Seen: Mike Shinoda – Glorious Excess (Dies)

Mike Shinoda opened his Glorious Excess (Dies) solo at the Japanese American National Museum on Friday to a staggering line waiting for the public reception opening at 8 PM.  Dailydujour was fortunate to make the VIP opening which featured several notable guests including Rob Dyrdek, Joe Hahn, Lisa Ling, James Jean, Roger Gastman, Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins, and more.

The show has been shrouded mostly in secrecy –preview pics have been few and far between.  This approach enhanced the impact of the opening.  There were quite a few impressive surprises in store for the crowd including a custom Honda motorcycle emblazoned with Shinoda’s GLXS art positioned just in front of the gallery entrance.

Featuring 17 new paintings, the new show follows up on last year’s Glorious Excess (born) show by detailing the sudden end of the fictional character who enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame. The overarching effect is both an exploratory and cautionary tale of the cult of celebrity and the pitfalls of excess.

Careful observers will note a general narrative progression from the front of the gallery to the back.  The bright colorful pieces detail the imminent end while the softer, warm tone hued pieces chronicle the ‘after’.  It is in the latter that Shinoda broadens his scope explicitly with his ‘Seasons’ series featuring portraits of four celebrity martyrs – John Lennon, Andy Warhol, Kurt Cobain, and James Dean.  The mortal end of the GLXS character  is punctuated by an ornate funeral scene complete with a silver plated skeleton in an open casket – first class excess, even in death.

In addition to the funeral scene, Mike worked until the 11th hour (roughly 5 pm on Friday) to put the finishing touches on the other installation elements including the impressive large wall mural and the large collage of celebrity tabloid magazines.

Finally, the opening featured a screening of a short 12-minute documentary that focused on the theme of the show — celebrity and those obsessed with it. From footage of paparazzis to bus tours of stars’ homes, it’s a good watch and also features behind the scenes footage of Mike working on the show, some of which was seen in the preview video on his site.

The museum store offered quite a selection of show merch including the four skate decks and the Glorious Excess book.  If you’re not in LA, remaining inventory will be available at MikeShinoda.com this Monday.

Finally, if you haven’t seen it yet – be sure to check out our in-depth video interview with Mike about the themes and inspiration for Glorious Excess.

Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles California 90012
213.625.0414