Music met art at Mary Boone Gallery as Pete Wentz, bassist of the famous rock ’n’ roll punk band Fall Out Boy visited Chelsea to examine ‘Two Napoleons Crossing the Alps’. This ‘Two Napoleons Crossing the Alps’ is a 2015 painting by 81-year old Peter Saul. Mr. Saul is known to be the father of the Pop Art movement. Wentz was highly interactive at the exhibition as he went around discussing art with people. He even asked a visitor if he know what the painting means? On finding the visitor being ignorant, he pulled out his phone and looked up for the painting. He then drew comparisons between the 1801 painting by Jacques-Louis David and the Peter Saul version.
“The cape looks exactly the same. But Mr. Saul’s Napoleon was accompanied by a woman in a lime green outfit, his hand tucked inside her blouse, seemingly caressing her ample bosom. Looks like it is wandering a little bit” Mr. Wentz said, smiling. 36 year old Wentz has been an old admirer of Mr. Saul’s paintings. He was driven towards his work after seeing a 1984 portrait of Ronald Reagan. A painter himself, Mr. Wentz regularly visits museums in Los Angeles. He told the media that he recently visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the experience was beyond beautiful. He witnessed the ‘Rain Room’, a popular installation that uses motion detectors. He was enthralled by the work and found it to be super cool.
Mr. Wentz displays his keen interest as he analyses artworks
The Mary Boone Gallery was pretty much empty on the day as it was raining. Though few people popped in from here and there, peered inside and left. Mr. Wentz, not being a people pleaser was more than comfortable. “I’m not good at connecting. I always have too much anxiety”, he said as his voice echoed and engulfed the gallery.
He was all praises for Mr. Saul and displayed his admiration for him. Looking at the reimagination of Hyacinthe Rigaud’s ‘Louis XIV’ titled ‘Louis XIV Feeds His Pets’, he said that he was struck by the use of vibrant colors. He felt that Pink Dogs sound like an intriguing idea. With his sense of humor top-notch like always, he further commented pointing at Louis XIV’s lemon-colored shoes, “Red and yellow, though, is tough. There is a fine line between rocking it and having everyone call you bananas”.
Pete Wentz: Man of Multiple Talents
One must not forget that Pete Wentz himself is a man of multiple talents. He started his own street wear line ‘Clandestine Industries’, which made hoodies and t-shirts with bat heart logo. He also wrote a book in 2005 about his recurring childhood nightmares, which was called ‘The Boy With the Thorn in His Side’. He is also a businessman who co-owns a night club and has appeared as a host of ‘Best Ink’, a reality TV show about tattoo artists. He also had his own art show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles with his friend Travie McCoy who is a rapper and singer-songwriter. The show was called ‘Without You I’m Just Me’ and depicted a strong affection for street art. He is an highly experimental artist overall and displayed a rubber cement work painted with spray paint, the former being something he once burned himself.
Talking about his upcoming music albums and discussing art, Mr. Wentz seemed at his artistic best at the gallery.
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