Angry Woebot
After hip-hop artist Aaron Martin, aka Angry Woebot, created his vicious-looking pandas, little did he know how popular his work would become - he was even invited to paint a portrait of President-elect Barack Obama. For internationally famed painter and artist Aaron Martin, aka “Angry Woebot,”
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work and returning home in a repetitive fashion. “After awhile I was making good money, but I felt like a robot,” he says.
Add the cold winter atmosphere of Seattle and his lack of family and loved ones, Martin was feeling, for lack of a better word, woeful. He needed a new alias in the graffiti world, so he put “woe” and “robot” together to make “Woebot.”
The “Angry” came later when he needed a catchier name for his first show. “I was like, ‘Woebot sounds boring,’” Martin recalls. “I was like, ‘You know what? Angry Woebot.’ And boom, there was the name for the show. And after that show, the name stuck.”
Woebot gone wild
The infamous pandas have led him all over the country for solo exhibitions, an appearance at the last Comic-Con in San Diego and a commission to paint the walls of the Spike TV design office with artists Peekaboo Monster and comic book artist Jim “Food One” Mahfood - he did work on film director Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob comics.
“The space was a whole floor from wall to wall - the elevator, bathroom doors, pillars - it was insane,” Martin recalls. “I painted themes from pop culture dealing with cult-classic movies to music artists, comic books and video game classics. It took a week to finish.”
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Martin also was invited to paint a portrait of President-elect Barack Obama in the Manifest Hope Gallery art exhibition at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last August. “That was a really big thing for me because a lot of people know me for painting the panda bears,” he says.
Martin’s work hung in a gallery with that of other internationally recognized artists such as David Choe, Andy House and San Flores. “I normally never paint humans, but when I painted (Obama’s) portrait, it was trippy. I kinda dug it, ya know?”
In addition to painting and designing clothing, Martin also paints and designs toys with toy companies Toy Cube, Monkey King and Split Obsession. “But I can’t get into detail about those,” he says, mentioning the toys will be available sometime next year.
On top of his local and national success, Martin is hitting it big overseas, getting media coverage in international toy magazines Clutter and Hi-Fructose Magazine, and has upcoming shows in Berlin, New Zealand and Tokyo. “I’ve done the toys and prints in the U.S., so I might try something new like backpacks or other kinds of apparel,” he says about his works in Tokyo.
Staying close to home
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With all the glamour and glory his art has brought him, Martin never forgets where he came from. He still paints at some live venues, designs apparel for local companies and teaches children how to paint at a local nonprofit.
“He’s actually wrapping up his first session, and he’s working with a group of about 10 to 12 kids,” says Nichole Kealoha, director of Diverse Art Center in downtown Honolulu. “He’s very inspiring to the kids. He has the ability to not just get them excited about what they’re there for, but he also has the ability to cause them to see that there is more to do with their gifts and their art.
“I think his work is amazing,” she continues. “I think he’s got a lot more in him than people have seen so far.”
As far as the future goes, when asked about when his next public show in Hawaii will be, Martin says he has no idea.“I’m so busy, man,” he says, listing a show with the Vinyl Toy Network and the Japanese Cultural Center, both in Los Angeles.
“The U.S. economy has been in a slump lately, but it’s been pretty good for me because I’ve been picking up clientele.”
As far as why he does what he does, Martin says he wants to connect with people. When asked to elaborate on that further, Martin laughs and says,“It’s hard to explain. Honestly, I’m not really that deep.”
For more on Martin or to view his work, visit www.zazzle.com/angrywoebot, www.artsprojekt.com and www.armyofsnipers.com.
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