by appointment.
