I’ll never forget the moment when I first discovered Justin Hager’s smartass artwork on my Instagram feed. In the midst of foodporn and selfies was a drawing titled Gwen and Stimpy, featuring my fave blonde bombshell and a raunchy cartoon cat in the same setting. Just like Gwen and her Egyptian cotton, I was instantly hooked.
In recent months, Hager’s illustrations have become synonymous with celebrity riffs. Whether it’s Mike Tyson art-food blend in Rothko Chicken & Waffle or “Guinness Rodman” giving face, Hager’s clever paintings have the ability to make you LOL while wondering, “How the hell did he think of that?”
It doesn’t hurt that the San Francisco transplant is just as cool as some of the people featured in his work. Ahead of Hager’s solo exhibition at Kinfolk 90, Gangstas Paradise, we caught up with the artist to talk about creating his own worlds and why the ‘80s and ‘90s are sources of inspiration.
Check out exclusive images of his paintings The Blood Brothers, I’m In Love With The Coco, and Extra Tizzestrial in our slideshow above.
CHLOE DEWBERRY: How did you get started creating these cultural mash-up paintings?
JUSTIN HAGER: About ten years ago, I started doing the play on words stuff. When I first started, I would do them as fast as I could with a Bic pen as an inside joke with my friends. After I started showing them to the public, I tried to do them better with each show—like I was in a competition with myself. It’s been a natural progression. I kind of went to my own art school by practicing everyday.
How do you go about creating each of these? Do you flesh out a whole concept or do you just watch an episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter and figure it would be cool if he were playing cards with Bow Wow?
At this point, it’s almost all I think about. I like to incorporate people I’m a fan of or who I simply think are ridiculous. With each drawing or painting, I try to create my own world, like imagining them in a scene that has never happened but would be funny if it did. I have a continuous list of ideas that I add to almost everyday; it has like, 500 ideas on it.
Do you know if any of the celebrities/cultural figures you've used in the pieces have ever seen or encountered your work about them? Maybe you've gotten a #regram from one of your subjects?
It’s great when that happens; it makes me happy knowing that the celebrities don't take offense to it, because sometimes I draw them kind of crudely. James Franco reposted the Rick James Franco drawing I did of him, Ghostface reposted the Wu the Right Tang drawing, and T-Boz posted the ET Boz drawing.
There are SO MANY music/movie/food references in your work. If you had to narrow it all down, what do you feel inspires you the most?
Mostly music and nostalgia. I like recalling special things from the ‘80s and ‘90s when things were more innocent and real. A lot of stuff now is kind of cheap and not special.
You're debuting some new work at your exhibit tonight—such as The Blood Brothers, I’m In Lov
In recent months, Hager’s illustrations have become synonymous with celebrity riffs. Whether it’s Mike Tyson art-food blend in Rothko Chicken & Waffle or “Guinness Rodman” giving face, Hager’s clever paintings have the ability to make you LOL while wondering, “How the hell did he think of that?”
It doesn’t hurt that the San Francisco transplant is just as cool as some of the people featured in his work. Ahead of Hager’s solo exhibition at Kinfolk 90, Gangstas Paradise, we caught up with the artist to talk about creating his own worlds and why the ‘80s and ‘90s are sources of inspiration.
Check out exclusive images of his paintings The Blood Brothers, I’m In Love With The Coco, and Extra Tizzestrial in our slideshow above.
CHLOE DEWBERRY: How did you get started creating these cultural mash-up paintings?
JUSTIN HAGER: About ten years ago, I started doing the play on words stuff. When I first started, I would do them as fast as I could with a Bic pen as an inside joke with my friends. After I started showing them to the public, I tried to do them better with each show—like I was in a competition with myself. It’s been a natural progression. I kind of went to my own art school by practicing everyday.
How do you go about creating each of these? Do you flesh out a whole concept or do you just watch an episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter and figure it would be cool if he were playing cards with Bow Wow?
At this point, it’s almost all I think about. I like to incorporate people I’m a fan of or who I simply think are ridiculous. With each drawing or painting, I try to create my own world, like imagining them in a scene that has never happened but would be funny if it did. I have a continuous list of ideas that I add to almost everyday; it has like, 500 ideas on it.
Do you know if any of the celebrities/cultural figures you've used in the pieces have ever seen or encountered your work about them? Maybe you've gotten a #regram from one of your subjects?
It’s great when that happens; it makes me happy knowing that the celebrities don't take offense to it, because sometimes I draw them kind of crudely. James Franco reposted the Rick James Franco drawing I did of him, Ghostface reposted the Wu the Right Tang drawing, and T-Boz posted the ET Boz drawing.
There are SO MANY music/movie/food references in your work. If you had to narrow it all down, what do you feel inspires you the most?
Mostly music and nostalgia. I like recalling special things from the ‘80s and ‘90s when things were more innocent and real. A lot of stuff now is kind of cheap and not special.
You're debuting some new work at your exhibit tonight—such as The Blood Brothers, I’m In Lov