Fashion Imitates Art, Art Imitates Life & MSCHF Imitates It All

Gabriel Whaley is probably the most influential artist you've never heard of. He is the modern-day Jean-Michel Basquiat.

That might sound like a compliment, but it's not. Basquiat is a product of the neo-liberal Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. That period spawned some hideous works of art. One half of the graffiti duo SAMO, the Brooklyn native is responsible for paintings resembling work from a third-grade art class. Because of Basquiat's skin color, non-black art critics were afraid to push back against his work out of fear of being called racist.

Basquiat died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at the age of 27.

The void left by Basquiat has now been filled by Gabriel Whaley.

Whaley's company, MSCHF (pronounced "mischief"), is the mastermind behind the oversized red boots going viral on social media. It is a self-described art collective based in Brooklyn, NY. Every project the company is involved in has one goal: to go viral online.

It started with the Nike Air Max Jesus Shoes, equipped with a gold figurine depicting Jesus on the cross and "holy water" infused near the soles.

Then came a bong that squeaks when it is being smoked. Puff the Squeaky Chicken, it was called.

More infamously came the custom Nike Air Max Satan Shoes, which feature a plethora of demonic elements: black and red color scheme, crimson ink near the soles, which they call "blood", embroiderings of "666" and "Luke 10:18", the Bible verse that reads, "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven"; An inverted cross on the tongue tab, a gold medallion of the pentagram, which can also be found drawn on the floor of the MSCHF headquarters. In addition, the box imposes an image of Buer, a demon found in 16th-century witchcraft books. The footwear garnered national attention from an advertising campaign with Lil' Nas X, the gay rapper who gave the devil a lapdance in his "Industry Baby" music video.

Most recent are the large red boots that look like they belong on PacMan's feet. They were actually inspired by another cartoon character, Astro Boy. Originally a Japanese character known as Mighty Atom, Astro Boy is a humanoid robot created by the Ministry of Science. He lives in a fictional futuristic world where robots and humans coexist. Astro Boy fights crime using his superpowers, including flight, super strength, high IQ, and various built-in weapons.

Considering the explosion of AI developments in recent years, I can't help but notice how timely these Astro Boy-inspired shoes are.

Whaley was born to a Korean mother and a Caucasian father, who served in the military. He was raised on a North Carolina farm with no television or internet access. He attended Westpoint, where he slid a copy of The Communist Manifesto onto his bookshelf to see if his instructors would notice. After dropping out, Whaley attended the University of North Carolina and later moved to New York.

Gabriel is a nihilistic abstract expressionist art dealer. He said it himself a couple of years ago. "Our perspective is everything is funny in a nihilistic sort of way."

The expressionist art movement is a co-opted CIA-backed propaganda program.

It started during The Cold War under President Harry Truman's administration to curb communism worldwide. First, the Central Intelligence Agency set up a division called the Propaganda Assets Inventory, which had influence over newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and other forms of media. Then, in 1950, they constructed the Congress for Cultural Freedom (later named the International Association for Cultural Freedom) to help fund projects like an animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm and the Boston Symphony.

The CCF contracted the Rockefeller's Museum of Modern Art to host prominent art shows. They spearheaded art exhibits in other NATO countries like Australia and Europe.

As communist idealogy infiltrated the United States, this CIA program was turned on its head. What once was a weapon to stop the spread of communism became a weapon for the Soviet Union's avant-garde. Our government started funding and promoting ugly and debaucherous art. Basquiat got his first big break in the art industry through Fashion Moda, an art space in the Bronx that received annual government endowments.

Gabriel Whaley naming his company MSCHF, which means "wickedness or evil", is a microcosm of the state of our society. Mischief sells. It sells because sin is easy. Sin requires no effort or discipline. Mischief embodies Aleister Crowley's "Do What Thou Wilt" mantra.

We are encouraged to give in to our childish ambitions. That's why McDonald's is selling adult happy meals. It's why going to work, paying your bills, and taking care of other responsibilities is called "adulting". It's why American fashion is equipped with cartoonish characters, large letters, gaudy designs, odd symbols, and ornate patterns. We then accessorize with big hats, extravagant jewelry, and, now, large rubber shoes. It is escapism from the realities of the world.

Coming off the heels of the Super Bowl, even our sports gear is adult escapism.

I'm talking about myself, as well. I certainly own a few of the items mentioned above. I own a Kyrie Irving jersey, although that was a political statement more than a fashion one.

Fashion affects our psyche. And the country's psyche is in retched shape right now. Our clothing conveys nonverbal cues about our personality, social status, and mood. What would you think about me if I was wearing a pair of cartoonishly large red boots the first time you saw me? You should think I was a complete buffoon.

"Something interesting that I have observed is the common thread of people who have been reaching out saying how much they need, or look forward to the MSCHF drops even more now," Whaley said during a video interview with The Verge. "There's nothing to do. People are just bored."

I gotta give it to Whaley. He's a straight shooter. That's precisely how the bureaucrats, government types, corporate overlords, and purveyors of meaningless junk see us. Bored. Killing time until something happens, someone throws a ball, or dances on stage, or someone makes something shiny that catches our eye that we want to waste money on.

When our mind strays, the devil plays.

If our minds stray too long, we might get our country into a situation we can't get out of, like people can't get their feet out of those dumb boots.

Whaley, just like Basquiat, is a communist foot soldier fighting in the trenches against American values. Big red boots and all.