Mat Brinkman MV Carbon Max Eisenberg CF Daniel Lopatin John Olson Nate Young

curated by Justin Craun

Louis V. E.S.P. is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by seven artists who are known primarily for their music. Poor Traits presents a closer look at the visual work of these musicians, all of whom have been loosely associated with the American “noise” movement. This term in itself holds little descriptive power so it seems necessary to delve deeper into the images that surround the genre. The works in this show have found connections in their sense of playfulness, theatricality, narrative disposition, and/or deadpan sensibilities.

Mat Brinkman, a founding member of Fort Thunder artist space, has played in Mindflayer and Forcefield and is known in the indie comic community for his elaborate Multi-Force comic strip. Brooklyn based MV Carbon is a painter and composer who has collaborated with many artists including John Wiese, Tony Conrad and Aki Onda. She is one half of the band Metelux. Max Eisenberg co-runs the performance venue The Bank in Baltimore and has performed with Nautical Almanac, Little Howlin’ Wolf, Rubbed Raw Dance Squad and in his solo rap outfit DJ Dog Dick. CF is active in the art, music and comic book worlds. He has performed music under the name Kites and more recently Mark Lord. He is the writer and draftsman of the graphic novel series Powr Mastrs. Daniel Lopatin is a member of Infinity Window and Oneohtrix Point Never. He runs the cd-r label Upstairs and maintains the culture blog Skull Theft. John Olson and Nate Young are members of the epic Michigan based Wolf Eyes. Olson is head of American Tapes label and is also a member of Dead Machines, and Graveyards. Nate Young’s AA label produces records, tapes, shirts, and treated or converted analogue televisions and radios. His other musical projects include Jean Street, Demons, and Regression.