There is certainly no more dynamic culture in the world today than youth culture
in America. “Youth Culture in America” is an exhibition
being created that will bring together and present some of the most egregious
external influences our kids encounter: from television, cartoons, popular music,
advertising, coloring books, peers, abusive teachers and parents, and so on. Some
of them are stamped with my opinions (on issues that range from gender stereotypes
to the marketing of drugs and sex to teenagers, to violence), and some of them
are presented as-is, a conglomeration of both original creations
and ready-mades, art and archeology.
The artworks for this show fall into three
basic types: illustration and interpretive illustration (a
sheet of Bevis and Butthead blotter acid; a gumball machine filled with
condoms, joints, and bullets), “connect-the-dots” pieces
(a child’s coloring
book page superimposed over the pages from an adult’s self-help
book) and macabre appropriations (the See-n-Say with explicit lyrics,
the Yosemite Sam piece, and the Pin the Bullet Hole on the Schoolboy
Game).
On the whole, this will be a show
of artistic editorials: topical, accessible and hopefully poignant.
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