Pop Touched Me: The Art of Rob Pruitt
Starred Review. Since he hit the scene in 1989, Pruitt has become one of the biggest names in pop art, as much a scene-maker as an artist. Stepping into the slot vacated by Andy Warhol, Pruitt is renowned for his amped-up enshrinement of ordinary things; even if the artist's glittery shipping boxes for Fleischmann's gin aren't an evolutionary leap from Warhol's Brillo pad boxes, they've proven just as popular. Amidst designer gravestones, vivid portraits of pop culture icons like Martha Stewart, glitter-bedecked panda bear murals, and a brief interview with Pruitt himself, a parade of quotes provide reasons that artists, beautiful people, and other glitterati love him; says Dutch artist Lily van der Stokker: "Your art is cheap and with very little content. I like that." Pruitt is legendary for his exhibitions-cum-parties; this volume features photos from his now-infamous "cocaine buffet" and his crowded, collaborative 1999 "Flea Market." For the conceptual artist in all of us, Pruitt has helpfully reproduced his list of "101 Art Ideas," including "make a painting with makeup," "vandalize your home with spray paint," "wear diapers," and "draw yourself into your favorite comic strip." It all coalesces into an enormously fun book that will encourage readers to pursue their artistic and hedonistic impulses, no matter how wild (or derivative).Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.