■
Meet Israeli Sculptor
Itzik Benghalom
and view his internationally recognized
Bronze Interlocking Sculptures
,
Hanging Around
Pop artistoy Lichtenstein,
the man v,,,ho parlayed hot dogs
and comic-strip nymphs into
icons in the '60s, never lost his
wry sense of humor. Nor did he
lose his knack for crafting a
cliche into a body of work, as
the Museum of Contemporary
Art in Chicago blueprints in a
new exhibit devoted to the
artist's last major venture.
The old adage "Home, Sweet
Home" gets hammered here, and
good. "Roy Lichtenstein:
Interiors," open through Oct.
10, satirizes '80s excess via 51
cartoon canvases and drawings
of living rooms as phony as
movie sets. Even the air seems
starched around each bright-
This icon of 20th-century art is on display at
hued chair and sofa organized in
Birmingham's David Klein Gallery.
rigid lines. No cereal bowl, TV
Guide or other flotsam of
what would be his last major series.
human life litters these soulless show-
Dorothy Lichtenstein said her hus-
rooms. Needless to say, welcome mats
band was spurred by lavish full-color
are conspicuous by their absence. Even
spreads of private homes in magazines
the roaring blaze in the fireplace in
like Architectural Digest. The pop artist
Interior with Bonsai Tree (1991) looks
decreed Yuppie designer digs "bland"
icy formal.
and "inhuman."
"They're places you could live in —
"He wanted people to get the joke,"
but wouldn't want to," noted MCA
she said. Their own studio/home, a
director Robert Fitzpatrick, who curated
one-time ironworks in New York, was
the show with the artist's widow,
cozy with overstuffed furniture and
Dorothy. "These are fairly cold,
unread books and newspapers, mostly
mechanical. There's nothing intensely
mine," she laughed. "There were paint
personal in them. But it's warm how
drops on things, too."
Roy invites you in [to explore]," he said.
Show highlights include a full-size
Lichtenstein was born to Jewish
maquette for House I (1997), a car-
parents, Milton and Beatrice (Werner)
toonish cutout of a home with a slop-
Lichtenstein, in October 1923 on
ing roof that the pop guru dubbed his
New York's Upper West Side. His
guesthouse. The massive painting Large
father was a prosperous realtor. The
Interior with Three Reflections (1993) is
younger Lichtenstein earned his bach-
a two-triptych canvas where one side
elor and master of fine arts degrees at
reflects the other like a mirror, blurring
Ohio State University.
the boundaries between art and reality.
Before he died at age 74 in 1997,
What kind of people would actual-
Lichtenstein devoted his last decade to
ly want to live in these
domestic follies? Sly
hints abound that
Lichtenstein viewed
museum-going art col-
lectors as prime sus-
pects.
Several of the stuffi-
est rooms feature works
by himself or colleagues
like Andy Warhol.
When human figures
do turn up, they are as
anonymous as their
9 V
is, i i ii
itos) /*/ surroundings. In Nude
with Yellow Flower
I
(1994), a blond refugee
Roy Lichtenstein: "Home, Sweet Home," at the Chicago
from a romance comic
Museum of Contemporary Art.
wears a look of polite
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and special guest
Moshe Bronstein
advocate for the Center for Autistic Children in Tel Aviv
rtiday, September 24,1999
Saturday, September 25,1999
Sunday, September 26,1999
Noon to dusk
622 Vinewood Avenue • Birmingham, Michigan
Downtown Birmingham
Two blocks north of Maple, west off old Woodward.
Hosted by Dorothy and Dr. David Digkin.
a
Sculptures will be available for purchase and
percentage will be donated to the Center for Autistic Children.
Other contributions will be donated in their entirety.
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