Keeping it poppin’

It’s a consumer-driven society. Even Prince Charles of Wales recognized (and criticized) this in a lecture he gave earlier this month in London. While the prince advised fellow humans to ditch consumerism and take their relationship with nature more seriously, doing so may redefine how we don’t take ourselves too seriously through popular commercial culture. But would that eventually mean a world without tabloids and Snuggies?

For now, pop culture is alive and well at Side Show Studios during its July group art show, Pop America, where a painting of Angelina Jolie dressed as the Virgin Mary surrounded by her haloed mixed brood (“Immaculate Adoption” by Nyoka) greets visitors to the tattoo studio with a dose of satire. And Britney Spears, Dick Cheney and Chewbacca are not safe from her ironic brush strokes, either.

Other famous faces are the subjects of some additional portraits—“Rod Sterling” and “Janet Leigh” by Chad Lenzi; and the beautifully rendered Iggy Pop, “I Am Pop”; and Michael Jackson, “King of Pop,” by tattooist Josh Green—while some famous movie characters take over whole walls. Who? Godzilla, of course. Two walls are filled salon-style with Godzilla and monster-themed paintings and illustrations by John Stuart Berger, Nik Caesar, Cinder, Kepi, Monkpond Photography and RT Vegas, among others.

However, despite the amount of artwork on display, not one was a portrait of Prince Charles in a Snuggie. That’s culture.