Bode In Oz: Mark Bode’s Cartoon Concert

Overview

To seasoned street artists and chroniclers of graffiti culture, the name Vaughn Bode (pronounced Bo-dee) recalls the psychedelic, magical cartoon art of Bode's underground comics of the 60s and 70s. Those in the know utter Bode's name with reverence, recalling how his comic book characters — the Cheech Wizard, Dicky Doo, the sex-hungry lizards and the voluptuous Bode broads — were reappropiated with spray paint in the 80s on New York city's subway cars by godfathers of graffiti Seen and Dondi, among others.

When Vaughn Bode passed away in the mid 70s, at age 33 — not living to behold his beloved characters blaze through New York city's subways — Bode's 12-year-old son, Mark, took it upon himself to follow in the footsteps, and to develop the artistic vision of his father. Over the last decade, the junior Bode has expanded on his father's venerable legacy, painting graffiti, publishing art books, and creating several comics of his own in the classic Bode style, including the soon-to-be-action-film and cult classic comic, Cobalt 60. All the while, Mark Bode has played an important role in the global graffiti art community, bringing together respected artists from across the globe for unique collaborations.

For the Bode in Oz tour, Mark will exhibit some of his most recent illustrations and paintings at Sydney's China Heights gallery, which opens on Friday 24 February at 6pm and runs until Saturday 3 March. Alongside the exhibition, Mark will also collaborate with a number of Australian artists to paint a giant public mural, and to perform a 'Cartoon Concert' at The Standard on Wednesday 22 February from 6:30pm. As the scion of a graffiti culture legend, and as a graffiti legend in his own right, Mark Bode's tour of Oz is not to be missed. So don't forget to bring a fresh felt-tip with your blackbook.

See the complete art catalogue here (.pdf).