Gayle Bair on fri 15 sep 00
Dear Vince & Larry,
No one will ever win this battle.
Aesthetic tastes are purely subjective.
Two years ago I found out that my brother
and sister in-law purchased a "painting"
by Thomas Kincaid. They raved and raved
about it. I had never heard of this artist.
On a recent visit we went to the next town
where there is a Thomas Kincaid shop.
I wanted to barf. Here were what looked to me like
prints with a few accent touches of real paint
going for hundreds and (incredibly) thousands
of dollars.
What a incredible rip off! They look
similar to the artists I used to watch
on TV. You know ... the "Happy little
clouds" guy. My in-laws went on and on
about how the lighting makes these print/paintings
look like sunsets/sunrises etc, etc.
They explained to me that the more
expensive ones were actually touched by
Kincaid himself. He apparently appears
at these special events, makes a few
swipes with a brush and this increases
the value of these abominations.
For once in my life I kept my mouth shut!
Hey, just think in 2000 years Elvis on
velvet may be worth millions!
Gayle Bair- who loves some and hates other
Picassos but appreciates all of them.
> Nope. The only thing I have seen that I don't consider crap are some of
> his charcoal sketches, and they are merely adequate, in my opinion. I
> haven't seen any of his ceramic work either, though.
Larry -
You are of course entitled to your own opinions of Picasso and his work, and
after the above post I certainly am not going to waste my time trying to
help you understand him, but I have to wonder why you would want to
grandstand such arrogance on Clayart.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
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vince pitelka on fri 15 sep 00
> Gayle Bair- who loves some and hates other
> Picassos but appreciates all of them.
Gail -
You hit the nail on the head here. Appreciating art has nothing to do with
whether or not you like it or would want it hanging over your sofa.
Appreciating art is about learning the formal language and then gaining
understanding and insight into the time and place of creation and the
artist's intent. It's really a gas.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
vince pitelka on sat 16 sep 00
> This comes dangerously close to saying that the common man could never
> appreciate art because he has not learned the "language".
> I'm sure you don't mean to be elitist in this way. Do you?
Ferenc -
I don't want to come across as a grump, but I'll risk it. This is
ridiculous and you know it, expecially if you understand what the formal
language of art is. It has nothing to do with whether one is a "common man"
although I do not believe in such distinctions, so that reference means
little to me. The formal language of art/design simply refers the visual
language of form, and "knowing the formal language" simply implies a
sensitivity to line, shape, color, value, pattern, texture, etc. Some
people are fortunate to have that intuitively. Others learn it from all
sorts of experience having nothing to do with art. Some learn it in art
school, though often badly. Many learn it just by looking at enough art,
regardless of their station in life.
> I must admit in my youthful arrogance, caught up in the works of Smith and
> Caro and painterly three dimensions. I expressed similar views but Noguchi
> took my breath away and suddenly Smith and Caro were lowly industrial
> constructivists. The language I thought I was prive to be party to was
> suddenly merely jargon (in a metaphysical sense). No language at all and
> certainly not something endowing me with superior knowledge.
I'd have to agree with you about Caro, although it would be hard for me to
say whether Smith or Noguchi used formal elements with more brilliance.
Rather than an industrial constructivist, I would prefer to call Smith an
industrial expressionist.
> Seeing is in the eye of the beholder. Appreciation come from within the
> frame of reference of experience.
Yes, but every form of experience in everyone's life adds to their ability
to appreciate some sort of art. The more experience we gather which has
specifically to do the the making and viewing of art, the greater our
context for appreciation.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
ferenc jakab on sat 16 sep 00
> Appreciating art is about learning the formal language and then gaining
> understanding and insight into the time and place of creation and the
> artist's intent. It's really a gas.
Vince,
This comes dangerously close to saying that the common man could never
appreciate art because he has not learned the "language".
I'm sure you don't mean to be elitist in this way. Do you?
I must admit in my youthful arrogance, caught up in the works of Smith and
Caro and painterly three dimensions. I expressed similar views but Noguchi
took my breath away and suddenly Smith and Caro were lowly industrial
constructivists. The language I thought I was prive to be party to was
suddenly merely jargon (in a metaphysical sense). No language at all and
certainly not something endowing me with superior knowledge.
Seeing is in the eye of the beholder. Appreciation come from within the
frame of reference of experience.
Feri.
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