10

MONDAY

Remember ’80s glyph guru Matt Mullican? How about ’90s end-of-print polemicist David Carson? Surely you’re familiar with the queer baroque of Lari Pittman. No? Then you might still believe that flatnessisgod, as Ryan McGinness once claimed. But even if you recognize the sources of his colorful, multilayered work, its insouciant wit goes a long way toward justifying the buzz surrounding this artist and graphic designer. Further blurring the already fuzzy line between commercial assignments and the fine stuff, McGinness has worked both high (recent and current shows at Deitch Projects in New York and 222 Gallery in Philly, respectively) and very low (a monograph about Carrot Top, an illo for a rimjob apologia in POPsmear). For his new Gingko Press book, Project Rainbow, he plucks an Alice from the A-line anonymity of a women’s-room door and sends her on a delirious silkscreen excursion through the looking glass of contemporary symbols and signage. McGinness speaks at 3 p.m. at the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Hammer Auditorium, 500 17th St. NW. Free. (202) 639-1801. (Glenn Dixon)