Nurses and Accessories Who Love Them
The Richard Prince show is a hard-on for any bitter pop culturist. But please, don’t be ashamed to go. Take the headset, pay the entry, wind your way to the top, and be thankful that you’re not surrounded by NYU students pumping fists to rock remixes that reverberate from floor to ceiling.
Many know of Richard Prince from the “Marlboro Man” series, or similar re-appropriated print ads that shook up the art world in the early 80’s. The Guggenheim’s current retrospective, Spiritual America, is the largest collection of Prince’s work to date, tastefully mixing multiple series’ of work throughout the curved hall. The first work one sees, the “Jokes” series, hang impressively in muted, delicate color, setting the tone for the dry cynicism of Americana so prevalent in his work.
The highlight of the tour was all the way up top, where the four walls enclosing the viewer were stocked with sultry femmes of the “Nurses” series. Drenched in pulp iconography of their original book cover form, the familiar imagery blends perfectly with darks brush strokes to create a haunting effect that is equally stimulating and creepy.
Digging around for more info about the title and dates of his work, I came across this article from a 2005 issue of New York Magazine, in which Prince hints at what designers and brands have the “art look” he is so obsessed with. Despite the cross-over trend in art/music/fashion at the moment, and that everyone in New York seems to know everyone else, I wasn’t expecting to see this.
