Gary Houston Dishes Visual Crap

The other day I noticed a listing on Gary Houston’s website. It read “Visual Crap: The Poster Work of Voodoo Catbox” and promised an opening at People’s Art of Portland on Saturday, November 21, from 5 to 9. Now we all know that Gary (seen here at TRPS Festival of Rock Posters in San Francisco last month) enjoys engaging in a bit of self-deprecation every now and then, but this characterization struck me as odd. After all, “crap” is definitely not how I would describe the artist’s work, although I suppose too much of anything can begin to look like crap, probably even more so if you’re the guy who produced the preemptively maligned visuals. To be sure, confronting the 300 or so prints from the last umpteen years that Gary has pulled for this exhibition may overwhelm, or even stupify, some attendees, but I still quibble with the word crap. I like this work too much, and must rise to defend it—if necessary from the artist himself! On second thought, it’s his show, so I suppose he can call it whatever he likes. All I know is, I wish I was going to be in Portland in the next few weeks to enjoy this rare opportunity to see Gary’s ouevre, as the art-world-types might call it. If you’re planning to go, please send us some snapshots, but not any crappy ones. (Have a great opening, Gary!)