Renaissance Man from Mars

July 24, 2003 8:25 AM

On a recent visit to The Minneapolis Institute of Art, I noticed a newly acquired painting titled Funeral March for the Minimal Man, by Chris Mars. Yes, that Chris Mars. It is notable that most recent paintings have been "created [as] a monument to his brother. In each painting he is attempting to interpret his world and set him free from the constraints of mental illness." So much to discuss, so little time.
posted by ScottUltra (11 comments total)

It is notable that his most recent paintings ...

Sorry. I've even had my morning coffee.
posted by ScottUltra at 8:32 AM on July 24, 2003

Quick quibble: Minneapolis Institute of ArtS.

But yeah, when I first saw that painting and its attribution, my hat just about flew off of my head... the guy can actually paint. And I can say pretty confidently that the painting came in on its own merits, and not because of the awesome local music connection.

His cover art for the first Golden Smog album is pretty cool, too.
posted by COBRA! at 8:34 AM on July 24, 2003

Who's Chris Mars?
posted by Cerebus at 9:01 AM on July 24, 2003

Former drummer for the Replacements, neo-Boschian painter, occasional drunken clown.
posted by COBRA! at 9:06 AM on July 24, 2003

I love that he has a thing for pointy hats. Thanks, ScottUltra.

Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips does wonderful oils, and does most of the album art, as well as most of the art on their website.
posted by iconomy at 9:14 AM on July 24, 2003

Weird. Yesterday, Pitchfork was running a story saying that Tommy Stinson would be touring soon. but when I tried to link to it for related Replacements news, it was gone.

So, um, I guess Tommy Stinson might be touring soon, and might not be.
posted by COBRA! at 9:23 AM on July 24, 2003

his paintings remind me a bit of the painting of norbert kox: 1, 2.
posted by callicles at 9:35 AM on July 24, 2003

I've been meaning to buy that Horseshoes and Hand Grenades litho. I have the postcards and they're great.

For those of you who don't know the Mats, I'd highly recommend checking out Let it Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me (at your local brick-and-mortar record shop). There are also a couple of great articles on the Foshay Tower site: Brats in Babylon and Into the Black: The final days of Bob Stinson. For people who have always enjoyed them, you should definitely check out alt.music.replacements.

On preview, COBRA!, I think he's supposed to be touring in support of his new, unreleased album. I saw him perform in NYC last month and he was great.
posted by subgenius at 9:41 AM on July 24, 2003

[This is GOOD]
posted by soundofsuburbia at 10:26 AM on July 24, 2003

Found myself looking for pictures within his paintings, think I could see other images too; anyone else?
posted by thomcatspike at 12:10 PM on July 24, 2003

I hate Christopher Mars, and I hate his stupid paintings.

He's the whole reason the 'Mats don't reunite, and I think he's a complete punkass.

And a mediocre drummer. Yeah, that's right. I said it. "Take Me To The Hospital" notwithstanding.

Fantastic post though. We were in Mpls recently and meant to go to the Institute but ended up at the Walker instead.
posted by padraigin at 10:06 PM on July 24, 2003