Bill McMullen's "Attack of the Shelltoe AT-ATs" painting is one of the smartest pieces of art to come out in the new millennium. Playing off of both the Empire Strikes Back and shoe-collector mythos and framing it with a letterboxed border, the piece does more than just look rad. By placing ominous big business (Adidas) into ominous pop culture (Star Wars), it goes beyond the mere rip off graphics of early 90s skateboard decks and Fresh Jive t-shirts. While those attempted to say "Fuck You" and "We're so cool" via their co-optation and modification of corporate identity, Mr. McMullen's work attempts, and succeeds by tearing into the shady worlds of corporate sponsorship, cinema, and cool, without getting all indignant or corny. Unlike a Winston Smith (Dead Kennedy's collage artist) who would emphasize the scariness of the corporate scene, Mr. McMullen shows us just how enticing it is. How our trained love of logos and powerful imagery affects our attitudes, right down to our own personal definitions of what rad is: a branding of personal identity through corporate identity. Scary? Yes. Obvious? Yes. But most importantly: Mr. McMullen is Elegant.

But this should be no surprise from an artist of Mr. McMullen's stature. As an integral part of the SwishNYC team that first brought toy designer Eric So to America for his first gallery show in New York, to his design work for artists as diverse as DMX and the Beastie Boys, Mr. McMullen has always been 20 minutes early to the party, and out before anybody else has even RSVP'd to the Evite. From his innovative home made jewelry (MPC Drum Machine Ring) to his development of the King of New York Christopher Walken toy, to design for Criterion Collection DVDs, Mr. McMullen is part of the pre-ebay generation, whose attitudes were set by style and intellect, rather than high bids.

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