Mike Perry is an American artist, illustrator, animator and curator. He is known for winning a Primetime Emmy Award for animation on Comedy Central's Broad City television show. His pop culture artwork, collaborative projects and communal work are often outside the standard art gallery sensibility. He works in a variety of media including illustration, animation, painting, type, magazines, videos, public art, sculpture, and books.

Mike Perry
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Kansas City, Missouri
Alma materMinneapolis College of Art and Design
Notable workBroad City titles and animation, Wondering Around Wandering: Work-So-Far, Hand Job: A Catalog of Type, Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing, Over & Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns
AwardsPrimetime Emmy Award, Outstanding Motion Design, Animation Director, 2018, Broad City, Mushrooms episode
Websitewww.mikeperrystudio.com
Broad City titles

Early life

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Perry grew up outside of Kansas City, Missouri. After getting into trouble as an early teen, he discovered drawing and painting when his grandfather, a painter, gave him a tackle box filled with oil paints.[1]

Perry graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design[2] in 2003 after changing his major from Art to Graphic Design. After he was rejected for an internship at the Walker Art Center, the museum's design director, Andrew Blauvelt, wrote a note suggesting he apply for a job at Urban Outfitters. Perry worked at the company's headquarters on digital media, publications, and catalog design for three years.[3] He moved to Brooklyn in 2004 and in 2006 opened a studio.[4]

Career

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Mike Perry, a studio artist whose work is rooted in popular culture, "is king" of working in many mediums as an illustrator, typographer, sculptor, animator, painter, curator and producer.[5] His fluorescent color, busy, organic and playful work looks "like hand-drawn doodles," patterns and type.[6]

Perry's work from 2004 to 2011 was collected in the 2012 monograph for Rizzoli, Wondering Around Wandering. Excited about the publication and wanting to turn it into a bigger, communal and free event,[7] he developed "an unprecedented" and "unlikely" three month long,[8] pop-up community art space in a 7,000-square-foot warehouse in Crown Heights.[9] Perry noted that his inspiration for the project, run by volunteers, came from the fact that "he doesn’t see a lot of support or room for work like his in the galleries and institutions of today’s art world"; Perry "connected that attitude to an absence of more zine, print, and t-shirt shops — alternative spaces, essentially, that function so often as both communal and artistic (and commercial) loci." A Kickstarter campaign for the event raised $32,000 in a month.[10] The community-centered space featured classes, workshops, performances and work by local artists. Seven hundred people came to the opening.[11][12]

He has taught at Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis, Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Parsons School of Design in New York City.[13] A featured speaker at conferences, Perry has been interviewed extensively about the issues of working as a freelance artist.[14][15][16][17] Brand consulting work as creative director and designer includes projects for The New York Times, Dolby,[18] Jameson,[19] the Tonight Show,[20] Facebook,[21] Microsoft,[22] Honda[23] and Insound.[24] His many designs for brands include sneakers for Nike[25] and custom glassware for Duvel.[26]

Exhibitions

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Since 2007, Perry has been in over forty group and solo exhibitions worldwide. Solo shows includeThe Landscape Between Time & Space in London in 2008, and The Patterns Found in Space in New York at Giant Robot in 2009.[27] Lost in the Discovery of What Shapes the Mind, 2010, covering 2,800-square-feet, was the first solo alumnus show at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.[28] In 2011, We Are the Infinity of Each Other and Color, Shapes, and Infinity were exhibited in Tokyo.[29] A nude series, My Mother Caught Me Doodling, was shown at London's KK Outlet in 2014.[30][31] His 2016 Intoxicating Pollen Wiggling in a Moist Journey of Constantly Blooming Tides at Garis & Hahn in New York, featuring abstract paintings of nudes and still lifes, led to a show of the same name inaugurating the gallery's Los Angeles location in 2017.[32][33][34]

