Visual Art

Pop Life

by Eric Fredericksen

Pop Art never earned its name by being physically accessible to the masses--though Andy Warhol once asked a mere $100 per canvas for his soup cans, that wasn't so cheap at the time. Now, the market has assured that it remain inaccessible: while you can see this work in reproduction, and Seattle Art Museum has a few good examples, particularly of Warhol and Wesslemann's work, you couldn't afford the '50s and '60s originals--unless you are one of those lucky bastards with stock options from Amazon.com, and you'd better sell those quick before the Nasdaq collapses. I'm getting off my subject: the new gallery Winston Wächter opens this week with work by Pop artists, or artists with Pop allegiances, largely made after the Pop Art moment had passed. A Warhol, a Dine, a Ruscha, a Rauschenberg (mostly work from the '80s) jostle each other on the cozy walls of the South Lake Union space, and maybe I still can't afford them, but you can, if I'm to believe what I read in this paper's demographic research.

Winston Wächter opens Thurs Feb 25, 6-8 pm, 403 Dexter Ave N, 652-5855.