Ask the Art Guru

Dear Art Guru: I'm new to the art scene and need a recommendation. Tell me, what's your favorite gallery? Krie Johnson, Marina del Rey, CA

Forget galleries, Krie! As we've discussed in this column time and again, the best art isn't automatically found within four whitewashed walls. After all, some fools see art in a Mother Mary image that appears in 5-day-old dog waste or even worse, in their grandma's Thomas Kinkade print. On that note, The Art Guru recommends you visit a 99 Cents Only Store. This mainly Southern California-based retail chain specializes in selling, for 99 cents of course, a cornucopia of brand and lesser-name products. This is a cheapskate's paradise, and though my frugal side calls it Cloud Nine-tynine, it's the colorful, orderly storefront displays that really arouse me. Row upon row of goods with different proportions and shades are assembled edge to edge, plastic held flush against cardboard. The overall look does one triumphant visual assault on me. I love it so much I even take off my contact lenses to feel the full effect. I was so swept away that I called 99 Cents Only company headquarters to get insight into their brilliant artistic acumen. Founder David Gold and Vice-President of Financing and Administration Eric Schiffer say their thought-out window displays aim to pull customers into the store. You have a stack of red items and one of green—put a wall of purple in between, Schiffer says. Looks purty now, doesn't it? If only the process were so easy for every installationist.

But what makes me feel queasy—besides the Alpo dog food boiling in the sun near Aisle 4—is the important social commentary behind the storefront design. When I asked Gold what inspired the design, he didn't mention Andy Warhol, but it's clear the businessman has at least unintentionally tapped into the dead man's artistic mission. Warhol wanted to point out the disassociation and banality of Americans and American culture in his "32 Campbell's Soup Cans" and other silk-screened repetitious images. But that message had been lost, until now. I firmly believe that Gold is Warhol's reincarnation, continuing the mission and message of the white-haired one's work. Think I'm insane? Well, Cap 'n Crunch, who stands at the store in the form of 20 boxes, flashes a proud cardboard smile in stubborn agreement.

The entire window display might look overpowering, but when the whole lot's labeled individually at 99 cents, it becomes less menacing in the same way that the black cloud hurtling your way is comprised of many delicate birds. Also, the variety of hues Gold uses in his storefront "exhibitions" puts Van Gogh's colorful paintings to shame.

So, newcomer Krie, if after this you still insist on visiting a bona fide art venue, hold out for downtown L.A.'s MOCA, where a photograph taken by Andreas Gursky of the inside of a 99 Cents Only Store is scheduled to appear. But note that the Guru still insists the best art isn't intentional. Gold tapped into his natural artistic ability when he created his storefront design. In his displays there's social commentary and aesthetics. Better still, the guy doesn't even know he's an artist, so you can exploit him and purchase his work for dirt cheap.

Oh, and one more thing: While you're at the 99 Cents Only Store, be sure to pick up a 3-pack of Ivory soap. Other grocery stores will rob you blind for the same set.

—as told to Phuong-Cac Nguyen