There's something about Wayne Thiebaud's pictures that cause some kind of weird sensory cross-over...I can almost taste the paint with my eyes. I've come dangerously close to drooling, even standing in front of one of his landscapes. I suppose it has a lot to do with his impasto technique and his candy-colored palette. Mmm tasty paint.
March 2003 Archives
I really, really, like Michael Crespo's work. He's an artist and professor in Baton Rouge, and, well, just please see for yourself. Meditative. And please go to any gallery that shows his work (I know he's represented by the McMurtrey Gallery in Houston and the David Lusk Gallery in Memphis).
My all-time favorite art/culture critic hero has got to be the man, the wonder, the Vegas institution - Dave Hickey. In an interview with a college journalist several years ago, he told her, "I have a kind of electric meat theory about the human condition, and I am spiritual as snot." You have to appreciate anyone who has this outlook on life.
I first read his Invisible Dragon in college, and it was the first time it occurred to me that you can write about art and museums and history and not sound like an elitist gas bag (*cough*Clement Greenburg*cough*). Ever since, I've been an avid fan of his work, and more interested in art criticism in general.
Also see Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy, and for more fluffy fun, Stardumb (with John deFazio).
