I Didn’t Go to Art School: Seth Bogart on Queer Punx, Music, and Art

By Jake Yuzna

Walker Publishing Filed to Design · Part of Design without Binaries

Seth Bogart, <em>Macho Sluts</em>. Courtesy of the artist.

A member of bands Gravy Train!!!! and Hunx and His Punx, Seth Bogart is an LA–based multidisciplinary artist and musician. He is also known for the fashion-store-thing Wacky Wacko and a visual art practice that often lovingly lampoons celebrities and celebrates queer histories in equal measure.

As he gears up to embark on a North American tour with Hunx and His Punx, Bogart sat down to chat about queercore, working with John Waters, and why he is glad he didn’t go to art school.

Jake Yuzna

You are known for working across disciplines, from music to visual art, ceramics, and more. How you identify yourself?

Seth Bogart

That question made me laugh because, when we were doing a press release for a collaborative project with John Waters, I wrote that he was an artist. John was like, “I am not an artist. I never call myself an artist. That’s not really up for me to decide.”

I guess I’m an artist and a musician who works in lots of different ways, including ceramics, painting, music, clothing, design, and drawing.

JY

Do you feel there is a throughline between all your work?

SB

I’m usually inspired by whatever I am feeling at the moment, but I’ve gotten feedback that my work is recognizable. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I like to think I have a distinct aesthetic.

JY

How did you end up living and working in Los Angeles?

SB

I’m originally from Tucson, Arizona, but when I was 18, I moved to Oakland, California. My dad had just killed himself and it was really traumatic. I barely graduated high school. My teachers felt sorry for me. I went to Oakland and I lived there for 12 years, and then got bored and wanted to move to LA for no specific reason. I just felt called to go there. I feel like I moved to LA in my mind when I was, like, 10.

JY

What about LA made you want to move there?

SB

I’ve always liked beaches, palm trees, Disneyland, Hollywood, and celebrities.

JY

What medium did you first started working in?

SB

Music. When I was younger, I didn’t like everything around art. I liked art but not the galleries, and I did not go to art school. I didn’t even take art in high school, and didn’t even start making a lot of art until I was in my 30s.

I got into art through music, designing record covers and t-shirts, as well as painting sets for music videos. Doing that is what led me to painting and drawing.

JY

What were the bands that first inspired you?

SB

I was really into underground queercore, riot grrrl, and punk music. Ever since high school.

I was in a bunch of bratty punk bands, including Gravy Train!!!! There was an article about us in the paper that said, “It’s not musical talent that’s making Gravy Train an international sensation.” (laughs) I never even took myself that seriously as a musician. I just was into making music.

After Gravy Train!!!!  I started a band called Hunx and His Punx, as well as did a few solo records. We were on a five-year hiatus, but we’re releasing our first album in 12 years in August. I’ve always done music, and I feel like I always will.

JY

You mentioned being inspired by queercore. Would you identify your music in that same genre or coming out of that legacy? A lot of your work, both in music and art, often pays homage to queer history and community.

SB

It’s important to remember our past as well as let younger queer kids know about things that might not have been on their radar. I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt drawn to pay respect to that. I love old gay-bar advertisements and matchbooks and stuff like that. It’s fun to re-create them in a wonky kind of fashion.

JY

What led you to make your visual art, since you didn’t go to art school or take art classes in high school?

SB

It was through designing and painting album covers, sets for music videos, and band shirts. I started getting really into that, and then my friend was like, “Hey, why don’t you make t-shirts that are not for your band? Maybe everyone doesn’t like your band, but they would like your drawings.”

Then I started Wacky Wacko, which is clothing and things, and I began painting celebrities, or whatever subject excited me, and making them funny. From there I got really obsessed with drawing, and I took this painting class with all these old ladies that was really fun. That led me to take a ceramics class. It was a wheel class, and I was terrible at it. I hated it. Instead, I took the clay and made perfume bottles and toothbrushes. One thing just led to the next.

