David Art Wales

David Arthur Wales, a.k.a. David Wales or David Art Wales (born 6 February 1964, Sydney) is an Australian entrepreneur and artist best known for creating satirical cult figure Guru Adrian.[1] He has been involved in collaborations with artist Keith Haring and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.[2]

Wales has been called "the father of the Noughties”[3] in relation to his role as founder of Project Naughtie, a campaign to name the decade of 2000–2009 the "Naughties".[4][5]

1980s

At the age of nineteen, Wales launched his first business, Nice Enterprises,[6] described as "the world's first mail order flattery service." A year later, he co-published Fatplastiscene magazine, the first issue of which is in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia.[7] In 1986 Wales became a host of the ABC TV show Edge of the Wedge.[8]

During the 1980s he was a frequent contributor to Australian radio station Triple Jay, providing commentary on pop-cultural issues, including a live report from Berlin as the Berlin Wall fell, and a comic strip featuring Guru Adrian for the station's fanzine, Alan.[9]

1990s

Wales moved to New York to become a painter in 1989 and spent the 1990s showing at various Manhattan and Australian galleries, including Roslyn Oxley 9 and Sherman Galleries.[10][11][12] During this time he also worked on content creation projects for MTV, Fox and Disney. Several companies, including Hanna Barbera, Fox Television, and MTV, have optioned Guru Adrian with a view to building a television show around the character; however, each project was eventually shelved.[13]

In 1998 Wales and Australian dancer Catherine Hourihan launched the Red Vixen Burlesque,[14] a popular downtown New York attraction that is now seen as an early progenitor of the burlesque revival movement.[15]

Naughties

In 1999 Wales initiated Project Naughtie,[4] a grassroots campaign to name the 2000s decade the "Naughties".[16][17] A December 2009 article referred to Wales as the “father of the Noughties”.[3]

That same year, Wales became Cultural Forecaster for Toyota,[18] tracking and predicting trends for the automaker's design division.[19] In 2000 he launched Ministry of Culture, a research, strategy and content creation firm.

In 2008, Wales and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock launched the website Cinelan, described by The Hollywood Reporter as a "film content publisher."[20]

More recently, Ministry of Culture has created a viral campaign claiming to resurrect an ancient Welsh temperance movement called Prudent Boozers.[21][22]

References

  1. ↑ The Face, Sept 1987 | Save the Wales
  2. ↑ Variety, Wed 2 February 2008 | Directors Back Distributor Cinelan
  3. 1 2 A decade for rebellion and unsung heroes Archived 14 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 Campaign fights for decade to be named the 'naughties'
  5. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, 29 December 1999 | Out Go Nineties, Hello Naughties?
  6. ↑ Sunday Telegraph, 13 November 1983 | It’s Nice Work – And He’s Got it
  7. ↑ UNKNOWN | Fatplastiscene editorial sheet [recto] part of Fatplastiscene issue No.1
  8. ↑ Stiletto magazine, date unknown 1986 | The Wedge
  9. ↑ Alan An Interview with David Art Wales: Designer of Triple Jay Fanzine, Alan
  10. ↑ The Weekend Review, 6 June 1992 | Skeletons for the Human Insect
  11. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald / Good Weekend, Sept 5 1998 | A Job for the Guru
  12. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald / Good Weekend, Sept 5 1998 | A Job for the Guru
  13. ↑ Who, 7 July 1994 | Guru Adrian Wows Hanna-Barbera
  14. ↑ The New York Times, 4 October 1998 | Burlesque’s Back, a Step Ahead of the Law
  15. ↑ Arts & Books: New York Diary: Post-modernism for perverts | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET
  16. ↑ Steve Silberman: Here Come 'The Naughties', Wired 30 November 1999
  17. ↑ ABC Radio, 5 January 2000 | Campaign fights for decade to be named the 'naughties' (transcript)
  18. ↑ Hunters of Cool Are in a Freeze
  19. ↑ Details, Apr 2001 | The Death of Cool
  20. ↑ Cinelan Nonfiction short films get new home
  21. ↑ Prudent Boozers: Nurse the 3rd!
  22. ↑ PSFK Interview: David Art Wales on Secret Societies | PSFK – Trends, Ideas & Inspiration
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