When Dave Hickey was 12, he rode the surfer's dream: the perfect wave.
And, like so many things in life we long for, it didn't quite turn
out--he shot the pier and dashed himself against the rocks of Sunset
Cliffs in Ocean Beach, which just about killed him. Fortunately, for
Hickey and for us, he survived, and continues to battle, decades into a
career as one of America's foremost critical iconoclasts, a trusted,
even cherished no-nonsense voice commenting on the all-too-often
nonsensical worlds of art and culture.
Perfect Wave brings together essays on a wide range of subjects from
throughout Hickey's career, displaying his usual breadth of interest and
powerful insight into what makes art work, or not, and why we care. With
Hickey as our guide, we travel to Disneyland and Vegas, London and
Venice. We discover the genius of Karen Carpenter and Waylon Jennings,
learn why Robert Mitchum matters more than Jimmy Stewart, and see how
the stillness of Antonioni speaks to us today.
Never slow to judge--or to surprise us in doing so--Hickey powerfully
relates his wincing disappointment in the later career of his early hero
Susan Sontag, and shows us the appeal to our commonality that we've been
missing in Norman Rockwell. With each essay, the doing is as important
as what's done; the pleasure of listening to Dave Hickey's words lies
nearly as much in spending time in his company as in being surprised to
find yourself agreeing with his conclusions. Bookended by previously
unpublished personal essays that offer a new glimpse into Hickey's own
life--including the aforementioned slam-bang conclusion to his youthful
surfing career--Perfect Wave is not a perfect book. But it's a damn
good one, and a welcome addition to the Hickey canon.
