What would Andy Warhol have thought about the current celebrity saturation-- the mindless lack of discretion over who both the rag mags, and many people, choose to make the center of our hungry minds? Warhol shined a light on celebrity, making it pop and making it art (he freely admitted in his diaries to believing every word of Star magazine). In that vein, New York-based Mara Sprafkin, a 27-year-old artist, creates work that not only indulges in the guilty pleasures of celebrity gossip, but also makes it intelligent.

Like all true gossip devotees, Sprafkin can wax poetic on all sorts of contemporary culture phenomena. How she translates her thoughtful interpretation of the seemingly vapid is seen in her work-- most recently in "Valley of Vapors," at the March Gallery. psychoPEDIA sat down with Sprafkin for a cup of coffee and some highbrow perspective on the lowest common denominators:

Tell me about your recent show, "Valley of Vapors"?
The name is a riff on Harlequin novels. I was on eBay searching for Harlequin books and found Harlequin Presents. They have the most beautiful covers- painted all white with strange images of women and men lurking in the background. They're like portholes into these secret lives, and they have great titles like Double Attraction.

How did you come up with that name?
Titles are really important to me. I needed a title for the show that encompassed everything, but nothing. "Valley of Air"? What is that?" It's super-creepy and references Death Valley and Valley of the Dolls, The Yellow Wallpaper, female hysteria. And then it all goes back to Britney. I love her.

What do you love about her?
She's a product of American culture. We've built her into this demi-god. We're all waiting to see her fail, and she's counting on our love. It's a really sick thing. She's one of the most important figures of my generation. There are politicians and Nobel Prize winners, but no one fucking cares. Everyone's talking about Britney. I'm not saying it's good-- just true.

Why do you think there's this cultural obsession with celebrity?
Other people's lives are more interesting than our own. People think celebrities are trying to achieve something a little better than the rest of us. It's an escape.

Then why do we want to see them fail?
It’s probably no different than being in high school. Who smells? Who's the prettiest? Who's dating who? You talk bad to make yourself feel better.

Is Britney's talent deserving of all the talk?
I honest to God loved her last album. I haven't followed her whole career, but a couple of years ago, someone told me to get her Greatest Hits. It's really good. I finally got comfortable saying that.

Do you feel protective of her?
I feel really bad for her. People like to compare her to Michael Jackson, which is interesting. I don't think she's stable enough to deal with it. She's probably just a regular person with some problems. People like to see that fame and money don't equal happiness– like all those girls: Lindsay, Paris, Nicole. We're not fascinated by the men. We don't scrutinize them. No one cares.

Why do you think that is?
It's mostly women and gay men who read and write this stuff. Women are really mean to each other.

Speaking of which, what do you make of the latest phenomenon, Gossip Girl?
It's strange to watch a show about kids in high school, but then again, when I was in 5th and 6th grade I watched a show about kids in high school (90210).

What's the appeal?
Watching beautiful, young people whose lives are so easy. As a New Yorker, you think, "She's drinking martinis at Butter?” They don't have real-life issues, which makes it even more blissful.

Who's your favorite character?
I really like Serena. I always like the blonde. I'm interested in her bad-girl past. And she's dating a nice guy from “the other side of the tracks.”

Can you tell me about your newer work?
My work is a celebration of everything pretty. I just had a piece in a show curated by Nicholas Weist. The idea was: “If I told you you were beautiful, would you date me on the regular?” Pop culture has to give us so little for us to love it. 3 works of Jessica Simpson: "My white sunglasses make me feel Fabulous." It's a little Warhol-- 3 of them, Xerox with acrylic on top.

She's another one we've built up to knock down.
Her career wasn't doing well. She did "Newlyweds," re-released her album, and it went platinum. That show made her career and then undid it. She's on TV being the dumbest person alive and everyone's dying… Come on, it's tuna fish!

Do you think the same thing will happen to Ashlee?
Probably. There are all these rumors about her pregnancy– people saying it’s because she has a new album coming out.

Have you always taken lowbrow seriously?
I heard a man reviewing Britney's album on NPR as if it was a serious thing. It was that moment I realized you could talk about these things not in a lowbrow way. Like that book "Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs"- the premise of the "Real World" is fascinating, and this guy takes it apart.

Is it the popularity of something that embarrasses some of us?
As a New Yorker I'm in a cultural bubble. I have a stimulating job with stimulating people. I have no idea how the rest of the world operates. I'm probably snobbier than I think.

~Lisa Germinsky