Free Radical

Imagine you're famous for being an insensitive, lazy, exploitive jerk. Some contemporary artists find themselves in that very position -- their works earn favor because of talent and insight, but critics yap about "offense" and "misogyny" and "crappy technique," forgetting that every great artist was once a rule-breaker, dissed in...

By Julie Peterson

April 9, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Imagine you're famous for being an insensitive, lazy, exploitive jerk. Some contemporary artists find themselves in that very position -- their works earn favor because of talent and insight, but critics yap about "offense" and "misogyny" and "crappy technique," forgetting that every great artist was once a rule-breaker, dissed in his or her own time.

Time will tell -- but we choose to appreciate David Salle now, at the free lecture "An Aptitude for Metamorphosis" at Phoenix Art Museum. The New York scenester and world-class iconoclast will interpret his own quarter-century of postmodern painting, which spurred controversy galore back in the day.

Also on the program is Eric Fischl, an alumnus of Phoenix College who will present PC's 2009 Student Art Awards.

Image credit: David Salle, Angels in the Rain, 1998, (c) David Salle / licensed by VAGA, NY NY.
Tue., April 14, 7 p.m., 2009

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Julie has written for the Night & Day events calendar section since 2005. As a student at Arizona State, she received the Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Creative Writing Award and the Theatre Medallion of Merit.

Contact: Julie Peterson