Group shows include The Fine Line in 2010;[35] Walker Art Center's 2011 traveling installation Posterwall for the 21st Century, on the role digital art has played in design;[36] Wondering Around Wandering in 2012;[37] sculpture at the Corning Museum of Glass' Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at Glass Lab in 2013;[38] WOW (Writing on Walls) in Belgium in 2016;[39] and A Fantastic World in 2018.[40]

Perry has created and curated a number of public art installations for arts organizations and companies. In Brooklyn in 2013 he had several projects: street art on a construction site; a playground mural at the school P.S. 705; and his Crown Heights mural, a push back on the gentrification of the neighborhood where Perry's studio is located.[41] In 2014, he created a mural for a Chipotle restaurant in Los Angeles,[42] and a mural in Breda, the Netherlands, featuring a poem by Frank Nicholas,[43] and later in 2015, he made a mural and installation for Facebook in New York.[44] In 2016, Perry made one of New York City's largest rooftop murals in Brooklyn at the workspace a/d/o,[45] and in 2017 he completed a multifloor mural in Cleveland incorporating a Tyehimba Jess poem. His mural Wiggling Waves & Water Wanders went up in 2019 at Pier 17 in New York.[46]

Animation

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Perry became more widely known for animating the titles for all seasons of the Comedy Central show Broad City and for animating the Mushrooms episode animation.[47] He initially turned down the offer to do the titles,[48] his "first real animation project."[49] Show stars and creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer described the Mushrooms episode as one of their favorites from the series’ entire run. Jacobson said the titles were “such a big part of the identity of Broad City.” [50] Mushrooms earned Perry and his team an Emmy Award for Outstanding Motion Design.[51]

Books and Magazines

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In collaboration with partner Anna Wolf, Perry started Untitled: (a fashion) Magazine[52] in 2007, and in 2014, Tidal, a biannual print magazine focused on art and culture.[53] His pop culture monographs include Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing[54][55] and the career anthology Wondering Around Wandering: Work-So-Far. The collection My Mother Caught Me Doodling is from the show of the same name.[56] What If My Dog Had Thumbs? is his first solo book for children.[57]

Curation

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Since 2011, Perry and artist Josh Cochran have been organizing a series of nude, two-day drawing marathons, #GetNudeGetDrawn, enlisting volunteers to model nude, initially organized using social media and Craigslist.[58] The drawings are exhibited and sold at a pop-up exhibition immediately afterwards. Other past artist participants include Lisa Hanawalt, Deanne Cheuk, Jon Burgerman, Julia Rothman and Monica Ramos.[59][60] In 2015, Perry created and curated an 820-foot-long mural with nine other artists,[61] that was completed in one day.[62][63]

Awards and recognition

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Perry was chosen for Step Magazine's 30 under 30 in 2004, and named a groundbreaking illustrator by Computer Arts Projects Magazine in 2007. In 2008, he was selected by the Art Directors Club for Young Guns 6, and received Print Magazine's New Visual Artist award.[64] In 2018, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Motion Design as Animation Director for the Broad City Mushrooms episode for Comedy Central and Jax Media.[65]

Selected work

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Bibliography

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  • Hand Job: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Type, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007, ISBN 9781568986265
  • Over & Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns, Princeton Architectural Press, 2008, ISBN 9781568987576
  • Iron Me On, Chronicle Books, 2009
  • Pulled: A Catalog of Screen Printing, Princeton Architectural Press, 2011, ISBN 9781568989433
  • I Heart Everything, Chronicle Books, 2011
  • Wondering Around Wandering: Work-So-Far, Rizzolli NY, 2012, ISBN 978-0-8478-5803-3
  • A Coloring Book by Mike Perry and YOU, Chronicle Books, 2012
  • Type: Wall Decals by Mike Perry: 200 Peel-and-Stick Letters, Chronicle Books, 2012
  • Unlimited Editions, Chronicle Books, 2012
  • My Mother Caught Me Doodling, Mike Perry Studio, 2015
  • Curios, Blurb, 2016
  • The Broad City Coloring Book, Laurence King Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1780679976
  • Stoned Marker in Houston W/⁠ Chris, Melville Brand Design, 2018
  • Z GOES FIRST: An Alphabet Story Z-to-A, illustrator, Sean Lamb, author, Imprint, 2018 ISBN 978-1250123954
  • Astro Baby, illustrator, Michelle Tea, author, Dottir Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1948340076
  • What If My Dog Had Thumbs?, Dottir Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1948340090

