Why John Waters Loves the Wicked Witch of the West

This week we’ll be posting video of our exclusive interview with John Waters at the opening of his third solo show titled “Beverly Hills John,” at Marianne Boesky Gallery in Chelsea. Artnet News was among the lucky group that got a work-by-work guided tour of the show with the legendary filmmaker at the press preview this past Friday. (And don’t miss our recent phone interview with Waters last month ahead of the show. See “John Waters Says Celebrity Is The Only Obscenity Left In The Art World“).

He happily answered some of our more lighthearted questions about who his favorite characters are (both real-life and fictional) and what he would be doing if he wasn’t creating art or films. Find out why the director of cult favorites like Pink Flamingos, Cry-Baby, and Serial Mom, finds inspiration in one of the decidedly more sinister characters in The Wizard of Oz.

This is the latest in a video series artnet News created for Instagram. Past clips have focused on Takashi Murakami, José Parlá and Daniel Canogar.

Teaser filmed by artnet News director of digital media Aaron Sherman.

Interview by Eileen Kinsella.