'Quentin vs. Coen' artists depict characters, moments

Skip the deadly foot massages and equally dicey coin tosses and go straight to the Big Kahuna Burgers and bowling alleys of the new weird, way-out-West fever dreams. Then wake up and smell the return of Spoke Art's moviemaker-tribute group exhibit, "Quentin vs. Coen." It's an enterprise that drew the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" brudders themselves in its last incarnation in New York City three years ago.

Consider it a franchise, rather than simply a sequel, and in line with Spoke's other filmmaker-tribute outings, a la its Halloween-time Wes Anderson shows.

"What I love about this particular theme is that, though the directors are markedly different, they also bear some interesting similarities," e-mails gallery owner Ken Harman. "Both have done Westerns recently, both employ Steve Buscemi regularly, and both have an uncanny ability to put together a great soundtrack."

Among the more than 60 artists reimagining their favorite characters and moments in their favorite Quentin Tarantino and Coen brothers films via painting, sculpture, prints and digital works is Worcester, Mass., artist Veronica Fish, who contributed a take on "No Country for Old Men" death dealer Anton Chigurh, who was played by Javier Bardem. The killer gets a hit of Western iconography, hollow-eyed and ablaze with sunset pinks and purples.

As Fish sees it, "If you compare (the Chigurh) character to other famous Western villain archetypes, he totally fits the mold. Like (Western film actor) Lee Van Cleef, he's got a distinctive style (love the silly haircut and huge lapels), but ultimately he's a force of nature that does and takes whatever he wants."

Another cinematic hit man with more than a touch of the philosopher, Jules Winnfield of "Pulp Fiction," inspired Bruce White. He paints the Samuel L. Jackson character on black velvet, a medium with kitsch associations akin to Tarantino's lowdown literary sources and here depicted as being as warmly approachable as a velvety soft Jesus. It's one of two pieces by White - the other being Pam Grier's Jackie Brown, the title character of White's Tarantino favorite.

"I think it's interesting how Tarantino has taken the genre picture and kind of elevated it, made it more accessible and a little more mainstream but sort of keeping that edge, that grind house feel," White says from Chapel Hill, N.C.

Taking the wide-screen perspective, Harman believes these pop-culture tribute shows are an antidote to art world elitism. It also gives the artists a way playfully engage with the movies that have affected them, as with New Jersey artist Cuddly Rigor Mortis' "Shut Up Donny," an anthropomorphizing fantasy spinning off "The Big Lebowski."

"It's a wonderful commentary on life, isn't it?" she says fondly of the film. "Take life as it comes, and push back a bit if it doesn't go your way."

If you go

Quentin vs. Coen: Opening 6-10 p.m. Saturday. Through July 26. Noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Spoke Art, 816 Sutter St., S.F. (415) 796-3774. www.spoke-art.com.

Kimberly Chun shakes and bakes in the East Bay. E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kimberlychun