Art Crumbs

Lisa Marie had her video installation reception last night at ICA (the Institute of Contemporary Art) which is located in West Philadelphia so that made it easy for me to walk over after work and people-watch rather than look at the pieces. Her video wasn't showing that night, so I'll go back to see it another time, but there was a video by a woman that featured her endlessly breaking through these walls with a heavy hammer and chopping at wood in a skirt. I didn't understand it and so decided it was dumb.

They're also exhibiting Robert Crumb's work. I went through six different phases of liking and hating him just in the process of moving from frame to frame. He's clearly talented and interesting, but then he has all of these violent and gross pieces like women stabbing each other while having sex with a strung out hippie or a hick chopping off the heads of chickens so he can have sex with them while they're wiggling. But then you also get the sense that he's making fun of a lot of the things that seem pretentious, like the extreme hippie culture . I wouldn't want to own anything of his (well, yes, of course I would if I could then sell it and keep the money), but I can see why people like him). I asked John what he thought and he said he's not really into illustration. I was like, Oh, right, illustration, since I tend to classify everything in the same way I did in elementary school. He does drawings, Van Gogh paints. Like that.

Met LM's friend who does have this sort of Clark Kent look about him. He was funny--looks kind of conservative but then once you start talking to him, he's wry and dark in a good way. Josh was there too. We waved. He was wearing a pastel button up shirt that reminded me of someone's dad. Another guy had on a red bandana jacket; like a giant, giant bandana made into a suit coat and he had his bangs pointed into a vee in the front of his head and wore a huge hoop earring in one ear. I guess he was going for some kind of pirate theme (success!). I am not made for an art scene or a drama scene or an artfully dramatic scene because I can't and don't compete to look the weirdest. Oh, that reminds me, some girl came over and started talking to us (she bummed a cigarette from me) and she wouldn't go away. She was new in town, I guess that's why she was so friendly. Even Clark couldn't get rid of her with his superpowers. We finally left to misbehave elsewhere.

I have yet another dental appointment in about an hour, this time at the oral surgeons. I just want it to be over.