Artist Gary Baseman revels in guilty pleasures

As one of the founders of the L.A. underground art movement, Gary Baseman coined the term “pervasive art” and has continually blurred the boundaries of art and pop culture by delving into a variety of endeavors. They include creating art for the Cranium games, designing a line of vinyl toys, writing books, producing and writing the animated series “Teacher’s Pet” and designing Hobbs & Kent cuff links.

Inspired by his recent travels to Brazil, Italy, Thailand and Israel, his solo show “La Noche de la Fusion” will open Saturday at in Culver City.

Baseman, 48, recently shared his pop culture favorites with Liesl Bradner.

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HEAVY ROTATION ON YOUR IPOD:

In this tough time, I seem to listen to comfort music. I find myself picking music that celebrates the bittersweetness of life.

When I was doing a live Italian radio interview last year, they asked me to pick some of my favorite tunes to play. I chose songs like the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Set Free,” David Bowie’s “Quicksand,” the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love With a Girl,” Elvis Costello’s “Get Yourself Another Fool” and the Beatles’ “I’m a Loser.”

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SOUNDTRACK FOR YOUR COMMUTE:

I work from home, so there isn’t much of a commute. David Bowie’s album “Hunky Dory” is pretty much a soundtrack for my life. My staples are Radiohead, Beirut, Sigur Ros and Leonard Cohen. When I want to knock heads, I will put on Iggy Pop or my former Fairfax High classmates, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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ON THE BED STAND:

I don’t seem to find time to read. But the books I do have, I find myself drawing in. Most recently, I’ve been drawing in a 1920s book, “Sex Knowledge for Men.” I have been using the pages and drawing in colored pencil, juxtaposing the words with my images.

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TOP WEB DESTINATION:

Facebook. To keep up with the art scene, I love to visit sites like Arrestedmotion.com, Foryourart.com, Fecalface .com, Vinylpulse.com and The-flog.com.

I also use EBay. I have been collecting copies of “My Little Golden Book About God” from the ‘50s and drawing my Enlightened Chou character on the cover over and over again.

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GUILTY PLEASURE:

My whole life is filled with “guilty pleasures.” I seem to be an artist who does not want to grow up. I’ll admit it -- I listen to Coldplay.