Blue Motel
An important work of art in private collection, now exhibited for public view, is in need of additional documentation. This blog post is intended to make that contribution. It is about the oil painting “Blue Angel,” by artist Wade Schuster. It is being shown as part of the exhibit Making Room, at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas college campus, from August 30th, 2022, until January 28th, 2023.
The subject of “Blue Angel” is an iconic motel sign on Fremont Street, once the main drag of "old" Las Vegas. The Blue Angel Motel was demolished a few years ago. The Blue Angel Motel sign was salvaged and rededicated in a prominent, new location, as part of the downtown Las Vegas redevelopment plan. The original location of the Blue Angel Motel was at the far end of the downtown Las Vegas casino scene.
The Blue Angel Motel, and its surroundings, had gone to seed. The Blue Angel sign was cherished by people in Las Vegas as a constant reminder of the city's personality. Anywhere but in Las Vegas the irony of the sign is lost, being a local icon—not an international icon—such as the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign at the far south end of The Strip. Let there be no equivocating about the sign's real significance. It was the landmark of a Red Light District.
The original Blue Angel Motel sign makes up for what it lacks in artistic subtlety by its subliminal messaging. To adults, it is suggestive of a call girl, pandering to the imagination of those who engage in illicit sex. As the scene plays-out, there is a knock at the motel room door, where a call girl appears -like an "angel" in answer to a sinner's prayer. The sign's effectiveness speaks to, indeed may be the cause of, the popular epithet “Sin City.” At the very least it takes advantage of the theme.
The relaxed immorality represented by the Blue Angel Motel's sign—its connotation—is what made it iconic. It flatters the comforting feeling of co-existing side-by-side with vice, a practical matter, just day-to-day business as usual. Las Vegas itself is iconic, the ultimate experience of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” for many Americans. Every city has vice. In Las Vegas—as in every city of its size—it is managed, kept “under wrap,” by a collaboration of underworld and civic corruption.
The difference is, in Las Vegas, vice is an attraction. Deconstructed solicitation does not come as a shock to seasoned observers of social mores. Mature subject matter in art is assumed. Wade Schuster handles it with taste and skill. The tasteful effect of "Blue Angel" (the painting) on the viewer is in no way suggestive of immorality -unlike the socially questionable motel sign that is the subject of the painting. Without the foregoing explanation it is as cool to the taste as a glass of water.
“Cool” best summarizes the aesthetic of the painting. From the painting's bleached-blue predominant color—a characteristic visual effect of strong desert sunlight—to the lightness of the artist's brushwork, it evinces sensitivity through tactful technique. The poised placement of the figure within the limitations of the canvas suggests spiritual aspirations -giving the lie to those in the know!
Given the painting's modest size, its portability, it certainly has a future as a treasured memento, to be cherished by curators, sought-after as a prime thematic exhibition piece. The item's exhibit caption gives 2017 as its date, oil on stretched canvas, at 36” by 36” in size, and states that it was donated by the artist. For establishing the work's provenance this last detail raises interesting documentary questions. Donating the work (presumably unsolicited) by-passes the usual system of; 1. gallery exhibition, 2. critical review, and, 3. if sold, establishing a track record of receipts for purposes of title-of-ownership, and taxation.
Given this context, its complete background, consider the delicate matter of fostering the painting's care upon a suitable collection by the artist (its donation). After the current exhibit ends it returns to the private collection. It must be seen! A thumbnail illustration of the painting cannot be provided by this writer. For transparency, this writer has no material interest in the subject of this self-published review of art, other than love of art. Search discovers a reproduction, at a third-party gallery website, which lists the painting as “sold.”
Until January 28th, 2023, the painting can be seen at The Barrick Museum of Art, afterwards by arrangement with the office of the Museum. The Barrick Museum mission statement states: “The Museum holds all of its collection artworks in the public trust, freely available for study, research, and enjoyment.” Make an effort to see "Blue Angel." Personally, I can give testimonial that studying at the museum's facility will be an enriching and satisfying experience -if it is anything like using the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, reference library, where iconic and rare editions concerning the history of Las Vegas and its culture can be studied.
One-of-a-kind works of art can be viewed at: https://www.saatchiart.com/account/artworks/1840403