CULT OF MICHAEL JACKSON

Rusel Parish is dressed for the occasion. He’s at the opening of his show “Cult of Michael Jackson” at Figureworks in Williamsburg, wearing black pants, a hat, and a structured, military-style black and gold jacket reminiscent of MJ’s Bad era. The silver glove on his left hand is the icing on the Michael Jackson cake (“These were eight dollars,” he informs friends and family as he passes out a few, still in their plastic wrapping). He sits on a small couch for his interview, in front of the centerpiece of his show, a painting of oil, resin, wax, and gold leaf entitled Saint Michael Jackson. The painting,spiritual and powerful, sits on an easel in front of crimson red curtains, and is flanked by multicolored wax candles molded in the image of the king himself.

“Excuse me,” someone taps him on the shoulder. Art lovers and MJ fans alike have been filling the two-room space throughout the evening, viewing the paintings, candles, and dolls chronicling Michael Jackson’s career with a mix of awe, revere, and amusement, many seeking out the artist to pay their compliments.

“Can you take a picture of us?” The woman, who either doesn’t notice or is completely unfazed by Parish’s outfit, hands him her digital camera as she and her friends cluster together in front of Saint Michael Jackson.

“Everybody say bad!” Parish instructs as he snaps the shot.

The scene is an odd combination of art and worship, appreciation and satire, fan and celebrity—and fits right in with the spirit of the show, which brings exactly those elements together in a way that is complex, thoughtful, and visually stunning. The project, which the Colorado native and now Greenpoint artist started three years ago, stems from Parish’s love of MJ’s work, his fascination with pop culture, and his experience with religious iconography in Russia.

“I’ve always painted celebrities and popular culture and been interested in how people interact with it. Overtime they just started to meld,” Paris said. “People have a very strong reaction and very strong opinions of Michael Jackson. He has a following and they have a set of ideas and beliefs that are often influenced by Michael Jackson, in his songs and in his life. In a way, He already had all the tenants of a theology, so to speak.”

Hanging on the walls are giant silk screen scrolls of scripture, proclaiming the “Ten Laws of the Boogie,” such as “You shall not stop until you get enough.”

“These laws basically reflect upon his songs and his ideas. If the whole world could follow that guidance, the world would literally be saved by boogie,” Paris tells a crowd as “Thriller” plays in the background.

The pieces in the show include several large, mixed-media paintings, which are both moving and often visceral, and chronicle moments and images of Jackson throughout his career. The other portion of the show features a series of candles, soaps, and elaborate wax dolls, again chronicling MJ’s different musical eras, skin color, and facial structure, in a playful commentary on media, merchandising, and color.

“I think as an artist I’m responsible in both commenting about people’s relationship with Michael Jackson and then also perpetuating the ideas that are already out there,” Parish said. “Michael Jackson had a lot of complexities, so the work tries to understand those complexities and play off them. It’s supposed to be kind of a fun way to interact with the art and the ideas that I’m talking about. When you’re looking at controversy with Michael Jackson, there are ways to talk about it that can relate to art materials. His skin or his change over time—I tried to use substances that would talk about that instead of just creating a portrait of Michael Jackson.”

“Like everyone in America, I grew up with him and his image and what he’s done,” Parish continued. “He broke a lot of barriers and a lot of concepts. So far the fans have been very responsive. They really get into the imagery, the ideas. I think they’re already on some level worshipping him, so to speak, and I think it brings those two ideas together. They’ve been really welcoming to me.”

While the art world has been responding to (and purchasing) Parish’s work, it’s the fans that are the most moved by it.

“Overall, people have been just blown away by the chapel itself. It’s so intense,” Randall Harris, Director of Figureworks, said. “It’s supposed to be entertaining and kind of fun and yet there’s also a whole serious, somber affect to it as well. We had a preview last weekend and there were a couple of diehard MJ fans that came in and were really moved by the show. They spent some time in the front room and it was really kind of emotional.”

“People just innately want to participate with Michael Jackson,” Parish said. “There’s something that’s very sticky or tangible about him and his music and what he brings to people aside from the controversy. I think that’s why he was so celebrated upon his death. In some ways I think it’s sad because it took someone to die for people to express a love.”

“I’m an artist, and I took interest in [this event] because I have so much love for Michael Jackson,” an attendee, Raquel Jean-Joseph said. “[Parish’s] work is genius. He has a lot of detail, it amazes me.”

“So far, I like them,” another guest, Joel Thanos said of the pieces at the show. “The chronicle of his nose is really like a yearbook for me of my whole life.”

For more information, visit cultofmichaeljackson.org, iheartmj.com, or ruselparish.com. The “Cult of Michael Jackson” will be up at Figureworks at 168 N. 6th Street through October.