Anything goes

Monday, March 31, 1997

The L.A. County Museum of Art’s eclectic collection of
contemporary prints proves that modern art can be about anything
­ a woodcut, a cardboard box or a personal revolution ­
to those willing to not only look at the art but to contemplate the
artist’s message.By Kristin Fiore

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Contemporary art has never been easy or widely popular ­ it
is filled with private symbols and unsettling ambiguities, and it
has limitless modes and expressions. Some works are deeply personal
and abstruse; some are overtly political and outspoken. None are
for the faint of heart or lazy of mind.

Those who would contest this or dismiss contemporary art with
the typical "I could’ve done that if I had thought of it" should
make their way to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Their "The
End of the Century: Prints Since 1970 From the Collection," on view
through May 18, captures the last quarter century of art at its
best and worst, highlighting its possibilities and contrasts
through some of its most notable artists ­ Andy Warhol, Roy
Lichtenstein, Willem De Kooning and Julian Schnabel, among many
others (though many of the most interesting works are by less
well-known artists).

The exhibit may not make contemporary art easier to digest, but
its incredible diversity of style and media will prove that modern
art has something to offer to nearly every taste and encompasses an
unprecedented array of talents. This breadth of scope ­ the
installation includes woodcuts, lithographs, mixed media and even
greeting cards ­ also makes the exhibit less cohesive. But,
ironically, the thread that holds the exhibit together is its very
lack of continuity. All of the works are fiercely individualistic
and express the modern art credo that there is no set definition of
art.

Like any decent modern art exhibit, all of the works challenge
viewers and force them to feel and think their way through the
works, not to merely look at and admire them. Consequently, many
works appeal to the mind more than the eye, and some works that
leave you cold and baffled may take the next viewer’s breath away.
For this reason, it is pointless to dismiss a mutated cardboard box
or obscure set of photomontages.

Some works may have more universal appeal, however, because they
strike political or emotional chords that resonate with many. Erika
Rothenberg’s "Greetings," a set of screen prints from 1993, are
greeting cards that Hallmark would never have the nerve to print,
though their sentiments ring more true than the maudlin drivel on
commercial cards. Their brightly colored, almost comical drawings
reveal more scathing comments on nativism, war and violence toward
women: "Sorry my country bombed your country … I want you to know
that I was against it" and "Something has been bothering me since I
raped you … Are you always such a lousy lover?"

However, most works are more inward and abstract, as are the
feelings they evoke. Edward Ruscha’s "Two Similar Cities" separates
two identical cities, represented only by a sprinkling of lights
(white dots), with a horizontal expanse of black night sky,
uninhabited land and mountains. An ominous red haze of pollution
rises from the horizon and casts the mountains in an eerie
silhouette.

In an age of Starbucks franchises and Internet internationalism,
cities truly do seem identical. And the loneliness and separation
the print evokes ­ as though you were observing the valley
from a Mulholland Drive 10,000 feet high ­ recalls the
separation people feel within cities as well as without. But the
print also brings a sense of peace, a contradiction common among
many of the pieces that are simultaneously positive and negative or
humorous and disturbing.

As if contradictions within a work weren’t enough, most of the
art is arranged to contrast sharply with whatever is next to it,
even though the works are grouped loosely into categories like
"Figure versus Abstraction," "Conceptual and Photo-Based Art" and
"The Originators of the Print Boom." Brightly colored works like
Frank Romero’s explosive "The Closing of Whittier Blvd." hang next
to black and white abstract drawings, emphasizing the comprehensive
reach of contemporary art. The styles, media, color schemes and
messages of the works are as individual as the artists
themselves.

Occasionally, one larger, powerful work dominates the room, as
with Roger Herman’s violent and shocking "Marat," which recreates
the famous subject of Jacques Louis David’s French Revolution-era
masterpiece "The Death of Marat." The sharp slices of red, black
and white accentuate the grains of this massive woodcut, whose
vivid colors, size and hard medium bring out the violence and chaos
of the subject and the turmoil of late-18th century France, as well
as the violence and confusion of modern times. Unlike David’s
romanticized version, this more abstract, biting portrait of a
slain revolutionary effuses disillusionment and anger.

Other works refer to earlier paintings but give them a witty,
contemporary twist. "Picasso’s Meninas" is a "Guernica"-style
distortion of Velasquez’s "Las Meninas," complete with a three-eyed
bull and eerie cameo by Picasso himself as the artist. Richard
Hamilton’s "Putting on De Stijl" uses the Dutch artist’s geometry
and color combinations of red, blue and yellow to pay him
homage.

Some areas of the exhibit will appeal to more traditional
tastes, such as Ruth Weisberg’s "Giacometti," which is as soft and
emotional as a Renoir and devoid of abstraction, or Frank Stella’s
abstract yet organized "Sinjerli" variations.

With the vast diversity of the exhibit, it is unlikely that
someone will like every piece, but it is less likely that someone
will find nothing moving or at least fascinating. From Warhol’s
"Mao Tse-Tung 10" to Sam Francis’ frantic "Meteorite," the exhibit
provides an introduction to the "masters" of the last 25 years. But
hopefully, museumgoers will come away with something more personal
than instructional.

ART: "The End of the Century: Prints Since 1970 From the
Collection" is on view at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
through May 18. Admission is $6 adults, $4 students and seniors.
For more info, call (213) 857-6000 or visit their Web site at
www.lacma.org.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

"Giacometti," by Ruth Weisberg, is on view in "The End of the
Century: Prints Since 1970 From the Collection."Los Angeles County
Museum of Art

"Bastos" by Robert Motherwell.Los Angeles County Museum of
Art

"Sinjerli Variation Squared with Black Ground III" by Frank
Stella.