James is quoted in an article in Variety Weekend about Eric Doeringer. I have to say it's better written than most press I've read about Eric's work. Some choice quotes:
"I love the humor in the work," says longtime collector James Wagner, who, with partner Barry Hoggard, has a large collection of contemporary pieces with political and humorous themes. "We don't buy Eric's work instead of other art. We buy it because we enjoy the conceptual strategy behind it and the politics that seem to address issues of branding and star systems."That idea finds even greater clarity in Doeringer's "Cremaster Fanatic," a faux fan site devoted to Matthew Barney, the art-world superstar best known for his inscrutable, epic-length films.
"Barney epitomizes the notion of an artist as a celebrity," says Doeringer. "And there's this whole notion that the art world is supposed to be intellectual and above something like rabid fandom."
Ironic? Sure. That's why Doeringer tends to invoke Andy Kauffman rather than Andy Warhol in describing his influences. "With the best of [Kauffman]," he says, "you were never really sure if it was made up or the real thing."
