When I discovered the work of Amy Crehore, via Boing Boing, I was particularly struck by the image above, titled Black Comedy, and reproduced it at the head of my first post about the artist. This holiday season someone gave me an original limited-edition print of the image, which is not just striking but ravishing, far beyond anything an Internet reproduction could convey.
The odd tone of the scene is intensified in the print -- a dreamy, erotic playfulness that has something to do with the theatricality of sex, or the sexiness of theater, but floats mysteriously above any precise interpretation.
Anyone looking for a special gift this Christmas could do worse than peruse the prints available at Crehore's web site.
The peek-a-boob joke in the painting puts me in mind of something that happened to me recently here in Las Vegas. I'd just had a drink at the Mirage with my friend the architect Deane Evans, in town for a conference, and went out to pick up my car at the valet stand. There were two guys in cowboy hats (the rodeo is also in town) and two girls at the stand waiting for their truck. As I came up to them one girl, very tall, very attractive and very drunk, turned to me and opened the front of her blouse, flashing her very impressive breasts. Then she broke up laughing. I didn't know how to respond to this cheerful greeting and just said, with what was probably a goofy smile, "Thank you."
The greeting wasn't personal -- the young lady was flashing her boobs and laughing delightedly at any guy who came near her, including the attendant who delivered her ride. They all responded with goofy smiles.
I now realize, given the season we're in, that I should have said, "Merry Christmas to you, too."