Animation

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Magazines

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Film

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References

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  1. ^ Frank, Priscilla; Dvalidze, Irina (December 6, 2017). "Meet Mike Perry, The Artist Behind Those Trippy 'Broad City' Graphics". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "Mike Perry Takes a Volvo Joyride [Video]". Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Essmaker, Tina (June 30, 2015). "Mike Perry, artist, designer, illustrator". The Great Discontent. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Hanlon, Patrick (April 14, 2016). "Brooklyn Artist Mike Perry Wants To Blow Your Mind (Again)". Forbes. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Skidmore, Maisie (August 18, 2014). "Perry draws babes, bums and boobs for his new book". It’s Nice That. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Budds, Diana (March 9, 2016). "The Fluorescent World Of Mike Perry, Artist Behind The Opening Credits Of "Broad City"". Fast Company. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "wondering around wandering". brooklyn-spaces.com. Brooklyn Spaces. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  8. ^ Bell, Gabriel (August 6, 201). "Meet Crown Heights' Artist In Residence". Refinery 29. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "Wondering Around Wandering Pop-Up Community Art Space Hopes to Revitalize and Celebrate Crown Heights". The Sparrow Project. October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Steinhauer, Jillian (November 14, 2012). "An Art Space, a Kickstarter, and a Community". Hyperallergic. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Eisenpress, Cara (October 21, 2012). "BROOKLYN: Ephemeral art show hits the Heights". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Mackin, Laurence (March 28, 2014). "Think big: 10 things we learned at Offset". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  13. ^ "Mike Perry , Mike Perry Studio". cmog.org/. Glass Lab, The Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "ICON10 Featured Speakers". theillustrationconference.org/. The Illustration Conference. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "Mike Perry, Designer and Artist". futureofstorytelling.org. Melcher Media. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. ^ Perry, Mike. "Mike Perry: Stop Censoring Your Work". 99u.adobe.com. Adobe. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  17. ^ "Broad City Animator On Being A Freelance Artist". Forbes. March 29, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  18. ^ "Conversations from far-off places Mike Perry Studio". dolby.com. Dolby. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  19. ^ "Jameson Caskmates IPA Murals". 360i.com. 360i. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "Ringo Starr, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots Sing "Yellow Submarine" (Classroom Instruments)". youtube.com. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. September 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  21. ^ "Mike Perry Studio". wescover.com. Wescover, Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  22. ^ Rudolph, Ben (May 12, 2011). "Microsoft Hardware intros the Studio Series: Artist Edition Mice, I pair them with beautiful PCs". Microsoft. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  23. ^ "Rev It Up With Civic SI". louiegchang.com. Louie Chang Copywriting Cr(eat)ive. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  24. ^ Perry, Mike (November 8, 2009). "Insound 10 Classic Design Project". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  25. ^ "Nike Delta Force 'Watermelon' Customs". KicksOnFire.com. June 4, 2008. June 4, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  26. ^ "Duvel Launches Search for Next Signature Glass Designer". Brew Bound. June 21, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  27. ^ Giles, Mike (March 5, 2009). "Mike Perry: The Patterns Found in Space". Cool Hunting. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  28. ^ Ohtake, Miyoko (March 29, 2010). "Illustrator Mike Perry". Dwell. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  29. ^ "Mike Perry". tokyoartbeat.com. Tokyo Art Beat. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  30. ^ "Mike Perry "My Mother Caught Me Doodling"". Juxtapoz. November 7, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  31. ^ Wood, Betty (November 20, 2014). "My Mother Caught Me Doodling: Mike Perry's Nudes". Port Magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  32. ^ Jenks, Meredith (April 25, 2016). "Mike Perry's Art Show is as Trippy As His Broad City Animations". Paper Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  33. