Gallery owner is hanging it up

Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 | 7:58 a.m.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Gallery Au Go-Go, 4972 S. Maryland Parkway

Admission: Free

Information: 597-1549

It began with "Tattoos and Trash," an exhibit of works by tattoo artists that opened at the Funk House after a successful showing in Pomona, Calif.

Then Dirk Vermin, a Las Vegas tattoo artist and the event's organizer, got an idea.

He opened Gallery Au Go-Go, a small space adjacent to his PussyKat Tattoo at Tropicana Avenue and Maryland Parkway and brought in a string of shows. Among them were "White Trash Paradise," "Mondo Erotica" and "Noche De Las Calaveras."

The work was diverse. Themes varied, as did subject matter. The exhibit always ended at the Double Down Saloon where Vermin's band, the Vermin, would perform.

Wine and cheese was something for the other galleries. Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and baloney sandwiches were served at "White Trash Paradise." Cookies and punch were served at "Refrigerator Art," an exhibit of children's art.

"Mondo Erotica" opened with a limited showing because of the tension between Vermin and Clark County. The annual Halloween exhibit was rife with skulls, skeletons, demons and monsters, vivid coloring and rich designs. Only this year, the Halloween show didn't happen. Vermin canceled it.

"The gallery has worn it out its welcome in my life," Vermin said. "I'm still going to be hosting art events in the city. It's just that people are not coming around like they used to. We're not the only game in town."

Besides, he said,"I lost a lot of money, especially in the past year."

The gallery will close Saturday with the one-night exhibit, "Gallery Au Go-Go Must Be Destroyed." Artists and revelers will arrive with their work, nail it to the wall and take it when they leave. The show's after-party will be at the Double Down.

"It's a nice way to say goodbye," Vermin said. "The walls will be covered. Every artist who has ever shown with me is going to be in the show."

Not everyone is as relieved as Vermin over the gallery's closing. Artist Keri Schroeder, whose exhibit "In the Kingdom of the Blind," a showing of traditional portraits of sideshow performers, is the last solo exhibit at the gallery and ends Wednesday.

"I'm going to miss it," Schroeder said. "I've been doing shows there for a long time. It was just anything goes. You could see a variety of art. He's helped out a lot of people by providing space."

Mark T. Zeilman, who had some of his first shows at Gallery Au Go-Go, along with artists Dray and Iceberg Slick, said he's going to miss the place.

"In just the short time it was open, he had some great shows there," said Zeilman, who now works out of MTZC studio in the Commerce Street Studios with artist Cybele.

"A lot of people who are making noise downtown showed there."

Slick's studio, 5ive Finger Miscount, is in the Arts Factory and shows similar underground or graffiti-style work that Vermin showed at Gallery Au Go-Go.

Regarding Vermin, Slick said, "I've tried to beg him not to close because Gallery Au Go-Go and the Arts Factory are the only two places you can show work like this.

"When we started 5ive Finger Miscount, there was no venue for low-brow or underground artists. He was the only one who would take a chance with us."

But Vermin, a Vegas boy, is funneling his creative energy into a book on the Las Vegas punk scene, in which he participated in during the late 1970s and early '80s.

The book profiles Las Vegas bands of that era: Subtrifuge, M.I.A, A.W.O.L., and Vermin's own The Vermin. Vermin also includes stories of punk bands that played Las Vegas, including Social Distortion's gig at Vegas World and a cantankerous visit by the Misfits.

"That decade was so important," Vermin said. "There was so much creativity. Everybody was putting out vinyl cassettes, KUNV was putting out local music and hosting events. You could hear your band on your way to work.

"The only one dumb enough to play punk rock (today) is me."

Vermin has amassed photos and interviewed musicians. He plans to have the book finished a year from now. In accordance with his do-it-yourself mentality, Vermin said he plans to self-publish the book.

Though Gallery Au Go-Go is closing, Vermin said he plans to curate occasional shows at galleries in the Arts District.

"The response has been almost enough to keep it going, but I've let it go mentally," Vermin said, referring to Gallery Au Go-Go. "The first few years it was my passion. I had big posters, big crowds."

Now, he said, "I'm moving onto bigger things."

Kristen Peterson can be reached at 259-2317 or at kristen@lasvegassun.com.