When God shuts a door, McCarthy makes a building with no windows. Here's where the abject aesthetic and the true meaning of Christmas intersect: McCarthy stays close to the inexhaustible ground of creativity by accepting, even embracing, the one truly reliable strategy: failure. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

"Low Life Slow Life: Part 2," an exhibition curated by Paul McCarthy of works that have influenced him, will be on view at the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, from Jan. 27 through May 30.

"Santa's Little Helper" originally appeared in the December 2008 / January 2009 issue of Modern Painters. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Modern Painters' December 2008 / January 2009 Table of Contents.