Those who enjoyed the documentary about Peggy Guggenheim in the New Zealand International Film Festival, might be interested in Escalator’s art-themed novels. The Shark Party by Janet Colson, published in 2014, is set in the New York art world; LA is the backdrop for Rudy Lopez’s novel Open Your Eyes, Jackson Ryder which comes out in October. Janet was invited to talk about collage in relation to The Shark Party at The Dowse Art Museum recently. The novel’s title is taken from a line in the book referring to Damien Hirst’s artwork The Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Hirst is a direct descendent of the famous collage artist Kurt Schwitters who also features in the novel, along with Georges Braque, the artist thought to have invented collage. Janet and Rudy will read and talk about art and their novels in a series of events later this year. Watch out for them at the Aratoi Gallery in Masterton on Sunday 31 October, the Mahara gallery in Waikanae on Saturday 7 November and Wardini Books in Havelock North on Saturday 28 November. It would be great to see you there.
