It can be argued that Steve Martin is our most visible Renaissance Man—our most public creator of so much art. He’s an award winning banjo player. He’s an actor and comedian whose appeal crosses who knows how many generations. His tweets alone delight multitudes. He has also written and appeared in many films, television shows and specials. Steve’s writing—whether in short humor bursts (150 characters can make us laugh more than we thought possible) or in slightly longer prose form in the shape of novels or novellas—are terrific. His recent achievement is his new novel, called An Object of Beauty. On the surface, it’s a novel about the art world, about the slightly insane evolution of moving an object of beauty into an object of value. The novel is of course much more than that—it is really the big picture of commercial excess, of moral vacuum, of greed gone wild and rapacious ambition that defined our society for a decade or so before 9/11. And because it’s told by a narrator whose voice sounds so much like Steve Martin, it’s impossible to put down.
Dave Hickey is an internationally acclaimed cultural critic, who has contributed to most major cultural publications in the country, including Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and others. He is the author of numerous books, including Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy, named by Time Magazine as one of the most important books of the century. At the Bing Theater, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. Tickets, $22 ($20 + $2 ticket charge by LACMA). LACMA members, $17 ($15 + $2 ticket charge by LACMA). For tickets, visit lacma.org. Again, tickets are through LACMA, at lacma.org.