Ask Me About Art - I Know Everything (that matters)

[PureX]

I love art too.
Your favorite painter?

That's a tough question.

Many years ago, as a young sculptor living in Chicago, I went to a Malcolm Morley show at the MCA. I was never a painter and so am not well versed in painting techniques and criticisms, but his paintings were AMAZING! Even I was able to see a true master at the height of his powers. I even went back to see it a couple of times over the next several weeks just to see if I had somehow gotten over-excited. But they were as amazing every time I saw them. So I think I'd have to pick Malcolm Morley.

Bonus question: guess who the author of the painting in my avatar is.

Just guessing, I'd say it looks like it could be a part of a Balthus painting.

 

[Estro Felino]

That's a tough question.

Many years ago, as a young sculptor living in Chicago, I went to a Malcolm Morley show at the MCA. I was never a painter and so am not well versed in painting techniques and criticisms, but his paintings were AMAZING! Even I was able to see a true master at the height of his powers. I even went back to see it a couple of times over the next several weeks just to see if I had somehow gotten over-excited. But they were as amazing every time I saw them. So I think I'd have to pick Malcolm Morley.
Just guessing, I'd say it looks like it could be a part of a Balthus painting.

Excellent choice. I like Morley's style too.

Btw...it is a painting by Franz Marc, my favorite painter. His paintings give me chills, they are incredible.

 

[Wu Wei]

Who was the model for the Mona Lisa?
How many times did Michelangelo have to stop to buy paint while painting the Sistine Chapel?
Why was Thomas Gainsborough's blue boy blue and not green?
And lastly what was Vincent Van Gogh shoe size?

 

[Revoltingest]

What about Art Fleming?

Definitely in Heaven.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I've always thought that a large part of art was about asking the questions that are important to us, and finding new approaches to finding the answers.

In your post number 4, you pronounced that the Rene Magritte "Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe" was art, but Thomas Kincaide's "Gate of New Beginnings" was not.

Could you talk to the reasons for your adjudication of these two works?

 

[Revoltingest]

Who was the model for the Mona Lisa?
How many times did Michelangelo have to stop to buy paint while painting the Sistine Chapel?
Why was Thomas Gainsborough's blue boy blue and not green?
And lastly what was Vincent Van Gogh shoe size?

Here's some art that those unfamiliar with
motorcycle design might not appreciate...

 

[Wu Wei]

Here's some art that those unfamiliar with
motorcycle design might not appreciate...

That is beautiful, definitely a work of art. But I have admit, I have never heard of Velocette

 

[Revoltingest]

That is beautiful, definitely a work of art. But I have admit, I have never heard of Velocette

It was a big name in racing in the 30s.
But the bikes are uncommon.
I rode their Enduro model in the 70s.
Nice bike.
500cc single cylinder.

 

[Wu Wei]

It was a big name in racing in the 30s.
But the bikes are uncommon.
I rode their Enduro model in the 70s.
Nice bike.
500cc single cylinder.

I'll need to research Velocette

 

[ChristineM]

It was a big name in racing in the 30s.
But the bikes are uncommon.
I rode their Enduro model in the 70s.
Nice bike.
500cc single cylinder.

I'll need to research Velocette

British police used them as squad cars.

Much more artistically designed than the typical road bike.

 

[PureX]

I've always thought that a large part of art was about asking the questions that are important to us, and finding new approaches to finding the answers.

In your post number 4, you pronounced that the Rene Magritte "Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe" was art, but Thomas Kincaide's "Gate of New Beginnings" was not.

Could you talk to the reasons for your adjudication of these two works?

Magritte is sharing his way of seeing (experiencing) and understanding the world (the world of art in this instance) with us. His painting is offering us a glimpse into his experience of reality. And in doing this he is helping us to experience our own reality in a new and broader way. It should be obvious that the painting of a pipe is not a pipe. And yet if we pointed at the painting and asked most people "what is that?", they would immediately say "it's a pipe". By forcing us not to do that, Magritte is inviting us to consider the painting as an art object, made for more than just a representational reason.

Kincaide's illustrations are just a visual confection. Made to appeal to the eye and pander to nostalgia the way a cake is made to appeal to eye and pander to the taste buds. It shares with us nothing about how the artist experiences or understands the world. It gives us nothing that we don't already know about, ourselves. It exists to appeal to our most base senses, with the specific purpose of selling a product. Kincaide is a huckster appealing to the lowest (least creative) common sensibilities among us for the purpose of mass consumption. He's basically a greeting card illustrator pretending that he's an "artist" so he can charge people lots of money for fluff.

 

[PureX]

Here's some art that those unfamiliar with
motorcycle design might not appreciate...

Industrial design is not art. Neither is architecture or furniture. And the reason is that their primary purpose is functional. They do not exist to express an individual's experience of reality. They exist to fulfill a practical function. But I understand the appreciation of these when they are exceptionally well thought out and executed. I worked on a very large touring show called "The Art of the Motorcycle" that toured all over the world, and exhibited more than a hundred motorcycles of all kinds and time periods. I got to see them close up and learn some about their specific importance in the history of motorcycle and industrial design. And they were beautiful machines for sure. But in spite of the show's title, they were not works of art. They were works of industrial design. It was fundamentally an industrial design show.

