SITTING ON THE BED WITH THE RICH AND FAMOUS

Andy Warhol, Steven Spielberg, and Bianca Jagger sit on a bed and discuss TV and radio. Society idolizes the rich and famous to such a degree that one would think these people--who brought us pop art, Indiana Jones, and, well, Jade Jagger, respectively--would somehow be more interesting than the rest of us. Evidently not. At least not when they're sitting around in a hotel room. Oh, some of it is interesting, but if these were three unknowns saying the same things I bet you would be bored stiff.

Galileo, famous for inventing the telescope

As we strive and connive to attain our goals, to do good work, or to simply crack the code of success--let's remember the rich and famous put their pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us. Or they have someone else put their pants on for them, but you know what I mean. They are not a separate species. We know this, yet for some reason we remain mystified. We're obsessed. Turn on the TV, and note how much programming is devoted to celebrity and fame. Some people have accomplished great things, but some are simply famous for being famous.

Donnie, famous for his chili

This mystification is reflected in the famous exchange between Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald: "The rich are not like us." Hemingway: "Yes, they have more money."

The myth prevails. The grass is always greener...things must be better elsewhere, right? It must be more clever, fascinating, fun, comfortable. I'm reminded of the scene in Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories," when Woody sits in a dirty train, with dull, depressed people. A train pulls up alongside full of people in evening dress, drinking champagne, and having a wonderful time. A beautiful woman blows him a kiss. Woody tries desperately to change trains, but it's too late.

It's a funny scene. The other world looks so good from a distance, and that women looks inviting, but for all we know she could be Paris Hilton.

Paris Hilton, famous for being famous

LOT OF THINGS LIKE THIS

Dave Eggers, author and founder of the exeedlingly clever lit magazine McSweeney's, has curated an art show at apexart. Described in the Village Voice as "Text, image, and humor from the likes of R. Crumb, Leonard Cohen, Andy Warhol, Henry Darger." The show opened April 2nd, and has drawn the hipster cognoscenti in droves.

In the press release, Eggers asks "Is humor allowed in art, and in what forms? Are captions allowed in art, and why?" The show consists of crude drawings accompanied by hand-drawn text.

Crude art and hand-written captions are nothing new -- bathroom stalls have been full of it for years -- but this faux-naive art appears to be the rage. Art directors must love it, too, because it's everywhere from indie album covers to alternative weekly newsprint. The musical equivalent might be the soundtrack of Juno. All those simple, sickly drawn animals -- an awkward, gangly deer, for example, a few stick trees, and some too-cute, off-center children, maybe in snowsuits, maybe holding bows and arrows. It's supposed to look sweet and earnest, I suppose, and on another level ironic. Of course.

Eggers on the left (photos by Sam Horine)

Yes, it could be horrible, but much of Egger's charm resides in his Rolodex, and the list of participants is impressive. I mean, you wouldn't want childish drawings actually drawn by children, for godsakes. Like, duh. That's not ironic. We want people who know better.

According to apexart, the show includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonard Cohen, David Berman, Georges Braque, Jeffrey Brown, R. Crumb, Henry Darger, Marcel Duchamp, CM Evans, David Godbold, Philip Guston, Paul Hornschemeier, Jay Howell, Chris Johanson, Maira Kalman, Kenneth Koch, Jason Logan, David Mamet, Quenton Miller, Tucker Nichols, Alice Notley, Ron Padgett, Raymond Pettibon, Dan Perjovschi, Amy Jean Porter, Steve Powers, Royal Art Lodge, Peter Saul, George Schneeman, Olga Scholten, Leanne Shapton, David Shrigley, Shel Silverstein, Nedko Solakov, Art Spiegelman, Ralph Steadman, William Steig, Saul Steinberg, and Kurt Vonnegut.