Media

 Check out www.badartforbadpeople.com for info on an upcoming show.

                            But will Santa wear a thong?

                                                -Julie Garisto Tampa Bay Ttimes 7/7/06

          Christmas in July?  It’s a silly notion championed by heat-fatigued victims of summer. Art collective Bad Art for Bad People thought it would be a fun concept for its upcoming art event,” Christmas on the Island of Misfit Art.”

          Not only is the theme whimsical and humorous, it’s romantic. The Christmas in July idea first came about on one of Bob and Betsy White’s first dates.

          “He came over for dinner one night, and I pulled out every Christmas decoration I had,” Betsy Says. “ Had the whole place decorated, right down to the fire on the television. So when we were thinking about a theme for this summer’s show, I said, ‘Why don’t we do Christmas in July?’ He added the Island of Misfit Art instead of Island of Misfit Toys( featured in the famous Rankin-Bass animated show Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).

          The Bad Art honchos have enlisted big-name talent like Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo and Rugrats-theme fame and Jeff Gaither. Local stalwarts Oscar Beauchamp, Cat Thompson and Hugh T. Williams will be showing, along with dozens of other Tampa Bay and Florida artists.

          Food and drinks will be available. Entertainers haven’t been announced- a surprise, the Whites say, and they assure us that though performers will be off the wall, they won’t be obtrusive to art viewing.

                                      The Power of Fusion

                                                            -Julie Garisto TBT 7/7/06

       Gallery openings can be as fun and inclusive as a dry office party thrown by people you don’t work for.

          The stuffiness of traditional openings wore on Tampa artists Bob and Betsy White, the married couple who founded Bad Art for Bad People.

         “We’re not art school graduates,” Bob says. “We weren’t trained that this is the proper way and you don’t go outside these bounds.”

          In 2004, the couple, both in their mid 30’s, began presenting seasonal shows in unlikely venues with unlikely entertainment, drawing on their DIY, irreverent punk rock background for inspiration.

          “We start out by finding a place and how many artists we need,” Bob says. “A lot of people in our shows are our friends. Even the big-name people we work with become friends. We maintain relationships, like with Stephen Blickenstaff, whose claim to fame is the Cramps album Bad Music for Bad People, where we got our name for the group. He’s out in Baltimore and doesn’t always come to the shows, but his artwork does.”

          The Whites, who live in Hyde Park, have presented shindigs at a movie theater, an Ybor City bar and the Club Underground nightclub. They’ve thrown a Halloween costume party in August and have featured belly dancers, kung fu demonstrations and other miscellaneous spectacles. Punk rock bands have played and DJ’s have spun far-out techno.

          The events have gone off well with rave reviews, but the couple still run into resistance and challenges.

          “I think there’s a lot of people in the art world- in the conventional art world- who are a little put off,” Bob says. “ They don’t respect us because we do these kind of antics.”

          The Whites rely on artists to roll up their sleeves and do some work, but many opt not to help or send their work in on time. These artists typically fall by the wayside and don’t get asked to return.

          A lot of time, thought and planning go into putting on the shows while they’re in progress, the Whites say.

          “We’ve gone through this learning curve,” Bob says. “We’ve had the wrong type of live bands that were too loud and brought in the wrong crowd. It took us a couple of shows to learn how to mix the elements,”

          Despite all the challenges and defeating moments, the Whites seem proud of what Bad Art for Bad People has accomplished.

          Bob White says art lovers have been coming around too.

          “When the momentum starts growing and we get bigger-name artists, then people start to perk up and say, ‘Maybe they are doing something right.’”

Excerpt from South Tampa News- March 22, 2006 " The Prom Queens of Hip" 

by, Esther Hammer

... It was a mainly young, vibrant, excited-about-art crowd. The prom theme was evident in balloons and crepe paper decorations, and in the  tiaras and gowns sported by artists and some guests. But this did not restrict the eclectic art on the wall. Work was not gender-specific or related in any way to prom night. It was exciting and engaging, and it all had the liberating feel that self- expression brings, at prices that make buying almost painless.

South Tampa artist and promoter Bob White put the show together. Two or three times a year White sponsors events like "Bad Girls," often mixing new artists with established artists. White explained the all women show to me. "'Bad Art' is a code word for cool art, hip art," he said. "And 'Bad Girls' has a sort of edginess to it without going over the top."

His wife, Betsy, owns Play Haven Preschool in South Tampa and is also a painter and photographer. She exhibited whimsical photographs of troll dolls in the snow, and had a terrific photo of an iconic female doll titled "Portrait." " I've owned a preschool for 15 years now, so most of my photography is very child-like," she said.

So if you get a chance go see "Bad Girls of Bad Art." Who knows, you might find something that grabs you and decide you just have to have it. I did.   

(she purchased one of my troll prints!)