Tiny Creatures was born in May 2006 with its release of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffitti’s

What made you come out of hibernation? How did you manage to corral all the original tiny creatures?
Janet Kim: The cyclone. I killed the wicked witch of the East.

Who are the artists and performers in the “Big Deal” exhibit?
Big Deal includes artwork by Jason Yates, Coco Yates, Nathanael Luke Walton, Jed Ochmanek, Garrett Cathey, Rachel Detroit Kucsulain, Tall Paull Gellman, Matt Fishbeck with performances by Geneva Jacuzzi, Mecca V.A., Puro Instinct, Nite Jewel, Julia Holter and many more.

How was the exhibit opening night?
The puppet show was great and Don Bolles’ improv soundtrack was definitely taking it there.

Did the girls truly go wild on the winter solstice?
All the performers were great. Your performance was a lot of fun and was the heart of the night. Piper’s band was awesome like blonde mammals running in the haze. Claire Cronin’s voice and poetry was like an old record coming back to life. Beautiful.

Some tiny creatures have gained quite widespread notoriety, and Tiny Creatures itself has got a bit of a reputation—What’s this about an Andy Warhol grant and a book?
The book is called Where Art Belongs by Chris Kraus. It will be released in February with Semiotext(e). The tales are dark and strange, like old memories. It weaves through the myth of what Tiny Creatures was and is and will be.

How has Tiny Creatures evolved since its inception and closing?
Tiny Creatures is. Tiny Creatures was. Tiny Creatures will be.

What’s happening for the closing of “Big Deal” tonight?
Holy Shit is happening. Hedi’s doing awesome projections of Russian Baths and some old French films for Softboiled Eggies. It’s our last show. Andrew Arduini as Vibe Central will do another one of his avant garde narrative fiction music freak outs which I love. Hopefully, he won’t put anyone in a head lock this time.

What’s next for you and Tiny Creatures after Big Deal?
Being a Tiny Creature as a tiny creature is. Ears and eyes. Surfing. Getting back into John Cage, Xenakis. Details. Concocting some sort of new drug. Embracing.

BIG DEAL TINY CREATURES CLOSES TONIGHT SAT., JANUARY 15, AT D.I.Y. GALLERY, 1549 SUNSET BLVD, 90026. PERFORMANCES BY HOLY SHIT!, VIBE CENTRAL, SOFTBOILED EGGIES, RACHEL DETROIT, SAM & ALEX, AND GARY SHULTZ, READINGS BY BOB BRANAMAN AND HEDI EL KHOLTI, PENNY ANTE’S CURATED BOOKSTORE, SCREENINGS BY STUDENTS OF MEXICALI ROSE COMPILED BY MARCO VERA, DJ JIMI HEY 6 PM/$5/ALL AGES. WWW.TINYCREATURES.COM.

****Tiny Creatures presents: “Under Alvarado: There is a Beach,” Tiny Creatures goes to Mexicali.

Curated by Janet Kim for the Mexicali Rose Centro de Arte/Medios in Baja California, Mexico for the night of November 14th, 2008.*******

WHAT
For one night in the bordertown of Mexicali, Tiny Creatures will invade Mexicali’s art community center Mexicali Rose Centro de Arte/Medios with both underground and well-known artists such as Kelly Coats, Rachel Detroit, Jason Grier, Jason Yates, Matt Fishbeck, Ry Rocklen (who has recently shown at the Whitney Biennial), and others, all of whom have gravitated to Tiny Creatures, embracing its non-commercial and underground culture for the past two years. Once a music label, now a music school as well as an art and music community center, Tiny Creatures will be celebrating its last art show at like minded space in Mexicali, Mexico, notorious for its underground tunnels and the smuggling of opium and alcohol during the prohibition era. Now the biggest Chinese population in Mexico, the colorful Mexicali is not unlike the colors of Echo Park, home of Tiny Creatures, with mafia owned streets, drug deals around the corner, and the savory combination of Chinese and Mexican food. Almost looked upon as a pilgrimage, this caravan of Tiny Creatures artists will none the less be excited to share their eclectic art work with kindred spirits of the Centro. Consider this a weekend of Tiny Creatures loose on the streets of Mexicali, art and music abundant, all creatures of a creative, free, and sometimes decadent aesthetic and a pseudo intellectual mind – unite and celebrate!

DATE
Art Opening/Music: Friday, November 14th 2008, 9pm

Mexicali Rose Centro de Arte/Medios, Ave. Colima #1436, Colonia Pueblo Nuevo

Artists: Kelly Coats, Rachel Detroit, Hedi El Kholti, Matt Fishbeck, Paul Gellman, Jason Grier, Sklyar Haskard, Julia Holter, Eli Langer, Jed Ochmanek, Ry Rocklen, Bobbi Woods, Jason Yates, Samuel Vasquez.

With bands Holy Shit and Nikki Obscure playin live at the space!!

(music night at tia tina’s space has been cancelled)

