Tag: Hollywood’s Greatest Hits

Sprüth Magers is currently exhibiting two shows by two of the most notable creatives of the last forty years: Cindy Sherman’s “Tapestries” and John Waters’ “Hollywood’s Greatest Hits.” Though, if you’re anything like myself, one will leave you elated, and the other, deflated.

If you were hoping for a glowing review of Sherman’s new works, I’m sorry, because honestly, I’d recommend walking straight through it, up the stairs, and right into Waters’ exhibition. Sherman rehashes the same disguised self-portraiture concept she’s explored since the 1980s, this time “elevating” her Instagram posts by weaving (or having Flemish tapissiers weave) them into large tapestries. They’re works that—while stunning in their craftsmanship—are more clumsy than clever, though sure to thrill the postmodernist diehards.

“Hollywood’s Greatest Hits,” by contrast, holds some of the most engrossing art showing in Los Angeles today. The perpetual outsider, John Waters takes jabs at filmmaking, the art world, and his life throughout an array of sculptures, photographs, films, installations and more.

There are, as to be expected, the numerous references to death—a familiar theme for the noted provocateur. There is the darkly humorous In Shoulda! (2014), a piece which pairs photos of deceased starlets like Princess Diana and Whitney Houston with a movie poster declaring “She Shoulda Said ‘NO’!” There’s also the tragic and macabre Stolen Jean Genet, a copy of early activist and writer Jean Genet’s headstone.

But what’s most interesting is Waters’ exploration of his own life through his work. In 45 Days (2003), Waters assembles notecards on which he wrote daily to-do lists and the number of days since his last cigarette—now scratched through and completed. Organized in a massive collage, the note cards are not only the representation of Waters’ tireless creative efforts, but also become a chaotic, Twombly-esque abstraction. One can feel periods of greater stress and tension emanating from certain areas and times over others, the ink darker and obliteration more complete.

Overall—and as always—John Waters is not to be missed. He dances through the darkest parts of life with charm and wit, exchanging the deathly somber for the dearly sensitive.

Sprüth Magers
5900 Wilshire Blvd., LA, CA, 90036
Thru May 1, 2021; Appointment Only