United States of Nothing

Everything is going political -- Peter Wegner is taking on the desolate void he sees in America lately and turning it into a series of great works. Neon, too! I love neon, and especially the idea of artwork illuminating the space around it, not being able to be confined to frame restrictions. Even though he is one of the first contemporary artists I connected with, I've forgotten to mention his solo show at Griffin because I didn't [for once] attend the opening, so I suppose it slipped my mind. I wish they would stop mailing the same type of cards for every show -- heavy cardboard with block recess print. It's getting a bit boring. The open bar will have to compensate.

Peter's one of those wonderful zany Yale-educated artists, who, contrary to being tagged as conservative East Coast-ers, are products of one of the most revolutionary art departments anywhere. I particularly love his interest in color theory -- there just aren't enough of those artists around anymore, and it really showcases his strong background. I am getting terribly sick of hearing about the engineer/lawyer/accountant/whatever who woke up one day and decided to throw some paint down and convince the right people that it works. What ever happened to really studying the art form? The one thing, however, that dissapoints me time after time is the over-used referral to Ruscha, especially his Standards [I'm sorry to say, Peter did it here]. I almost feel that the artists who are educated in art history try to show off their knowledge a bit too much, instead of sticking to their pure creativity. And Ruscha is such an obvious choice. Inspiration should be more than just 50% from within.

Griffin's keeping this one open for more than another month -- much longer than most popular galleries keep a solo show -- but I think it will be time well-spent on one of their main stable artists. And I always trust Bill's judgement, he's a real genius with these things. And who wants to rush in Santa Monica?