World-renowned artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, will host a wild election Night party at his Daniel Island studio space Nov. 5.
It’s going to be an experience, for sure.
The massive screens at Beeple Studios will stream multiple news platforms as the results of the presidential election roll in, serving as a backdrop to a party filled with wacky performance art. Expect “living sculptures” of American icons, a hot dog eating contest, a marching band, and much more — all to laugh a bit at the absurdity of present-day politics.
“The event is an experiment,” Winkelmann said in an exclusive interview with the Charleston City Paper. “We’re trying to mix an election watch party, an art installation and an art performance all in one event… It is a weird one,” he said. “It’s also a weird moment, overall. I feel like we’re trying to meet the moment.”
Beeple’s experiential gallery space is open to everyone on Nov. 5. In fact, it’s free to RSVP online – regardless of your place on the political spectrum, which is atypical of most election watch parties. It also reveals Winklemann’s motivation to hold the event.
“The aim here is to have fun and sort of take the temperature down a notch in terms of politics,” he said. “This is something where both sides are very much welcome, it’s a place where we can disagree on things, but still be in the same room like adults.
“The idea is to recognize [that] win, lose or draw, we’re all going to be alive tomorrow. This is not the end of the world. It’s to poke fun at the ridiculousness of America in general.”
Living sculptures
Beeple has been teasing bits of the party to his 2.1 million Instagram followers. An example: an actor wears a hyper-realistic Elon Musk mask and walks robotic dogs with Donald Trump’s face on them. These masked performance artworks are what Beeple calls “living sculptures,” and they’ve become a staple at Beeple Studios events.
“Using these masks, we can derive new meaning by what the people wearing them are doing. If you have Elon walking two Trump dogs, it’s like, well, that says something. We’ve got Kim Jong Un, Trump, Kamala, Elon, Warhol, Picasso…me…
“It’s just really kind of wanting to have this space feel alive and dynamic with these larger-than-life characters around, which also are referenced a lot in my artwork.”
Winklemann is known for his daily digital artwork practice, which he calls “everydays.” (The artwork that made him famous, “Everydays — The First 5,000 Days,” sold as an NFT for $69.3 million in March 2021. )
The “everydays” he’s made lately often feature dystopian and post-apocalyptic worlds, with imagery that comments on the dangerous practices of tech companies, politicians and pop culture icons. Beeple is a daily satirist on current world events, modern politics and culture.
“To me, the best art is something that asks more questions than gives answers,” he said. “I’m always trying to walk the line of not saying ‘you should do this’ or ‘you shouldn’t do that’ with my art,” he explained, saying he prefers to leave interpretation up to the viewer. But if there’s one thing he’s been taking inspiration from recently, it’s what he called the “theatrics” of politics.
“This entire election is so much about crafting a performance around these candidates,” Winkelmann said, citing Trump’s recent stunt working in McDonald’s for a day, or Harris inviting Beyonce to speak at a rally.
“I mean, you got Trump basically doing stand-up at his rallies. Kamala [Harris] just brought out Eminem last night. These things are theatrical performances designed to sway you. Like, none of this shit has anything to do with the fucking issues, like what are we even talking about? In my opinion, it’s very much theater. So kind of leaning into that I think is interesting.”
Live reactions
During the Nov. 5 event, he’ll make one of his “everydays” live, taking inspiration from what’s going on around him.
“I think it will be fun to be taking audience feedback in real time,” he said. “That’s what’s exciting about the tools that I use, is that I can immediately incorporate [new things]. And then to be able to project that into a giant space like this, suddenly it becomes this kind of performance-art-installation mix, I think is really exciting.”
There will also be a community art showcase, with works from local artists and others from around the world. That piece of the party speaks to the larger vision for Beeple Studios, which Winkelmann explained is to “imagine how museums will be in the future,” using the latest technology. (Learn more in a CP story from 2023, “Beeple’s new studio space is a museum of digital art.”)
A better America
Winkelmann’s hope is that party-goers will come together over our shared desire for a better America.
“I think it’s very easy to [make assumptions] about peoples’ behavior based on how they behave online. But I think in real life, people who, online, would flame each other, can in real life, sit and have a conversation. All of a sudden they’re not this faceless enemy that’s against you, right? They’re just a person who cares about their kids and their futures.
“We’re all Americans before we’re any of these other things,” he said. And we’re more aligned than we think. We all want to see America succeed and things get better. We might disagree on how to get there, but we all want the same goal.”
The 21+ event kicks off at 7 p.m. and goes until midnight Nov. 5. Learn more and RSVP for free at beeple-studios.xyz.
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