The Big Picture 2002

Mark Kostabi’s ‘The Big Picture’ features a bunch of his trademark figures rendered in smooth, almost airbrushed color. The way Kostabi lays down the paint, building up these seamless surfaces, reminds me of production design. There’s something uncanny about the studio scene depicted, like a mannequin factory, or a weird dream. Everything is so smoothly blended and airless, that it repels any sense of the personal or the intimate. Look how those flattened planes of color are delineated by thin, precise lines. And how the figures are arranged in this bizarre tableau vivant. The figures have no weight, or emotional depth, they are just props in this odd scenography. Kostabi seems less concerned with conveying a specific message, or expressing emotion, and more interested in exploring the idea of image production itself. His work relates to artists like David Salle or Peter Saul, whose works also have a slightly alien, or synthetic quality, but without the tactile, handmade quality that I love in painting. Ultimately, art is a conversation, and not everyone has to agree.