ESSENTIAL EVENT // THIS SUNDAY: Christopher Rini And BBOX Radio Team Up For Beastie, Biggie, And Beyond

 

Back during our Wind-Up mixer in June, artist and 3rd Ward member Christopher Rini met the folks at BBOX Radio. They both enjoyed each other's work, and four months later they're collaborating on Biggie, Beasties, and Beyond, an exhibition at BBOX Radio. It opens this Sunday, October 30 at 5pm with a lively mix of music and art.

Hit the jump to learn more about Rini's work and the exhibition.

For the show's inspiration, Rini turned toward to two landmark Brooklyn albums, the Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill and Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die. "I picked two iconic albums that have aged in complex ways," he says. "The Beastie's debut LP featured fold out album art, which I used to love as a kid, so I took the opportunity to address the entire image, with all of its 21st century implications. It's a joke from the past that now has a sense of foreboding."

"The Biggie piece is similar, though with a more somber, final tone," he adds. "The stark composition no longer announces the arrival of arguably the best MC we've ever heard. His predictions, boasts and stories are all we have left. The text that once announced his name and boasted of his fearlessness, now simply mark his entry and exit from the world."

Rini renders these images using "wood stained glass," a style he's been exploring and honing since 2009. "It involves mostly industrial items, where the wood is engraved & burned, and then stained & dyed, usually with a polyurethane finish," he explains.

Taking up a musical theme is natural, as Rini's long been an active musician, playing with Brooklyn's The=Equation for over a decade. During Sunday's opening he'll play drums with a new group, Resonance & Behavior, who'll be making their live debut. "The instrumentation is all electronic, drums, piano and cello, and our repertoire includes Chopin, Philip Glass, Portishead and a few original compositions by our cellist, Elizabeth Glushko," he says.

Check out Biggie, Beasties, and Beyond this Sunday at BBOX Radio, which is located at the Dekalb Market. It starts at 5pm and the music kicks off at 6pm. Rini's artwork will stay up through November 9.

-- John Ruscher 

BBOX RADIO // This Weekend: "Everything Good Times Always Party and Fundraiser"

DJ Ambush, shown here, will be spinning Sunday.

Last week we introduced you to BBOX Radio, the station operated out of a container in Dekalb Market. They have a Kickstarter page going and need $15,000 by October 19 to continue operating, so they're giving a big push in the form of--what else?--a party. 

If you're around this Sunday, October 16, from 3 to 7 p.m., head down to the market. From the sound of things, the party will be stacked: bands, DJs, firedancers, beer, and Cuzins Duzin's doughnuts. In between sets by bands Radio Armada, Steamboat Disasters, Elevator Rose, Princess Chelsea, Peter Swimm, and Intelligent Dancers, will be BBOX DJs on the 1's & 2's.

As if music, booze, doughnuts, and a good cause weren't enough, BBOX donors will also get "thank you" gifts such as original art, mixtapes, and even airtime. So go hang out and help keep your favorite freeform radio station alive.

--Layla Schlack