Margot’s mascara-laden stare hit me from every angle of the Joseph Gross Gallery last night. Maybe it’s because we’re in New York – home of the Tenenbaums – that Gwyneth Paltrow’s doe-eyed enfant terrible is the face of this weekend’s sixth annual “Bad Dads” pop-up exhibit hosted by Spoke Art. Although, perhaps the more pertinent question is, why have there already been five Wes Anderson-inspired art exhibits to begin with?
(Photos: Rob Scher)
It’s hard to pin down precisely why so many people so dearly love Wes Anderson. Most likely it’s for similar reasons as to why others detest him. Anderson’s films are a series of carefully constructed dioramas, intricate moving paintings that at once inspire and repel fans and critics. For most, to enter Anderson’s world is to return to a warm, familiar place previously reserved for the realm of childhood imagination. Perhaps this is what drives the evident desire to inhabit his creations (or at least, cash in on that desire.)
Inspiring the maddest of art-hypes, “Bad Dads” has a staggering 59,000 people signed up on the Facebook event and, naturally, sold out weeks ago. With original pieces going for up to 800 bucks a pop, you’ve got to wonder whether old Wes is getting a piece of this action.
Steely cynicism aside, if anything the continued existence of “Bad Dads” is a sheer testament to Anderson’s singular creative force; an artist whose vision is so fully formed that his work readily inspires this kind of creativity. If you were one of those couple thousand disappointed fans to miss the boat—or perhaps considering a venture into the lucrative Anderson art game— click through the above slideshow to see what you missed/could potentially be selling for mad dollar next year.
(photo: Rob Scher)
Rhys Cooper “Felicity” & “Agatha”
