John Waters: Indecent Exposure

by Kristen Hileman, Jonathan D. Katz (Contributor), Robert Storr (Contributor)

It has been more than fifty years since John Waters filmed his first short on the roof of his parents’ Baltimore home. Over the following decades, Waters has developed a reputation as an uncompromising cultural force not only in cinema, but also in visual art, writing, and performance. This major retrospective examines the artist’s influential career through more than 160 photographs, sculptures, soundworks, and videos he has made since the early 1990s. These works deploy Waters’s renegade humor to reveal the ways that mass media and celebrity embody cultural attitudes, moral codes, and shared tragedy.

Waters has broadened our understanding of American individualism, particularly as it relates to queer identity, racial equality, and freedom of expression. In bringing “bad taste” to the walls of galleries and museums, he tugs at the curtain of exclusivity that can divide art from human experience. Waters freely manipulates an image bank of less-than-sacred, low-brow references—Elizabeth Taylor’s hairstyles, his own self-portraits, and pictures of individuals brought into the limelight through his films, including his counterculture muse Divine—to entice viewers to engage with his astute and provocative observations about society.

This richly illustrated book explores themes including the artist’s childhood and identity; Pop culture and the movie business; Waters’s satirical take on the contemporary art world; and the transgressive power of images. The catalogue features essays by BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Kristen Hileman; art historian and activist Jonathan David Katz; critic, curator, and artist Robert Storr; as well as an interview with Waters by photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.

Published in association with the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Exhibition
The Baltimore Museum of October 7, 2018–January 6, 2019
Wexner Center for the February 2–April 28, 2019

Genres: Art

232 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

Reviews

[John Bruni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kind of disappointed that this wasn't a book by John Waters, it was an appreciation of his art. I haven't seen much of his art, and I was eager to jump into it, but . . . well . . . the think pieces in between sections irritated me. You'd get to the new section, and there would be a long essay about the artworks we are about to look at, trying to explain the meaning of it all. I don't want to read about the art, I want to actually see it. And don't tell me what it means. I'll be the judge of that. The older I get, the more I agree with David Lynch's stance on explaining his work: he doesn't. He understands that once art is out in the world, it is no longer yours. Everyone will have their own interpretation. But what irritates me most about these essays is that they remind me of introductions to books that assume you've already read the book and says what happens and explains the ending. NO. If you're going to do that, do it AFTER the book is done. I've explained my rules to a great intro before, so I won't go back into it, but it's kind of like if M. Night Shyamalan had a sign on The Sixth Sense, just before the movie begins, that says, "Bruce Willis is dead the whole time." That would have blown.

Now that that's off my chest, I really enjoyed the art I got to look at. It's very unconventional, and it's very funny. I particularly got a kick out of Twelve Assholes and a Dirty Foot. Rear Projection was also good. My favorite is Playdate which depicts a baby Michael Jackson crawling towards a baby Charles Manson. I also really enjoyed the one where he takes classic books and puts them next to books with similar titles . . . but those books are pornographic. The chicken piece is also hilarious.

Then there's the one about 9/11. You probably won't get it at first. Just think about what movies were scheduled to be shown on the hijacked planes on 9/11, and you'll catch on and realize how disturbing it actually is.

Bill's Stroller is also great.

If you love trash as much as I do, you need this book. It's big and expensive, but it's worth it.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A monograph like this always reminds me that as I get older I'm not really in the art world or care to understand it much. My sister is an artist and many of my friends are, but it's hard from an outsider's perspective to really judge this besides the fact that I like John Waters and think his artwork is clever and funny and pleasing. At the same time I don't think it's "great art" and understand what people would be dismissive.

[Bradley Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this compendium to the exhibit of the same name, the art of John Waters is presented and analyzed with essay contributions by Kristen Hileman, Jonathan D. Katz, and Robert Starr, as well as an interview with Wolfgang Tillmans. With sincerity and humor, Waters pays tribute to his muses and influences while commenting on taste and culture of recent decades.

[E.T. Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revealing! Felt like looking through a photo album of someone’s mental nudes and brain farts. which, with waters, is consistently off-kilter, occasionally very funny. Some of the art-crit bullshit was great. my favorite was the National Brainiac

[Phil Overeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of his movies, essays, books, and art, I enjoy the art least! But it John's, it's funny, and I'm glad to have this book anyway. Besides, contemporary art hates me (and my family).

[Morgan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Waters art is a different kind of strange than his films. Its a critique on mass culture but also strings together weird images in other films to tell some story

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another superb exhibition catalog, the most up-to-date of the catalogs I've found in my library system. Several strong easys and a great interview with Mr. Waters situate his aesthetic well.