Paul McCarthy is just one twisted dude. Sorry. We all love Walt Disney and really do not have any problems with his vision of America and storytelling. How many Angelinos get teary eyed reminising about sneaking onto Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island and having a smoke back in the day? Rite of passage. Huck Finn would have been proud.
So when McCarthy twists our beloved and classic wholesome tales into a huge shit fest it's a little upsetting. But ultimately very funny. Here's a nude and beautiful (bulbous nose notwithstanding) Snow White, on a fourposter bed slowly stretching. Woken up by guess what? Not a Handsome Prince's kiss but 7 little m..f..ckrs whacking off. Funny. Very Funny. TBS Funny.
Then she's cleaning the floor Cinderella style after an awful drunken parents party gone mad with pizza boxes, spilled vodka bottles and bathroom mistakes everywhere. Uncle Johnny impaled on a broomstick in the rec-room? Well, he did kind of deserve it, really. The gift shop has a vacuum cleaner abandoned in miduse, a lot of Disney dolls re-purposed with Paul Walt signatures on them. We like this idea much better than anything Jeff Koons has ever manufactured. The show sticks with you like gum on your shoe
The sets are made up of huge colorful flowers, jungle overgrowth, redwood pathways and neat 50's lighting on a random San Fernando Valley tract home. Absolutely georgeous. He took over the entire 67th St Armory on Park. Way to go, Paul McCarthy!
Now for Dullsville U.S.A. The Guggenheim take over by James Turrell is another grand idea. We all love James Turrell for the spiritual, time sensitive light shows. He has an amazing way with subtle light changes much like the aurora borealis. Mesmorizing really. The desert sky creeping over with rose to evening satin blue/purples.
But standing in the Guggenheim rotunda, why do we feel we are in a Greyhound Station in Tucson? The only difference here is we are missing the great feeling of relief when our bus finally pulls in.
Yes, you do meet the nicest people on a bus. But watch out for your stuff when you get up to go to the lavatory. Guaranteed, some one will mess with your backpack left on the seat. No airplane trip here.
Save the energy going through the Guggenheim rabbit warren upstairs. Just dumb squares of light in the corners of the rooms. Very boring.
Just because you can command the entire Guggenheim exhibit space, doesn't mean you should. Nobody has ever tamed a Frank Lloyd Wright building. He famously hated art and especially disliked sculpture. He said something like "...sculpture is the stuff you bump into when you step back to look at bad paintings" Architecture again triumphs over art.
The Guggenheim.