About Slimm
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| Slimm Perkins Buick ~ Artist, Entertainer Slimm Buick has been creating art in one form or another since childhood. And, he's kept that childlike style and intent. Kids just love him! Animals, too ... He was born & raised in San Franciscan, as were his Father, Richard Perkins (a retired Cable Car Gripman) and Grandfather, Robert Perkins, a Grocer. Actually, for the record, Slimm is a 4th generation San Franciscan, a 5th generation California citizen according to the National Genealogy library in Salt Lake City. This might explain why Slimm's work often has a "Western" flair, surely appropriate at any rate, considering San Francisco is a part of the Gold Country or "Mother Lode" in CA. Slimm's artwork has been shown in major museums, has been featured in movies, and sold in galleries around the Bay Area. He is best known for movable works of art, or "Art Bikes". These bicycles look like they could be from the Wild West, or another world, and his best known piece, "Rawhide" is also his favored form of transportation. Slimm recently had his very first Art Bike, Back in the Saddle Again, returned from the Gene Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles (their focus is almost purely Native American now - we are glad to have him back!). For more on this wonderful museum, located across from the LA Zoo in Griffth Park, visit their site at: Gene Autry Museum Slimm is also known as a bicycle advocate, as he was a big part of the early Critical Mass protests, attended the first AIDS ride, and is a former bike messenger. Slimm has been collecting, repairing, staging and selling antiques for over 20 years. He now owns a collection of over 7,000 vintage records (R&B, Blues and Jazz from 1960's & prior) and works as a DJ at parties and clubs. He has also performed as a Lecturer, and for Children's Birthday parties as a clown, and singer/storyteller. He and his partner, Justine tenZeldam, also organize special "period" events, and sing at piano bars, private parties and nightclubs. Their latest endeavor is the B Western & Vintage Film Society. They hold periodic events that focus on the great films, and eras gone by ... their first publication is due out soon. Please visit BWesternSociety.com or join us on Myspace! |
| Artists Statement My rebellious obsession with drawing, and art in general, surfaced in school when I should have been doing my studies. School frustrated me because I was labeled "hyperactive" and "dyslexic", but the truth was that my teachers were angered by frequent questions that they could not answer. All except for Mr. Fredericks, or "R.F.", the San Francisco teacher who encouraged me to keep going, and discouraged me from taking standard “how to” classes asserting they could “corrupt” my talent. Although I’m always learning and trying new things, I did take Mr. Fredericks advice and avoided traditional “art school”. I have always been inspired by art that uses things which might otherwise be thrown away. And, I have always loved old stuff – antiques, collectibles, classic motorcycles and cars, especially Delahaye, Bugatti, and Duesenberg and, especially those customized by people like Nudie Cohn. The first bicycle I customized started out as a chrome BMX and eventually became known as “Back in the Saddle”, in honor of one of my favorite classic western stars, Gene Autry (a lot of my work has a Western flavor). This bike is the “grand daddy” to Rawhide, which is the bike everyone seems to know me for. It’s a moving, functional piece of art, and for many years was my main mode of transpiration. Back in the Saddle is now part of the permanent collection at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, so it’s going to be around to view long after I’ve gone to the big ranch in the sky. I’ve made about ten art bikes total, three of which were recently featured in the Sony movie, Rent, filmed in San Francisco. I also create weird and wacky watercolors that always seem to invoke lots of questions and laughter, especially from children and the “young at heart”. My "Rocketeer Wrangler" series of watercolors started because it always seemed like Cowboys & Indians meant “Cowboys and those darn awful Redskins”, and that’s just not right. But, we can all hate those horrible aliens together, safely, since they don’t actually exist (or at least we think they don’t actually exist!). The cowboys and aliens are set in the old west, because that’s where almost all aliens seem to land – out in the tundra, with tumbleweeds floating by. As a kid, I just loved Science Fiction and old Westerns (actually still do). So, I like to imagine what would happen if those two TV channels got scrambled and you were stuck in between the Wild West and outer space – where the good guys still ride horses (or the other earth-friendly alternative, bicycles), and the bad guys have a petroleum-powered shining saucer for their getaway car. My birthday is the same day as Vincent Van Gough, but I believe art should be fun, and bring a good laugh from time to time, instead of just buying into the myth of the “tortured artist” doing his best work when he's at the brink of disaster, and totally self-destructive. Life is just too darn short for that! |
Call to book your showing or event:
831-440-7699 or 252-0436