September saw Brisbane art-house collective Boss Moxi perform a tenth anniversary show at The Triffid, playing in full their upcoming album 'Egotoxin' (including lead single 'Her Majesty') alongside fan favourites.
Showcasing over-the-top visuals, dancers, actors, fans basked in the full-scale theatrical experience of the show that Boss Moxi are being renowned for.Now they're returning with the second single from Egotoxin titled 'Red Woman', along with a number of end-of-year encore (SE QLD) performances as well as the final workshop (12 December) of their 'Ink & Drink' series where they host their very own Boss Moxi art classes with Doig, the artist behind the 'Egotoxin' artwork. It’s literally two hours of tips, tricks, drinks, wine and cheese.
Here, the group share five of their favourite artists (visual, comic, anime) of all time.
Frank Miller
As the artist behind 'Sin City', 'Ronin' and other comic cult classics, Frank Miller is by far the most inspirational artist behind ‘Egotoxin’ – both in his infamous art style and his no-bullsh.t surrealist storytelling. The Dark Horse Comics release of 'The Art Of Sin City: Frank Miller' literally sits above my drawing desk and is constantly referred to when I want to approach panels in strange ways; he’s the king of this.Black dominates his imagery, and permits Miller to leave out all but the most storytelling details: no background, no kerbstone or street trash, the scene is set by the tiles on the rooftops, or the pane of a window, the angle of the composition and the thinnest silvers of white that show you only what he wants you to see. It is utter, gritty genius and pure gorgeousness made in ink.
Akira Toriyama
The artist behind the world's most popularised anime TV show, 'Dragonball' and 'Dragonball Z', this guy is literally my hero. I pretty much learnt everything I know about drawing humans and characters from my time spent drawing DBZ characters and making up my own after basically mastering his style.My level of respect toward Toriyama is borderline obsessive. Next to my desk is four levels of a glass cabinet, filled with Dragonball figurines. His understanding of the human anatomy and use of bright and exciting colours is what makes DBZ what it is, and this isn’t even taking into account the level of dense thought that has made his story so popular.
If you watched DBZ as a kid you’ll know what I’m talking about, and if you’ve never delved into it, you’re literally never too old to start; there’s over 800 episodes and 19 movies to get through, so have fun.
Jamie Hewlett
This man is the artist and visionary behind the virtual band, Gorillaz. This is a perfect example of a band that took a visual direction, birthed a loose narrative and let it become the loving icons behind their music. His characters: 2-D, Noodles, Russel and my favourite dirty fiend Murdoc are the four characters that carry all of the band's content from music videos, album art and live shows.Jamie’s style is so beautifully unique. I love his sharp lips, circle-dead eyes and the strangely elongated and exaggerated limbs and body features of his characters. Boss Moxi draws so much inspiration from Damon Albarn and Jamie’s creations, and is proof to us that our concept has been massively successful in a slightly different context once before. It’s wildly encouraging.
Riccardo Federici
This man is a virtuoso with a pencil and paints. His comic art is literally mind-blowing. Riccardo Federici was the first comic strip artist to have been exposed at the Roma Biennale, next to the greatest contemporary painters and photographers. He has bridged the large gap between the illustrated comic world and the greater art communities.He is best known for his cover variants of beloved stories like 'Star Wars', 'Aquaman', 'Daredevil' and 'Batman', but also has his own comic series 'Saria'. His level of detail is inspirational to me, especially his incredible ability to bring hyper realism into very fictionally-understood characters. My favourite of his works is the very dark alternate storylines of 'The Batman Who Laughs' where The Joker essentially dies and corrupts the mind of Batman.
Check out his Instagram, trust me, you will scroll for hours.
Ken Taylor
Keeping it closer to home, my final artist is Ken Taylor. He is a graphic illustrator from Melbourne and his style has drawn the attention of so many epic bands, festivals, movies and brands.His style is massively influential for me, mainly in the way he uses three to four tones of shading, his masterful choice of colours and the way he creates so much definition and depth to his work using such simple strokes and shapes. Most of you will have seen his work with Bluesfest, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Black Keys or Pixies.
Boss Moxi's art workshop #3 (landscape) takes place at Backbone Community Arts Centre (Brisbane) 12 December (5.30-7.30pm). Boss Moxi also join Shihad and Stonefield performing at the inaugural Unleash The Elephant festival (Brisbane) 28 March.
Boss Moxi 2019 Tour Dates
Fri 20 Dec - The Foundry (Brisbane)Sat 21 Dec - The Spotted Cow (Toowoomba)
Sun 22 Dec - Vinnies Dive Bar (Gold Coast)
