Klimt at the Cleaners
At left is a photo of the poster of The Kiss by Gustav Klimt on the side of the Custom Cleaners at Mockingbird and Abrams. Why is it newsworthy? It isn’t. But I’ve driven past the thing on my way to work countless times and always wondered if the words at the bottom explained why it’s there. I stopped by this morning. They don’t. If you click to enlarge, you’ll see the paragraph just gives a brief Klimt bio and that “If you search the internet for his name you will find over 235,000 sites.” I called Custom Cleaners to find out more about the poster. The woman who answered seemed thoroughly confused and didn’t know what I was talking about. I’d like to think it’s the work of a sophisticated, well-meaning graffiti artist looking to increase the art history knowledge of the general public. But I could be wrong.
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Adam, you and your cleaner have wonderful taste, and this is another example of synchronicity at work. About three weeks ago, CBS Sunday Morning ran a piece about Klimt and his work in honor of a current exhibit at the Neue Gallery in New York. http://www.neuegalerie.org/mai.....ey=english Saw it last week and recommend it to anyone who plans to be in NY before the end of June. From the gallery web site: “Gustav Klimt is an artist of paramount importance in the development of modern art,” said Ronald S. Lauder, President of the Neue Galerie. “He is central to our museum’s collection and mission.”
“Klimt’s work embodies the quintessence of fin de siècle Vienna: its richness, its sensuality, and its capacity for innovation,” said Renée Price, Director of the Neue Galerie. “It is a tremendous honor to present this remarkable exhibition at the Neue Galerie, which has become the premiere destination outside of Austria for admirers of the art created by this complex and very private man.”
Look around there. There is also a Nagel poster with mini bio. Weird.
And a Cy Twombly. Oh, wait, that’s just the blackboard.
See - you don’t have to go to Vienna or New York, just to Custom Cleaners.
Why do I have this feeling retired SMU Art History Prof Alessandra Comini trades there?
Austrian Art aficionados would doubtless prefer Egon Schiele as patron saint of dirty clothes.
And a Duchamp ready-made. Wait. Just a urinal.
If you listen closely, you can hear the piece that John Cage wrote specifically for the occasion of looking at the Klimt piece.
4′33″