Peekaboo / Ronin Gallery

An interview with acclaimed L.A. artist and brand-new gallery owner Peekaboo Monster, aka Damon Minaey 

Photography by Love Ablan / Interview by Jen Zern

“There’s an art to it,” Peekaboo insists, only he’s not talking about painting. He’s talking about launching a bucketful of water clear across the room.
 

The room is actually his new Echo Park art gallery, Ronin, and in it we’re attempting to recreate Dalí Atomicus, the famous Salvador Dalí portrait by Philippe Halsman. In the photo, the artist, a chair, a trio of cats, a sheet of water and two easels appear to be suspended in mid-air. Obviously Peeka, who rocks a Dalí-esque curlicue ’stache daily, is the star of this modern update. Co-star, if you count Genghis and Mr. Magoo.

 

Partly to avoid the wrath of the ASPCA, and partly because we’re not assholes, we’ve taken separate low-to-the-ground jump shots of his two beloved dogs that we’ll superimpose later. But the snakelike water stream can’t be so easily cheated, and despite the fact that we’re flooding his brand new floors a week before his gallery opens, Peekaboo is determined to help us nail the shot.

 

It’s pretty clear that this level of commitment pervades everything he does. From his artwork to his gallery venture to his affection for his four-legged friends, Peekaboo Monster gives it his all.

 

Born in Iran and raised in the midwest (Chicago, Denver and Billings, Montana, respectively) Peeka, who also answers to Damon Minaey, broke out in Seattle with his bright, playful, delirious visions come to life, the “Peekaboo Monsters”. Now he’s taking the L.A. scene by storm.

 

After the shoot, once we got him to quit mopping his floor for us, we asked him a few questions.

 

You mentioned Dalí as an inspiration, plus you’re rockin’ that Dalí ’stache. How do you feel your work relates to his, or to surrealism in general?

 

I dont know if my work relates to his, I moreso look up to how he twisted reality and gave you a crazy way to look at things. Plus, I like to hear about how he was an odd character, and how that paralleled his art in a crazy way.

Who were your earliest influences?

 

Basically, Saturday morning cartoons and cereal boxes… things that entertained me as a kid. I was kind of a latchkey kid because my mom worked a lot, so I never really saw her until 9 o’clock. So I watched a lot of TV, a lot of cartoons and that kind of pop cartoony imagery stayed with me. I do this to stay five, basically, forever.

 

Were you always drawing as a child?

 

Yeah. I didn’t do my homework, I would just draw on it; doodle around it… It was hard to keep my attention with math and science and stuff. But I think every kid loves to draw — I think everybody instinctively loves to draw, but as you get older you get more self-conscious about what you’re doing and how people perceive it; it jades that artistic part of [us]. I think everyone wants to be artistic and express themselves like that because it’s raw and primitive and you don’t need to read or write in order to do it.

 

I never thought I could be an artist and make a living at it. It was always a daydream at the back of my mind… It’s interesting to see where things go when you’re not expecting them to go there.

 

How would you describe your style?

 

People always ask me that. ‘What kind of art do you do?’ I guess you could call it cartoon pop surrealism… lowbrow… I don’t know, there are so many different definitions. I think it’s up to critics and fans to put a label on it. I don’t like putting myself in a box like that, because I really just like to paint, and I try to become a better painter every day, and if my style changes [I want to have that freedom]. 

 

What made you want to open a gallery?

 

I didn’t want to waste the money I made as an artist, money comes and goes so much that it’s gonna get spent regardless, it was just a matter of what I was gonna spend it on. I found this spot and I thought it would be a good thing to do. And I thought if I could provide artists with a space run by an artist, it might suit them better. Most galleries do a 50/50 split, that’s standard… but I always felt that the artists did most of the work. I really feel it’s the soul of the artist who makes you your money as a gallery. So I think they should get a little bit more of the pie than you do. I really want to be able to give artists a spot to be as open and free as they want, make it an easy experience for them, and to give them representation that’s not a clothing store or restaurant or bar or toy store… it’s a gallery, for you to be taken seriously, with nothing to distract you to buy something else, just: Come and see the work. ‘Cause we want to be taken seriously, even though it seems a little bit kiddish or fun or whatever, I know a lot of us work really hard and we deserve to be taken seriously for that. 

