Still Bad to a Few

You and I may think that Michael Jackson is a washed-up has-been, but apparently he's still a creative inspiration for a few artists. Flipping through the most recent ArtForum, I spied not one but two ads for galleries whose artists' shows focus on M.J.: Paul Pfeiffer's exhibit, "Live from Neverland" and Meredith Danluck's "Michael Jackson, Jesus Christ...Coca-Cola." I went to Pfeiffer's show at El Proyecto (a review soon), and Danluck's opens this weekend at Renwick gallery. New York Magazine profiled Danluck who is pictured with M.J. in the ad. The most interesting thing about that photo is that the artist looks almost as creepy as the singer. Using Michael Jackson as source material is a little too '90s for me (and even then he was too easy a target) and will probably inspire mostly yawns from gallery-goers.