 

[Revoltingest]

British police used them as squad cars.

View attachment 60530


Much more artistically designed than the typical road bike.

View attachment 60531

Ugh....I know of that model.
Velocette's greatest shame.

 

[Revoltingest]

Industrial design is not art.

Only to snobs with closed minds.
I pity them for their blindness reinforced with hubris & sanctimony.

 

[PureX]

Finally, you got to post what you came here to post. Congratulations. Now you can go start your "The Beauty of the Motorcycle" thread.

 

[PureX]

Here's something to consider as a way of identifying a work of art as distinct from other man-made objects and experiences: art is not created to perform a function, but rather to fulfill a purpose. Nearly everything else we humans create, we create to perform a function.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Magritte is sharing his way of seeing (experiencing) and understanding the world (the world of art in this instance) with us. His painting is offering us a glimpse into his experience of reality. And in doing this he is helping us to experience our own reality in a new and broader way. It should be obvious that the painting of a pipe is not a pipe. And yet if we pointed at the painting and asked most people "what is that?", they would immediately say "it's a pipe". By forcing us not to do that, Magritte is inviting us to consider the painting as an art object, made for more than just a representational reason.

Kincaide's illustrations are just a visual confection. Made to appeal to the eye and pander to nostalgia the way a cake is made to appeal to eye and pander to the taste buds. It shares with us nothing about how the artist experiences or understands the world. It gives us nothing that we don't already know about, ourselves. It exists to appeal to our most base senses, with the specific purpose of selling a product. Kincaide is a huckster appealing to the lowest (least creative) common sensibilities among us for the purpose of mass consumption. He's basically a greeting card illustrator pretending that he's an "artist" so he can charge people lots of money for fluff.

"Art is commonly defined as the expression and application of creative skill and imagination. There are seven common forms of art, but we refer specifically to the creative visual arts, such as painting, photography, or sculpture, when comparing art to design.

The purpose of producing these artworks is to create something that we can appreciate primarily for its beauty or emotional impact. Artists aim to create something that expresses their vision, ideas, or feelings.

Art uses creativity combined with technical proficiency to translate beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas into a visual format. The definition of art is broad and widely debated; it is also inherently inclusive.

Art appreciation and interpretation can be highly subjective, and what one person considers art may not be perceived by someone else the same way. There is rarely an agreed definition of what constitutes art, and the perception of what art includes has changed over time." Art vs Design: What's The Difference? - Eden Gallery

I took the above from the Eden Gallery, a world-wide group of galleries focusing on modern art.

I can't help but notice that they, unlike you, allow for art to include that which is included for its beauty, which is sometimes an expression of their feeling.

 

[PureX]

"Art is commonly defined as the expression and application of creative skill and imagination. There are seven common forms of art, but we refer specifically to the creative visual arts, such as painting, photography, or sculpture, when comparing art to design.

The purpose of producing these artworks is to create something that we can appreciate primarily for its beauty or emotional impact. Artists aim to create something that expresses their vision, ideas, or feelings.

Art uses creativity combined with technical proficiency to translate beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas into a visual format. The definition of art is broad and widely debated; it is also inherently inclusive.

Art appreciation and interpretation can be highly subjective, and what one person considers art may not be perceived by someone else the same way. There is rarely an agreed definition of what constitutes art, and the perception of what art includes has changed over time." Art vs Design: What's The Difference? - Eden Gallery

I took the above from the Eden Gallery, a world-wide group of galleries focusing on modern art.

I can't help but notice that they, unlike you, allow for art to include that which is included for its beauty, which is sometimes an expression of their feeling.

None of them are artists, of course. They're basically just a collection of salesman trying to sound important and authoritative to their clients. Do you believe everything a car salesman tells you? I understand that people misuse the term "art" all the time, just as people misuse terms like science, religion and philosophy. Language is a very subjective and pliable phenomenon. But we already have a word for design, and for entertainment, and for decoration, and for craftsmanship, and for the many other human endeavors so often confused and conflated with art. So logically, there is no need to insist on conflating these other various endeavors with the endeavor of art.

Instead, logically, we ought to define the differences, so as to be more precise in the use of these terms.

 

[Augustus]

Ask me about art. It's a subject I think is important and that I do know a lot about.

If a fine artist like Rembrandt was drawing a lady stickman, would she have a triangle and a body, with the triangle representing a skirt, or would she have a triangle instead of a body, with the triangle representing a dress?

 

[PureX]

People often say that "laughter is the best medicine". But laughter isn't really considered medicine even though it is tangentially related to the purpose of medicine and could be considered medicinal under a very specific criteria and circumstances.

People also call lots of things "art" that are not art, but are tangentially related to art, and that could become examples of art under a very specific set of conditions and circumstances.

I'm not sure why people have so much difficulty in accepting this. They would not put up so much opposition if I were to say that laughter isn't really medicine. Or that homosexuals aren't really any more or less "gay" than anyone else. But for some reason, people really want to defend their misuse of the term "art", no matter how illogical their misapplication of it may be.

And I doubt anyone that does so can explain why, to me. But if you can, please do.