 

I know a lot of amazing artists and if they can get legitimate representation in Los Angeles, I don’t see why they couldn’t be a little bit more successful. I want to help my friends live off of what they love to do.

 

Why the name ‘Ronin’?

 

‘Ronin’ is a term for a rogue samurai, not under the rule of the shogun anymore. There’s such a strict code of what you can and can’t do as a samurai, a caste system of power, but when you become ronin, an assassin for hire, you’re seen as an outcast. I feel like my friends and I take that risk. We go out there to be seen as crazy or ridiculous or bummy, but we’re doing this because we have this trade and we don’t know anything else. That mentality is what I want to do with this gallery. I don’t care what anybody thinks, I’ve got a real fuck you attitude about it right now, I don’t care what you think about it as far as it should be run. The taboos or stigmas don’t apply, so we’re gonna do it and do it the best we can, and just be happy we’re able to eat off of it at the end of the day. 

 

Who are your favorite artists right now?

 

I’m always highly influenced by my friends and the people I work with, ’cause if I were to absorb off of anybody, I would rather it be them. Maybe if you asked me this six, seven years ago I probably would have listed off someone you know. But I’ve said this before, my friend Ego, who I’ll be showing in April — watching him paint recently was really awesome, because he puts so much time and detail into his work. I tend to rush things a little bit… I guess I appreciate the things I can’t do.

 

I like Mr. Jago from the U.K., his new stuff is really impressive to me… My friends, the people I’m surrounded by. I really like all those Project kids, they’re really doing it, Tessar [Lo], Yoskay [Yamamato], Edwin [Ushiro], Scott [Belcastro]… all those guys are super-talented and it’s awesome that they’re all a tight unit. It’s kind of cool to see because as these Pockets we all stick together and it’s cool to see a super-talented group of people doing that and all progressing together. It’s awesome. It’s inspiring to see my friends doing well, because it makes me want to do well too. It doesn’t keep things out of reach. When you focus on people you don’t know it seems like they’re a rock star or something… [their success] feels harder to achieve.

 

Tell me about the opening show.

 

It’s called “Cowboys and Samurais”. I’ve always liked the parallels between the two, they’re very similar. Their sense of loyalty and ethics are kind of the same. Live by the sword, die by the sword; live by the gun, die by the gun… I chose about 23 artists for the show, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they interpret the theme. I’ve seen a couple of the pieces so far, and I think it’ll be a good show. 

 

You have a tattoo on your chest that reads “EAT YOUR YOUNG”. Why do you want us to eat our young? And should we be worried about Genghis and Mr. Magoo?

[Laughs] ‘Eatyouryoung’ is a motto that kinda means the opposite. I feel like people have this “eatyouryoung” mentality: an animal side that feels threatened by new and young things and ideas, and instead of supporting it, they would rather fuck it up and watch it die. It’s like a reminder not to grow up too much and to see new ideas as refreshing ones. Genghis and Magoo are safe… If you don’t include how I toss them in the air for camera flicks! [laughs]*

 

*We swear no Genghises or Magoos were harmed in the making of this interview. 

 

Speaking of Genghis and Mr. Magoo, when will they be painted as little Peekaboo Monsters?

 

Ha, well, I’ve had G-money for like two years, so he has popped up in stuff… We painted the whole floor at Spike Studios out in Santa Monica (with Woes** and Food One) and I snuck a Genghis head in there! Magoo is new to the fam-bam so I’m sure we’ll see more of his wrinkly butt face in stuff!

 

**Woes = Angstwoebots

 

Cowboys and Samurai opens Friday February 27, 2009
The Ronin Gallery
1924 Echo Park Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
Phone # 323-284-8782

• Peekaboo Monster
• The Ronin Gallery, Los Angeles