STUFF: Ben Furgal

by Ben Furgal on August 7, 2013 STUFF

[Editor’s note: Are you having trouble understanding artists through their art? Understand them through their STUFF instead. In this edition of STUFF we bring you 10 items artist Ben Furgal owns. In addition to his visual practice, Furgal runs the Philadelphia gallery Magic Pictures, and plays with the band Evil Sword. Furgal will debut new work at Vox Populi on November 1st and his band will play at Cake Shop on October 3rd]

1

Jack LaLanne Power Juicer

Jack LaLanne was probably the most psyched human being who ever lived. His advice was if you are going to do anything, even walk, do it 100%. He not only invented the jumping jack—he invented this Power Juicer! I love drinking glowing green liquids, but drinking fresh juice everyday also keeps my mind focused in the studio. JUICE FRENZY!

2

Life-size Neon Orange Skeleton

A friend of mine once asked me if I had a life-size skeleton they could borrow; they told me I seemed like the kind of person who had one. I had never thought about it before, but once I had, I became obsessed! Everything else stopped, and I spent the next two weeks working on customizing my skeleton, and started a slew of projects around it.

3

Dearraindrop Drip

I love Dearraindrop—Joe Grillo is the master of collage! I have Dearraindrop posters on my wall, a Dearraindrop sticker on my computer, and this tiny Dearraindrop in my studio to inspire me! I hope to meet them one day.

4

Sword

Growing up my parents owned a bar and I became friends with some bikers. I drew lots of skeletons and bikers love skeletons! My first collectors were John and Mary Litts—I gave them drawings when I was in elementary school until high school. When I graduated, they gave me this sword!

5

The Tolkien Reader

Everyone has read The Lord of the Rings
. My parents read it to me before I could read. I’ve watched all three movies consecutively, and more than once. I just picked up this collection of Tolkien’s earlier works this year, and it was like finding out that my favorite band has another album I never heard of that’s just as good.

6

Kate Ferencz Witch Watch

Kate Ferencz is the other co-director of Magic Pictures and the lead singer of our band Evil Sword; she is a fantastic artist and musician and constant inspiration to me. Moving to Philadelphia from New York and founding Magic Pictures with her really changed my life. I have lots of her work in my collection, but I often wear this sculpted watch that watches you!

7

Homemade Chess Set

Kate and I made this chess set together—we play every evening after dinner. We also invented a chess variant called “blob chess” where there is a monster on the board that can attack both players!

8

Monsters! Monsters! T-Shirt

I have had this shirt since I was 14—a celebration of the black-and-white ink illustrations from the early Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manuals I love. It’s still my favorite shirt, but now I wear it only on special occasions.

9

Brother Theodore’s Chamber of Horrors

Brother Theodore is a genius of black humor, and perhaps the only horror host who was actually frightening. Brother Theodore’s Chamber Of Horrors collects his favorite tales which are every bit as dark, demented, and delightful as you could imagine from someone who called his metaphysical monologues “stand-up tragedies”. His recordings are also worth checking out.

10

Dan Asher Drawing

Dan Asher is a wild artist who is no longer with us that I knew when I lived in New York. He was a roaring lion who would tell you exactly what he thought about anything in no uncertain terms—he terrified most people but we got along great. I used to come by his messy, messy apartment to hang out and draw, and he gave me this drawing for my birthday.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: