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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1984)
Maggots Continued from Page 1, Friday Edition passed out buttons and stickers and cards to everybody — to the band and sound men. When she (Joan) went to London and went to see another group, the other group cancelled and the Stray Cats were to play. The fellow saw it (the button) and said: 'I have one just like it. Are you from Portland , Oregon?' And she said: 'I remember you.' He said: 'Well, how would you like to get backstage and meet the Stray Cats and Dave Edmunds?' She said: 'Sure.' She went and got her passport autographed by the Stray Cats. That stuff really makes it fun." The Art Maggots' primary work is in Xerox art. "It started off that way," Chud says. Xerox art is a new, popular and potentially dangerous art form. While the quality is good, it's the equality of Xerox art that makes it so dangerous. "In the beginning it was a way of hav ing your art work mass-produced cheaply, instead of printing," Chud says, "having it Xeroxed, making it an art form." "It makes the artist less dependent on a gallery format or a job as a com mercial artist, so you can still be an ar tist and still touch people," Haddock says. "We didn't start out doing flyers for bands," he says, tilting a beer bottle to his mouth. "We just started out putting up posters anonymously," Chud adds, shaking a cigarette from a pack. They have that street-smart look, and that's not so odd. The art of the Art Maggots is the art of street. They have a Be wary! Art Maggots abound, lurking in the doorways and stairwells of Eugene. knack for caricature of Eugene street characters, real or mythic, like Kid Spam. They are themselves of and about the street. There has been a good deal of anti Art Maggot sentiment, especially during the Spam era. The Art Maggots don't spray-paint walls, although they usually get blamed. "You know those murals that got defaced?" Haddock asks, referring to the dinosaur mural on Lincoln Street on which someone had spray-painted: "When you going to finish this beautiful mural?." "The lady that did that one still to this day doesn't speak to us because she thinks we did it." "That was during the Spam era," Chud says. During the Spam era, when stencils of Kid Spam and Spamesque sayings appeared on walls around town, a local television station hounded the reculsive Art Maggots to grant them an interview. When the TV folks finally caught up with the Art Maggots and asked: "Hey, what about all this Spam on the walls," an Art Maggot named Briz replied it "was better than writing 'Fuck You' on the wall." "We had nothing to do with it," Chud says. "We do have a main character called Kid Spam that Louis Samora (founding Art Maggot and member of The Rats and The Jackets) developed. He's on quite a few things." "Kid Spam's time has come," so meone says. Not only has Kid Spam arrived, so have the Art Maggots. Their distinctive art work, that is reminiscent of early R. Their artwork, once limited to local telephone poles, is becoming interna tionally notorious — bad world wide. Crumb, R. Cobb and (a favorite of Chud's) Mad Magazine's Mort Drucker can be seen on concert posters like ones for D.O.A. and The Animals. "Business has picked up as far as people calling us and wanting to pay u< for posters. It's been a nice surprise," Haddock says. "We have some new accounts, like the Hult Center," Chud says. "We've done everything from local bands on the-street, to The Tubes." Doing concert posters hasn't been easy for the Art Maggots. If it's not the promoter saying they have to put this, this and this into a poster, it's the police harassing the people who put up the posters. "Art Maggots often put things in their posters that aren't meant to be seen," he adds, pulling out the poster for The Tubes concert and pointing to the KZEL radio logo in the top left corner. "We purposely made it 'Oregon's Pest Rock' instead of Oregon's Best Rock'," Chud says. There's a commercial side to the Art Maggots that was exposed when they had Studio X. They did commercial graphics arts for advertising and had quite a number of accounts. None of the Art Maggots are opposed to work ing on the commercial side, in fact quite a few hold jobs in graphic arts studios. "I could do it," Haddock says, when asked if he could work on an ad for Schmuck's Tires. "It's a good name," Bruno says. "They're going to have to expect it to Founding Maggots Billy Haddock and Mick Chudy don't participate but feel a kinship toward graffiti-sprayed walls. be an Art Maggot ad," Haddock adds. "I don't think Eugene is a big enough town," he adds. "It's like having a band in Eugene and expecting to make a whole lot of money — you're not going to. I don't think you can make a living as a graphic artist in this town unless you're doing menus for Denny's or something." The Art Maggots' commercial enter prises have been varied, from an album cover for The Sneakers, to Art Maggot calendars and T-shirts. "We put out quite a few shirts," Chud says, showing their latest, a black T-shirt with beautifully appointed Art Maggot character and a Milkmen logo. "One of our T-shirts made it to the back of an album, Sado-Nation, I think." Chud is quick to respond when asked how they would handle material rewards. "We refuse to be rich or live in fear," he vows. The future for the Art Maggots is fill ed with fleshy promise. Most of the Art Maggots are deeply involved with mail art. Mail art is a nationwide, even worldwide exchange of art between other artists. Haddock, who's had a minor run-in with postal authorities (something about obscenity) over mail art, sees mail art as the most proletarian of art forms. The Art Maggots are everywhere. In every sizeable crowd in Eugene (and beyond) there are one or two Art Mag gots scuttling about — just when you thought it safe for Warhol and Lichenstein. No one would believe that they hatch their creative larvae in the bosom of Eugene suburbia. nzza and a good seat Once upon a time, at a univer sity far,far away, students were forced to trek for miles to enjoy a good sit-down pizza in a plea sant atmosphere. Sure, there were other cam pus watering holes, but none within easy walking distance served Italian food. Then, to the chagrin of some and the delight of others, a cer tain dark and clamorous tavern headed for that happy hour in the sky. Lo and behold, from the ashes of Duffy's, Guido's was born. And to the delight of many, Guido's serves Italian m—rv " ■ i l l ) i .. food. Not that it's Italian food to die for. But it is Italian food. And to be fair, their pizza ranks right up there with other area favorites. It's a balanced combination of mozzarella cheese an mild, homemade sauce atop a crisp yet doughy crust. The pizza combinations are up to you. The selection of toppings may not be the biggest in the world, but Guido's is generous with what they have. You won't be left wanting more pepperoni. Continued on Page SB 1.A «< * i. L | . * i k 4 b i VHV ^ ih* ** iV VA4, ifcv -4 j. *i . iKl^V1 > 4* * *** VA vvil ... ^lei^ ‘iSo's?t —'11 . I* 44 l*iu iV*V< 4>t Vi w i ^ b 4 %4*A Vkk * *4 * , > 4 4i b <»*\ J. V * i, i » fcrtiV* 1*4' 4* U* >**> l »-*iA\ Ijj/lt**4, eU* 4 J \ai* *C*« 683 ^°A686 ***** 2, Section • *<£Du<fy s yaen, ,o ,ha, happy hour in ,he sky. i, seas replaced by Guide s. ^ntreloZ'Zur t £$&%*** it BRING THE GANG” SPAGETTI? PIZZA? Come to the Spagetti Warehouse ALL YOU CAN EAT NITES Every Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. til closing Sunday Special 20% OFF any meal with Student I. D. 725 West 1st, Eugene 484-1919 meYi GENESIS FRESH ORGANIC CARROT JUICE. GREAT TASTING QJ1A LITY JUICE! 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