Culture Surfing - Maxwell Sebastian opens up

Twenty-eight-year-old self-taught painter Maxwell Sebastian has counted squats, park benches and cars among his living quarters, but hardscrabble experience seems to have served him well. Sebastian has shown his impressive figurative paintings at Eyedrum, Apache Cafe and the Spruill Gallery, and Nov. 3, from noon to 10 p.m., all comers can take a look at his work during the Mattress Factory Studios’ open-studio event (MySpace.com/MattressFactoryStudios).

Artnews listserv: “The greatest arts resource in the world. Whenever I get drunk and need to write an embarrassing e-mail, that’s where I go. It’s great for Atlanta art gossip, hookups and something else ... I don’t remember ... something art-related, I think.”

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: “The only thing I can listen to when I paint. Possibly the greatest music ever made by human beings. I love this band.”

Andrei Tarkovsky: “The greatest movie I’ve ever seen besides Herzog’s Aguirre, the Wrath of God has got to be Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev.”

Taco night: “The Blue Frog in East Atlanta has $1 tacos on Monday and Tuesday nights. You will always find at least one art-world mover and shaker there drinking beer and eating these cheap delights. Crackhead wrestling, child labor and friends walking into glass Sid Vicious-style are a few of the highlights of this weekly ritual.”

Ree De La Vega: “She taught me how to flash my tits. Now I get in wherever I want. Works every time.”