Pop Life in the Capital

The exhibition Pop Life: Art in a Material World is in it's final days at the National Gallery of Canada (on loan by London's Tate Modern). Mirth wanted to do a post on the attraction sooner – however, the angle never felt right.

Mirth visited the installation a few times and has mixed reviews about the collection. Those who visited the gallery with the hopes of seeing exceptional pieces by the featured artists left the gallery disappointed.

The show is about the artists' extravagant lifestyles and personal celebrity aspirations, and less about the art itself. Some pieces looked very cheap and out of context in person. Exceptions to this are Takashi Murakami's "Lonesome Cowboy (photo below)" and Jeff Koons' silver "Rabbit". Those pieces are pure eye candy. Nevertheless, Mirth mainly regards Koons' art as irrelevant in general.

The selected artists adhered to Andy Warhol's marketing strategy that "good business is the best art". There might be more to that adage than meets the eye. Artists need to be particularly savvy in business or marketing if they want to go beyond the middleman's lair, like Keith Haring achieved with his infamous Pop Shop. That could also be the main message of Andrea Fraser's work – that artists need to whore their art themselves in order for them to pocket what it's really worth. A pretty poignant message, though the exhibition lacked substance or visual consistency.

Mirth's biggest disappointment was the gallery's use of space and layout, especially with regard to some of the most prominent artwork. For example, Murakami's sculptures were displayed in a tiny separate room, and it was impossible to walk around them.

The exhibit had lots of Warhol, but did not include his greatest pieces. Although, it was nice to see some of the Jean-Michel Basquiat collaborations with Warhol. The expo barely had any Haring originals (aside from samples of past merchandise) and that made Mirth feel sad, especially considering that the earthquake that shook central Canada on June 23rd took place just as Mirth was first entering the rad replica of Haring's Pop Shop. Mirth stood in the threshold entrance with a security guard while the building shook. Was Haring trying to say something from beyond? Were the Muses expressing their chagrin? Work by other featured artists in the exhibit that I haven't already mentioned was simply blah (including Damien Hirst), although reading their bios and artist manifestos was an intriguing exercise.

Mirth is not doubting the merit of the art presented nor questioning the artists featured. It might have been different if the concept of "pop art" would have taken the forefront rather than the deeper "pop life". Artists like Touko Laaksonen, Peter Blake, Herb Ritts, and Steven Klein could have easily found their place on the floor.

Apparently, this is the exhibition's only North American stop (one wonders why conservative Ottawa over Montreal or Toronto?). Mirth might see the show again before it moves on, as all those personalities do have their place in art's recent history.

The show ends September 19th.