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (August 18, 2017). "'Broad City' Illustrator Mike Perry Gets a Solo Show at Garis & Hahn's New LA Space". Art Net. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  34. ^ "Mike Perry 9 Sep — 21 Oct 2017 at the Garis & Hahn in Los Angeles". Wall Street International Magazine. September 18, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  35. ^ "The Fine Line: Mike Perry & Anna Wolf". youtube.com. The Fine Line. September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  36. ^ Thorne, James (October 21, 2011). "Graphic Design: Now In Production". Cool Hunting. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  37. ^ Dechevska, Martina (October 16, 2012). "Ten must-see art exhibitions in New York City this fall". The Upcoming UK. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  38. ^ "Making Ideas: Experiments in Design at GlassLab". cmog.org. Corning Museum of Glass. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  39. ^ "WOW! Genk Cheeky Mural". studiomoross.com. Studio Moross. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  40. ^ Estiler, Keith (October 18, 2018). "Artists Pixel Pancho, Mike Perry, Yoh Nagao, & CB Hoyo Present A "Fantastic World"". Hypebeast. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  41. ^ Holliday Smith, Rachel (July 9, 2014). "'Broad City' Illustrator Paints Huge Yellow Mural Celebrating Crown Heights". DNA Info. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  42. ^ "Outdoor Wall Art". wescover.com. Wescover. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  43. ^ "Mike Perry". blindwalls.gallery. Bllind Walls Gallery. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  44. ^ "World Within A World". wescover.com. Wescover. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  45. ^ Keller, Hadley (December 15, 2016). "Food, Retail, and Community". Architectural Digest. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  46. ^ "Meet the Artist: Mike Perry". seaportdistrict.nyc. Seaport District Founding Partners. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  47. ^ Moylan, Brian (October 11, 2017). "How Broad City Made an Animated Episode Using 14,000 Drawings". New York Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  48. ^ Covello Jacobs, Lauren (November 6, 2018). "Mike Perry: Good Vibes". Adobe. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  49. ^ Burroughs, Richards (August 14, 2015). "Exclusive: When Street Art Marries Real Estate Developers and Mike Perry Crashes The Wedding, Part 2". BK Reader. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  50. ^ Sheffield, Rob (January 20, 2019). "The 'Broad City' Gals Say Goodbye". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  51. ^ Holloway, Daniel (August 28, 2018). "'Broad City,' 'The Simpsons' Win Juried Emmy Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  52. ^ "Untitled Magazine No. 001". issuu.com. Mike Perry Studio. September 23, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  53. ^ "The Tidal Team". tidal-mag.com/. Tidal Magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  54. ^ Heller, Steven (June 8, 2011). "Visuals". New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  55. ^ Kenedi, Aaron (April 26, 2011). "Mike Perry Pulls It All Together". Print Magazine. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  56. ^ Gosling, Emily (October 16, 2014). "My Mother Caught me Doodling". Design Week. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  57. ^ "What If My Dog Had Thumbs?". Publishers Weekly. October 14, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  58. ^ "A Nude Drawing Session Marathon". Juxtapose. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  59. ^ Messinger, Kate (January 27, 2016). "What Happens When You're Naked in a Room Full of Artists?". Vice. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  60. ^ Siddal, Liv (November 6, 2014). "Mike Perry sweeps into town with two nude shows!". Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  61. ^ Abelis, Ona (August 10, 2015). "Talking with Mike Perry about How He and Nine Other Artists Will Transform Dean Street this Weekend". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  62. ^ Cascone, Sarah (August 18, 2015). "'Broad City' Illustrator Curates Brooklyn's Hottest Marathon Mural Project". Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  63. ^ Keh, Pei-Ru (August 17, 2015). "Wall space: Brooklyn artists think big with Mike Perry-led mural project". Wallpaper. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  64. ^ "Contributor Mike Perry". Huffington Post. December 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  65. ^ "70th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
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