Part Time Punks DJs/DJ Eggy/DJ Chango Rey

FREE

What’s your favorite Guns ‘n’ Roses song?
Oh my God, probably ‘Estranged’ or ‘You Could be Mine.’ That’s a hard question! You know that song that goes, ‘Turn around bitch / I got a use for you / besides you ain’t got nothin’ better to do and I’m bored!’? My friend Beau and I changed it to ‘Turn around braids / I got a use for you / besides I ain’t got nothin’ better to do and you’re bald!’ I really want to meet Axl and say that to him because he’s got braids now, you know? And he’s old. I think he might get mad. But that was mean of him to say in the first place so… Are you a fan?
My dad got me into them when I was little.
Really? My parents were more into X and the Dead Kennedys and Elvis Costello. They thought Guns ‘n’ Roses were jerks. So when I liked them, I really liked them. Because it was such a wrong thing for me to do! They weren’t punks at all.
What’s your favorite plant?
Impossible question! All of them. I like cacti. And trees. Pineapples! I’d bet all the money in the world they talk to each other. All the money made out of plants—none of that metal money.
When did you get into cars?
I’ve always been into cars. As a kid I loved toy cars that had doors that opened. I like miniatures that look like real things. Like toy cars with trunks that have stuff in them. If the doors don’t open, it’s worth nothing.
What about the rickshaws? And the scooters?
The rickshaws and the scooters are the most important thing! The paint jobs are amazing! My dad’s been all over—his truck is painted like that. It’s more like Day of the Dead mixed with rickshaw style. He showed me all that stuff. I wanna go to places where people paint their vehicles like that. I went to Vietnam, and the paint jobs had really cool colors, but they weren’t as tricked out as rickshaws in India.
But the scooters are pretty crazy in Vietnam.
Yeah! You see a family on a moped with all the kids and the baby, and the baby’s not wearing a helmet. But when they were babies, they didn’t wear helmets. And now they have their own babies. So I don’t know. I saw a bad accident when I was there. A scooter and some stuff piled up—and legs sticking out. I was thinking I should paint my car like that, but I don’t want to stand out. I don’t have car insurance. And I don’t wanna be associated with hippies.
How long have you been vegan?
Nine years. Meat’s not even a food to me anymore. I decided to be vegetarian when I was 7 after my dad showed me and my brother this video. He thought we should know about all that stuff even though he wasn’t vegetarian. My parents never really cooked meat, but I had meatballs and stuff at my nana’s house before I became vegetarian. I tried to join Green Peace then, but they wouldn’t let me in cause I wasn’t 18.
You tried to join Green Peace when?
When I was 7. But I saw them today, and you know… I don’t like how they call it ‘THE environment’ like it’s some weird thing that’s on another planet instead of ‘our environment,’ like everything around us all the time.
Where were you born?
In Pasadena. We moved around. We lived at 6th and Main when I was in 2nd grade, like ‘92 during the riots. I remember driving and trash cans were on fire. I remember watching TV and not getting what was going on but knowing it was gnarly. I was just really excited that people had fires on the sidewalk! It was real. And when real stuff happens, like earthquakes, when catastrophes happen, they make all the other stuff not matter—the stuff that shouldn’t matter. I feel like when I was a kid, the economy was good and things were so good, you could get numb—like, you’re a kid and you don’t have any worries. So the riots and things like that were important. I’m glad I experienced those things. I hope that doesn’t sound fucked up. I didn’t enjoy them, like, as a spectacle. Those things, they’re like wake-up calls. Like, ‘Wake up! Appreciate your life!’
What do you think about Disneyland?
I don’t like amusement parks. My mom and dad make sets and stuff for the rides and floats, so I grew up around all that behind-the-scenes stuff, but I don’t like waiting in line. Or being around so many people. I’d rather just go to the beach. I used to be anti-Disney and anti-Disneyland, but I really like Mickey Mouse and all those old cartoons. It’s like cartoons are moving backwards. I mean, there’s a bunch of good shit going on, but the mainstream shit blows. It’s not the same. My favorite old cartoons are the ones where all the seasons are changing: Old Man Winter comes out and chases away the flowers and then the Sun comes out and chases him away. Those are so good. But I’m definitely not into the princess thing. It’s really fucked up! And why does someone always have to die? What do you think about Disneyland?
I’ve never been there, actually.
What?! You mean you never had no churro?
Where do you work?
I work at a movie theater. I sell tickets, do popcorn, tear tickets—those are the three jobs I do. It rotates everyday, so you do something different. Concession starts to suck cause you have to make so much popcorn and fill peoples’ Diet Coke with no ice. Do you like Diet Coke? It’s gross! It’s like water but they made it bad. Like they poisoned the water and then they sell it. Yuck. But I like my job. It’s the best minimum-wage job you can have.
Some of your friends have been getting a lot of press lately—Abe Vigoda, Mika Miko—is that cool?
Yeah. It’s fun, but I’m kinda burnt out on going to so many shows. Like oh my God—I loooove them. They’re awesome! But I think I need to stop going out to see other people do their stuff and stay home and draw severed dog heads all day, you know? I have to work on my own stuff now.
Do you know any good jokes?
I know how to write jokes, but not tell them. Did you see my picture? For this interview? It’s funny cause I don’t smoke weed, and in the picture I look really stoned and there’s all this fruit and dessert. I’m not straight edge, but I don’t smoke weed that much because I get really thirsty and hungry. I’m already like that all the time, so what’s the point? I have a drink every once and a while, and I smoke weed every couple months, but I don’t do any drugs or do anything very much at all because it hurts my face. I mean, I have rosacea, so when I drink, my face really hurts. But it’s fun, you know? I see why people do it.
Do you have a garden? Or pets?
I’m not good at taking care of things. I don’t think I could be that responsible to take care of another life. If I had a house, I would plant a bunch of plants and just let them go wild.

TINY CREATURES, FAMILY AND THE SMELL PRESENT “THE THREE BURRITOS” WITH JESSE SPEARS, POCAHAUNTED, JERRY HSU, SAMMY HARKHAM, KEVIN LONG, MATTHEW HOPKINS, ATHENA, CLAIRE CRONIN, CALI DEWITT, BROCCOLI AND FAITH FORBES AT TINY CREATURES, 628 N. ALVARADO ST., LOS ANGELES. CLOSING RECEPTION WITH NO AGE, ABE VIGODA, WEAVE AND SOFT BOILED EGGIES ON SAT., APRIL 19. 9 PM / $8 / ALL AGES. VISIT JESSE SPEARS AT CARNAGEKNOCKOUT.BLOGSPOT.COM.