The Windup by Kate McMurray

Author:Kate McMurray [McMurray, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-04-16T16:00:00+00:00

IAN DIDN’T know what to make of pop art. He didn’t know much about art generally, beyond “That looks nice.” He sometimes had to pick out art or paint colors for a hotel, but he knew that kind of work was beyond what he could do competently, so he usually hired designers or consultants. He had final sign-off, but he didn’t put himself in a position where he had to make important decisions about decoration.

So the pop art thing was strange to Ian, who didn’t know what to make of the bright colors. It looked like advertisements or comic books, not art, per se. He stood next to Ty staring at a painting that basically just looked like a comic book panel blown up gigantic.

“That’s the point,” Ty said when Ian voiced his opinion. “Lichtenstein’s whole deal is parody. He’s criticizing the way the subject is represented in comics by reproducing it here out of context.”

“Okay.” Ian still didn’t really understand.

“I think what I appreciate about the pop artists of the sixties is that they weren’t trying to do anything radically different. They were kind of just making fun of, say, more mundane forms of art. Like Andy Warhol and the soup cans.”

So Ian didn’t get it, but he enjoyed following Ty around the exhibit as he peered at the information cards next to each painting. Ty would pause and say something about the painting, most of which wouldn’t make much sense to Ian, but Ty was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all of it that Ian’s lack of comprehension didn’t matter.

As they walked out of the exhibit, Ian said, “How do you know all this stuff?”

“I did go to art school.”

“You did?”

Ty nodded. “Did I not tell you that?”

Ian paused in a little gift shop just outside the exhibit. He idly picked up a coffee table book and flipped through a few pages. “What was a boy from Texas doing at art school?”

Ian meant the question playfully, but Ty bristled as if he were offended. “Getting the hell out of Texas, that’s what.”

Ian put the book down and walked over to Ty. “Sorry, no offense intended. Just… you don’t talk about it much, so it surprised me. You work in marketing, right? You do graphic arts? So I thought maybe that was what your interest in the exhibit was about. But clearly it goes much deeper than that. So I just wanted to know because I’m trying to get to know you. Okay?”

Ty nodded and frowned. “Yeah, sorry. But, yes. I have a bachelor’s of fine arts from Parsons.”

“See, that’s really cool. I didn’t know that.”

“I always liked art.”

Ian wanted to keep up the feeling he’d had in the exhibit, wanted to let more of Ty’s enthusiasm rub off on him. “What else do you want to see in the museum?”

Ty shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, I’ll go anywhere. What I like about it is that it’s so big that no matter how many times you come, you always see something different.

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