It’s Enough to Make One Want to Hit the Bottle

Art and vodka.

So why shouldn’t a Swedish vodka, marketed exclusively in this country by a former French paratrooper, become a major patron of American art?

Why not, indeed, thought Michel Pierre Roux, president of Carillon Importers Ltd. of Teaneck, N.J., which imports Absolut vodka.

Especially if it happens to be a nifty advertising gimmick in the competitive vodka market.

Thus was born Absolut art: at the intersection of Aesthetics and Commerce.

And now, for only the second time in the vodka-drinking universe (the first was in New York), a showing of Absolut Artists of the ‘90s.

At the Laura Larkin Gallery in Del Mar, in the Del Mar Plaza, through Oct. 14.

You will notice something similar in each of the 36 works: an Absolut bottle. That’s the idee fixe of the commission; after that, the artist is on his own.

Andy Warhol (who else?) was the first Absolut artist in 1985, for $65,000. Other artists are mostly unknown, yearning for an audience and a few bucks to survive.

Roux picks the artists himself. He owns the artwork and uses it in upscale advertising. He’s having a ball.

“We’re marrying art and business,” Roux says. “It’s good for everybody: it’s good for the brand, and good for the artists.”

Not so cheery are the critics.

“Exploitation, not really art,” sniffs Art Forum magazine, the persistent voice of the avant garde.

“There will always be critics,” responds Roux.

Absolut commissions art (paintings, photography, sculpture) all over the place (Absolut Southwest, Absolut Americana, Absolut Heritage, etc.).

Also, Absolut Ballet by the Joffrey.

No, the ballerinas are not required to wear Absolut labels on their tutus. Even Roux, 51, who was a dishwasher when he came to America in 1964, has limits.

Something he’s doing must be working: Absolut gets 60% of the $500-million-a-year imported-vodka market, says Forbes magazine. With sales up 34% last year.

Does Roux plan to continue his art foray?

Absolut(ely).

Passing Muster

Attack of the HUDites.

First news reports about the fatal shooting of San Diego Police Officer Ronald W. Davis referred to the scene of the crime, Meadowbrook Apartments in South San Diego, as plagued with graffiti, gangs and drugs.

Later reports backed down from that description. In fact, Meadowbrook is graffiti-free, and there is no indication that gangs and drugs have a foothold.

But the initial description grabbed the attention of federal Housing and Urban Development bureaucrats in both San Diego and Washington.

The 448-unit apartment complex on South Paradise Road was built with a HUD-guaranteed loan.

Soon not one, not two, but three HUD inspectors (plus a bank officer) were dispatched to Meadowbrook.

Meadowbrook manager Harry Jones says the inspection was spurred by the askew news report. Not so, says Charles Wilson, HUD manager in San Diego.

Wilson said the inspection was just Meadowbrook’s annual review, like the one that all HUD projects get. But he added that the news report did prompt him to order his top aide to accompany the inspectors.

The inspection uncovered a few minor needs (more paint and better record-keeping) but nothing major.

Jones is both relieved and peeved: “I could have told them over the phone that we run a good place here.”

Take Note

Small news.

* Evelyn Alemanni swears she saw a license plate in North County: “NIMBY.”

With a license plate holder, “Next, It Might Be You.”

* Where the money is.

Panhandlers are starting to congregate around automatic teller machines in Normal Heights and University Heights. Some are ready to make change.

* The latest potbelly pig controversy is in La Costa.

A woman with a mini-pig (45 pounds) for a pet moved into an upscale apartment building. Neighbors want the pig gone.

At issue is whether the pig plopped in the common area.