Coop (artist)

{{Short description|American artist}}

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{{BLP primary sources|date=April 2007}}

{{BLP sources|date=May 2016}}

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{{Infobox person

| name = Coop

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| birth_name = Chris Cooper

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1968}}

| birth_place = Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

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| occupation = Hot rod artist

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Coop (real name Chris Cooper) is a hot rod artist working from Los Angeles. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1968, and describes his occupation as "Insensitive Artiste." His work consists primarily of barely clothed or nude Bettie Page-style 1950s soft pornography and B-movie monsters, with the female characters often taking the role of "Devil-Women". The image most often associated with his work however is the face of a grinning devil with a smoking cigar clamped in its teeth.

In 1991, pop artist Frank Kozik convinced Coop to expand into poster art. Coop has designed posters for rock bands such as Boss Hog, White Zombie, and Rocket from the Crypt,{{Cite web |last=Ashare |first=Matt |title=Poster Children |url=https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/07-18-96/mus.htm |date=July 18, 1996 |work=Tucson Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214225705/https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/07-18-96/mus.htm |archive-date=February 14, 2021 |access-date=May 29, 2023 |url-status=live }} as well as for the Reverend Horton Heat, Lords of Acid, MxPx, Green Day, Nirvana, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters. Coop has also provided art for several Sympathy for the Record Industry releases.

Coop is an avid hot rod enthusiast and well known amongst the Kustom Kulture community. He makes an annual appearance at the Mooneyes Xmas party.

He released a book in 2001 called Devil's Advocate: The Art of Coop,{{cite book|title=Devil's Advocate: The Art of Coop |publisher=Aperient Press |date=November 1, 2001 |ISBN=978-0-9712374-2-1}} which was given a 2002 Firecracker Alternative Book Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.readersread.com/awards/firecracker.htm|title=Firecracker Alternative Book Awards|work=ReadersRead.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304133738/http://www.readersread.com/awards/firecracker.htm|archive-date=Mar 4, 2009}} In 2004 he released The Big Fat One, containing 1008 pages of collected sketches, and has recently formed a collaboration with Hot Wheels to sell a series of miniature "Coop-Customized" hot rods. His latest book, Idle Hands, was published in 2012 by Baby Tattoo Books, and focuses on his fine art, dating from 2001 to 2012.