La Cienega

In 1977, New York artist Richard Prince began rephotographing mass-media images that struck his fancy and presenting them as his art. Exploring the twin themes of perfection and desire that govern popular culture, this stubbornly inscrutable work revealed a lot about how we operate as a culture, and a little about the artist, who strikes a somewhat elusive posture. Three years ago, Prince shifted from images to a very particular form of text--the one-two punch known as a comedian’s one-liner. As with his imagistic work, Prince uses found jokes, and even offers a $100 finder’s fee to anyone who tells him a joke he likes enough to use.

Employing a repertoire of 11 jokes that he recycles and presents in various configurations, Prince ponders such Borscht Belt haiku as: “My father was never home. He was always drinking booze. He saw a sign saying Drink Canada Dry. So he went up there.” This bit of shtick is neatly lettered on a large canvas painted in one of an array of what Prince describes as “bathing suit colors.”

The quest for perfection characteristic of this artist operates here as in previous work, and Prince seems to be in search of the ultimate joke, the quip that says all about everything. His joke hunt continues, but at this point the most notable thing about them is how consistently tragic they are; each joke involves the implied presence of a pathetic slob who has been somehow duped. Despite its veneer of hip detachment (derived via the artist’s flat delivery, post-Pop colors and mass-media themes) Prince’s work has always been awash in feelings of wistfulness and longing. Oddly enough, that’s more the case than ever when it tells us a joke. (Daniel Weinberg Gallery, 619 Almont Drive, to July 8.)