JY

You have a number of collaborative projects that you do as part of Wacky Wacko. How do you approach collaborations?

SB

It is mostly me being a fan of people’s work and asking them. We did a shirt recently with Cole Escola, who I’ve known for a while. I saw some of their high school drawings of Liza Minnelli chasing cheese and I thought that was funny, and I asked them to do something with me. A lot of the time Wacky Wacko does collaborations with my friends–sometimes I’ll see their art and think, “This would be cool on a t-shirt.”

The work I did with John Waters was through the Academy Museum because they did a big exhibition on his films. As we worked together, I asked him if he would want to do some stuff through my own thing. John said yes.

JY

How has Wacky Wacko evolved over the years?

SB

Not so much. (laughs) I feel like if I put everything into it, I could make it a bigger thing. But I get burnt out, so I keep it pretty casual. I just like to make stuff, and I don’t know why. I’ve always been interested in merchandise ever since I went to Keith Haring’s store when I was a kid. My uncle took me there. I think it’s cool when artists make something that’s accessible for you to buy and take home–a lot of people can’t afford a $10,000 painting.

I also have always been drawn to sloppy imperfect stuff and wonky recreations. It’s not like I’m some classically trained painter who’s faking bad art. For me, it’s more about the creation and having some level of joy in what I make. I’m also not a Virgo. (laughs)

JY

Since galleries turned you off when you were younger, how did you start having your work shown in them?

SB

My first show of that kind was in a place called 356 Mission in LA. It was started by Laura Owens and my friend Wendy Yao, who does Ooga Booga. They saw all the sculptures and paintings I had been secretly working on and asked me to do a show. I was pen pals with Wendy in high school.

That was just such a lovely, incredible experience. They were so supportive and amazing that I was like, “I love the art world!” Then I had a show with this absolute monster, who left LA after stealing money from artists and way, way, way, way worse stuff.

I’ve had a real mixed experience since then. Mostly assholes, to be honest, but there are some decent people. I feel like, when money’s taken out of the equation, the curators can be way nicer and more excited. Recently, I’ve been working with the people at the California Biennial, and the three curators doing that show have been lovely and amazing. I’m trying to trust my instincts and not work with assholes anymore.

JY

You mentioned always being interested in celebrities and Hollywood. There is a history of that in art, from Warhol to John Waters. Why do you think those have appealed to you?

SB

Because I’m gay? (laughs) I don’t know. I’ve just always liked it, even though I actually hate a lot of celebrity culture in Hollywood. People being desperate to be famous and all that. But I am drawn to glitz, glamor, and showbiz. I love dressing up and being stupid. I don’t know why I’m drawn to it, I just am.

JY

Since you didn’t go to art school and come from a punk mentality, do you recommend that for younger people?

SB

I’m so grateful that I grew up in a queer punk place that was full of feminism because I learned to do shit for myself and not wait around for someone to say yes or give me a budget. I don’t think you have to spend a ton of money to be creative.

And I definitely don’t think you have to go to school. I went to beauty school. I was a hairdresser when I was in bands. I kept doing it until I started Wacky Wacko. I could be creative and work only a couple days a week. But, ultimately, I’ve learned the best thing you can do is just make things and get them out into the world. My biggest advice is to not let anything stop you in doing that. Don’t let total scammers who treat artists terribly stop you because they happen to have a gallery, a label, or whatever. A lot of artists end up accepting being treated that way. Maybe they’ve spent so much on art school, and they think it is their only opportunity. Trust yourself and your instincts of who you want to work with and what you want to do. That is a punk attitude that I was lucky to end up with early on. I thank queercore for that.▪︎

Explore Seth Bogart's work here or dive in the many pleasantries for sale at Wacky Wacko.

In Southern California? Experience their work in person as part of the 2025 California Biennial: Desperate, Scared, But Social on view June 21,2024–Jan 4, 2026.