The last thing I expected to see at an event intended to celebrate the underdog of mythological creatures was a crowd of people waiting to get in. I guess it goes to show that you should never underestimate the allure of ice cream – or ice cream people – on a hot summer evening.
Artist and ice-cream-person enthusiast Brian Butler understands just that, and as the mastermind behind IceCreamPeople.org, he was host to the project’s first public event Monday night at the Milky Way in Jamaica Plain. Live music and painting, as well as the project’s current collection of evidence, were on hand to expose the existence of these part-ice-cream, part-human creatures, while also justifying their place as mythological figures.
Butler started the project last summer after he spotted some of the creamy creatures while playing mini golf. An exhaustive search led him to the discovery that ice cream people indeed existed, but a widespread knowledge of the characters did not. Butler started a website for citizens to report ICP sightings and share their conceptions of ice cream people with others as works of art.
For the past year, Butler has been gathering other individuals’ renditions of ice cream people and now holds an impressive collection with works from at least seven countries. Depictions by friends and other local artists are presented alongside original contributions from Bill Griffith (creator of Zippy), Glasgow artist David Shrigley, and comedians Zach Galifianakis and Eugene Mirman, among others.
In addition to browsing through the collection of artist-renderings, those feeling inspired could also add their own ice cream people to the compilation with blank templates that Butler provided.
After waiting about thirty minutes to get inside, I finally caught up with Brian, who was psyched by the large turnout.
As Ice Cream People’s first public event, how would you say things went overall?
BB: I’d consider the night really successful. It reached capacity less than an hour into the event, and the project got a lot of exposure. Thunderhole and Main Fader performed really well, and I think people dug the eclectic sound.
Any favorite new additions to the sighting catalog?
BB: Some standout contributions were Mister Reusch’s Black Raspberry Reaper and Leor Galil’s Rockiest Road person. Kendra Plumley, Fionn McCabe, Fish McGill and Felipe Ortiz also illustrated some ice cream people in action.
Now that your first event was a success, where do you see the Ice Cream People project going from here?
BB: We’ll be participating in the Deitch Project’s Art Parade in New York on September 6. I also anticipate formally exhibiting the compiled evidence later in the fall.
Ice Cream People’s fall event will be all-ages, and more importantly, I have Brian’s word that there will actually be ice cream there.
Check out Ice Cream People’s blog to view the ever-growing gallery of artist renditions: http://www.icecreampeople.org
Bands:
http://www.myspace.com/thunderhole666
http://www.myspace.com/mainfader
Artists:
fionn mccabe http://www.ohnancy.com/
Kendra Plumley http://www.thebeastcoast.com
fish McGill http://www.fishmcgill.com
felipe ortiz http://felipeortiz.com/