This Was an Artist

Remember that old TV public service announcement: "This is your brain. (Egg in pan.) This is your brain on drugs. (Egg fries in pan.)"? Well, the Willem de Kooning show at Matthew Marks gallery, called "Sketchbook," reminds me of that PSA. "This was an artist. (Willem de Kooning.) This is the artist afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease and alcoholism. (Above drawing.)" This show is an embarressment. What is the point? Culled from a late 1970s sketchbook, the exhibit features 18 scrawled pencil doodles, similar to what you and I would draw while talking on the phone. The press release states: "Upon the artist’s death, no sketchbooks were to be found among the hundreds of drawings in his estate" except for this one. Oh, I wonder why. (Images via Matthew Marks gallery)