Pierson v. Doonan

Well, the fur is flying in Chelsea!! Simon Doonan's got a funny article in the NY Observer about this whole hubbub with Jack Pierson. I can't be bothered to explain what those two are up to, so go Google their names together. Basically, Doonan-- the window dresser, etc. of Barneys-- has been dressing the walls of the Barneys stores with words made out of old metal letters salvaged from store signs and the like. This is much like what artist Jack Pierson has been doing as artworks for years. A Pierson work is above; a Doonan example is below:


Now, I'm not an expert, but even I can tell Doonan's stuff ain't Piersons. I wandered into a Barneys a few months ago looking for a toilet, and saw the words all over the walls. I did indeed think it was an "homage"-- I figured it was one gay man tipping his hat to another. Turns out Pierson and his gallerist John Cheim didn't see it that way: They call it a "rip-off." But now Doonan says he's been doing this for years, and he didn't even know of Pierson's word pieces.

I totally believe Doonan-- I mean, this kinda thing has been around forever. But can the gallery really send him a "cease and desist" e-mail, even if he were copying? Does that mean I have to take down the Guernica mural I painted at my auto-body shop? Fuck.

I like Pierson's work-- it's the kinda shit an Outsider like me can understand. But if lots of people are really coming up to him and saying they saw his stuff at Barneys, it's time for him to meet some new people.