Valet Parking Attendant 1980

Editor: This is LeRoy Neiman's "Valet Parking Attendant" from 1980, an oil painting on canvas. The bright colours and bold brushstrokes create a really vibrant and energetic feel. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: The vibrant colours are definitely intentional! Neiman often captured scenes of leisure and entertainment, but through a lens of popular culture. What I find particularly interesting here is how he depicts the working class. How often do we really see paintings of service industry workers? Editor: Not often, at least not that I've noticed. Usually, it's the wealthy being portrayed. Curator: Exactly! So how does painting the attendant using expressive colours, impasto, and pop art sensibilities disrupt conventional representations of labor and class? Does it empower them? Does it glorify the lifestyle? Editor: Hmm, I can see it both ways. On the one hand, she’s presented with such vitality. But is he romanticising a potentially underpaid job, masking the realities of it? Curator: That's an important consideration. Neiman certainly had an affinity for capturing a ‘sense’ of excitement – it's hard to divorce it from a certain brand of capitalism that focuses on fleeting, performative aspects of work and lifestyle. And the title—Valet Parking Attendant—adds another layer. It specifies her role within a luxury setting. Editor: I never considered that angle of it before! Curator: It encourages us to think about the intersections of class, labor, and representation in art and culture, and to consider what choices artists make and what the implications may be. Editor: This makes me think differently about not just Neiman, but also about who and what gets seen and valued in art history! Curator: Exactly.