By the time you get to the launch of the annual ArtPrize Lecture Series -- still my favorite part of the event -- you are ready to sit down and exhale as someone else does the talking.
But who could have guessed the first lecture would come from a man who created sculpture celebrating rush (not the band -- see your gay friends), a piece titled, “Contemporary Art Hates You (…And Your Family Too)," or who has referred to himself as the “filth elder” of culture (solidified right at the start by having a drag queen eat fresh dog poop at the end of his first movie, Pink Flamingos).
When John Waters arrives in Grand Rapids to perform his much-celebrated one-man show, "This Filthy World," at the Civic Theatre, his reputation will precede him.
But lest you think he is simply an opportunist of bad culture, you better think again. He has not only put in the time cinematically creating such American gems like Polyester, Serial Mom and Hairspray, but he came out as a keen eye for contemporary art with his lampooning of such a world (along with getting art stars to make cameos) in Pecker.
"This Filthy World" is an odd choice for a festival that just gave the giant Jesus a quarter of a million dollars, but then again, are any of us shocked at the events of the last year, which includes many brow raising moments like Snookie giving birth?
The stage show is raunchy, but good fun for those with a fine-tuned sense of humor. Please note as well that while he has released this performance on DVD, he tours the country rotating this show between four versions. So roll the dice, the odds are in your favor. Just watch what you put in your mouth-- he is a trickster, after all.
Others joining the roster of speakers at ArtPrize include artist and cultural planner Theaster Gates, Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine Jerry Saltz, Alison Gass, curator of contemporary art at the new Eli and Edyth Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, and Elaine Tin Nyo, a conceptual artist who has kept a studio and kitchen in New York since 1984.
Admission: $17. John Waters’ "This Filthy World," other lectures are free.
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