Wayne White: Maybe Now I'll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve

Book excerpt: Design guru and art collector Todd Oldham shines the spotlight on the clever and warped world of artist Wayne White. From Wayne's early days as a production designer and puppet maker for the iconic TV show "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" to his unmistakable and exquisitely rendered text paintings, this monograph is a comprehensive view of Wayne White's oeuvre. Wayne is a unique wordsmith, brilliantly juxtaposing irreverent and humorous phrases over existing thrift store paintings that together create a completely original and fictional landscape. Influenced by both his upbringing in rural Tennessee and a very sophisticated knowledge of art history. Wayne White's sensibility is completely singular and distinctive. Wayne White's warped and perspectival words integrate into seemingly benign pastoral landscapes, creating a completely surreal experience. Wayne's expert painting chops and detailed attention to lighting and reflection place the "new" text directly in its "original" setting. Text paintings such as "Donald Judd was a Son of a Bitch Wrecked His Train in a Whorehouse Ditch," "Poon," and "Maybe Now I'll Get The Respect I So Richly Deserve" are a welcome departure from the more-often-than-not self-aggrandizing art world.