Seth Bogart is an American multidisciplinary artist. As a musician, he is known for his solo career, as well as Hunx and His Punx and Gravy Train!!!!. As a visual artist, Bogart's paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States, and he has created the World of Wonder web series Feelin' Fruity. He also runs the streetwear line Wacky Wacko. Pitchfork named Bogart the "New King of Camp" in 2016.
Early life and career
Bogart grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where his father was a lawyer and his mother was a nurse. In high school, he started playing the guitar and created the punk zinePuberty Strike. He later produced the zine Psycho No. 1 Fan. When Bogart was 18, his father committed suicide. He moved to Oakland, California shortly thereafter. At 19, he went to beauty school, and later, in 2006, he co-founded the salon and vintage clothing storeDown at Lulu's on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.
Music
Bogart joined Oakland-based electroclash band Gravy Train!!!! as a backup dancer under the name Hunx shortly after its inception in the early 2000s. He soon began writing songs for the band and performing as the band's singer and guitarist. In 2008, he founded Hunx and His Punx, a garage punk band, which changed its lineup in 2010 and was renamed to Hunx and His Punkettes. After this lineup disbanded in 2011, Bogart sold Down at Lulu's. In 2012, Bogart released a solo album as Hunx titled Hairdresser Blues, and, in 2015, Bogart came out with an eponymous solo album under his own name.
Clothing
Bogart relocated to Los Angeles in 2013, and, in 2014, he started streetwear label Wacky Wacko. Initially, it was to be a record label, until he lost interest in that idea. The line grew in popularity, and could be seen on Miley Cyrus, Tavi Gevinson, and Kathleen Hanna. From 2014–17, the label had a store on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park. Bogart has also collaborated with fashion house Saint Laurent. Director Hedi Slimane was a fan of Bogart's work, and used his drawings in a Saint Laurent fabric pattern and a song by Hunx and His Punx in a promotional video.
Video
In 2011, Bogart and longtime collaborator Brande Bytheway launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a TV show. Hollywood Nailz launched as a web series in November 2012, and was likened to a "bizarro '80s Public Access-style variety show". In May 2018, World of Wonder launched the web series Feelin' Fruity, a variety show which starred Bogart, and was inspired by Disneyland's Toontown and Pee-wee's Playhouse. It featured such guests as Alice Bag, Kate Berlant, Tammie Brown, John Early, Cole Escola, Manila Luzon, and Allison Wolfe.
Sculpture and paintings
Bogart began taking classes at ArtCenter College of Design in 2013, and began selling ceramic versions of familiar objects—including perfume bottles and grooming supplies—at the Wacky Wacko store shortly thereafter. In 2014, Los Angeles art gallery 365 Mission included a painting by Bogart in a group show, and, in 2015, 365 Mission gave him a solo show, in which he transformed the gallery space into The Seth Bogart Show, an immersive experience that displayed sculpture, paintings, ceramics, and video, as well as served as a performance venue. Nino Mier gave Bogart a show in their Los Angeles gallery in 2018. Entitled Lick, it transformed the space into a sex shop, and included paintings and ceramic pieces by Bogart. In 2019, Chicago's Soccer Club Club gallery hosted 100 Toothbrushes, a solo exhibit of 100 ceramic toothbrushes by Bogart.
Personal life
Bogart is openly gay. He came out to his friends while in high school, and to his mother when he was eighteen.
