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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 04/08/2012 : 05:58:40
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Best known was this untalented hack for his ability to turn his horrible, god-awful paintings into a huge and prosperous art gallery empire, Thomas Kinkade has died. (Warning, like a "glowing" Kinkade print, that CNN news article pretends throughout that he was a real artist.)
Kinkade was best known for his oversaturated schlock paintings of sentimental subjects and his willingness to play hardball with the franchisees peddling his crappy and enormously overpriced prints.
Joan Didion wrote of Kinkaid's art style:| A Kinkade painting was typically rendered in slightly surreal pastels. It typically featured a cottage or a house of such insistent coziness as to seem actually sinister, suggestive of a trap designed to attract Hansel and Gretel. Every window was lit, to lurid effect, as if the interior of the structure might be on fire. |
My sentiments, exactly. His stuff was so cutesy, it was scary. Stephen King scary.
Yeah, that's Kinkade.
Wiki:| A self-described "devout Christian" (all of his children have the middle name "Christian"[9]), Kinkade said he gained his inspiration from his religious beliefs and that his work was intended to contain a larger moral dimension. He has also said that his goal as an artist was to touch people of all faiths, to bring peace and joy into their lives through the images he creates. Many pictures contain specific chapter-and-verse allusions to certain Bible passages. |
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 04/08/2012 06:25:42
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ThorGoLucky
Snuggle Wolf
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 15:20:48 [Permalink]
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| Looks almost like something out of World of Warcraft. |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 20:22:27 [Permalink]
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*happy dance*
I hated that guy. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 20:23:57 [Permalink]
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| I take it back. I didn't hate him. I didn't know him. But I hate everything he represented as an artist. I also read an interview with him once and a ton of stuff he said pissed me off. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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| Edited by - marfknox on 04/09/2012 20:24:38 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 20:52:22 [Permalink]
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| Thanks, folks. Now I don't feel so all alone in my harshness. I never wished him dead, but I'm delighted that Kinkade's no longer doing all the things he did. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 21:50:14 [Permalink]
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Of course, we're talking about a zombie-cult guy here, and sometimes they come back:
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 22:19:33 [Permalink]
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"Mountain Paradise and Zombies" |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 01:01:45 [Permalink]
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Kinkade did this one for the Magic Kingdom. As usual, he put everything (except his brain and heart) into it. Still, like Didion mentioned, the lighting or something causes an indefinable creepiness to somehow appear . . .
* Click image for larger version *
* Click image for larger version *
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 04/10/2012 01:22:49 |
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On fire for Christ
SFN Regular
Norway
1273 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 01:46:35 [Permalink]
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| I don't get what's wrong with the pictures. They seem pretty well drawn to me. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 03:24:09 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
I don't get what's wrong with the pictures. They seem pretty well drawn to me.
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Okay. Kinkade had technical skills. But that doesn't by any means make him an artist. His paintings, put simply, did not challenge the average viewer or make them think. Instead, he gave them exactly what they wanted and lots of it.
Kinkade's thing was "kitsch." A picture of a cute puppy is is likely kitsch, that of a leopard creeping about at night near a reclining woman can be art. A Rembrandt portrait is art, an Elvis painting on velvet is kitsch. Kitsch is not harmful, in and of itself, anymore than candy is harmful. But too much of it and you get sick.
Hell, I do kitsch, and to the extent I do, I'm not doing art. Most of my stuff is for glancing at once. Art pleases the eyes much longer. But I never present myself as a real artist. Kinkade did. And the artistically clueless believed him on faith.
Kitsch is like something one liked as a child, but which is embarrassing as one gets older. Here's a definition and discussion of kitsch art.
Kinkade was guilty of throwing tons of scattered details into his paintings. Thus they lost focus, looked "busy" and essentially became eyesores. People liked seeing deer in their landscapes, so Kinkade spread them everywhere. Sunsets! He'd give you two in the sane painting if it weren't against the law. Cheery light coming from the window of a snow-blanketed home? Kinkade would light up ALL the windows! Rainbows? Folks love those, so Kinkade painted them in mass production. Churches? Many folks like those, so there they were, and not the cheap warehouse mega-churches, either.
And the worst thing was, most of these elements would go into every Kinkade painting.
He essentially felt his buyers were clueless, tasteless saps. He made a great deal of money, because that's what they were. I'd call him the PT Barnum of art, except that Barnum was more honest and had better business ethics. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 04/10/2012 03:31:48 |
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Fripp
SFN Regular
USA
727 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 08:56:18 [Permalink]
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Well, I'll admit that he is a guilty pleasure of mine.
I completely agree with every criticism of his work, that Disney piece above is horrendous, seeing a "collection" of his stuff diminishes the impact or uniqueness of a single work, his "talent" is highly suspect, he's no Renoir or Monet (heck, he's not even Rockwell. Saul Steinberg and Al Hirschfeld are 100 times more the artist that he could hope to be) and so on...
While I can't defend a single aspect of his work, I can't deny that I get a certain "homey"/"nostalgia" feeling when I glance at certain works of his.
And yes, I am a fan of Norman Rockwell, who is/was a far more accomplished artist/illustrator.
At best, Kinkade was a 'more successful' (not 'better', just 'more successful') Bob Ross. |
"What the hell is an Aluminum Falcon?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought my Dark Lord of the Sith could protect a small thermal exhaust port that's only 2-meters wide! That thing wasn't even fully paid off yet! You have any idea what this is going to do to my credit?!?!"
"What? Oh, oh, 'just rebuild it'? Oh, real [bleep]ing original. And who's gonna give me a loan, jackhole? You? You got an ATM on that torso LiteBrite?" |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 09:21:18 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Fripp
Well, I'll admit that he is a guilty pleasure of mine.
I completely agree with every criticism of his work, that Disney piece above is horrendous, seeing a "collection" of his stuff diminishes the impact or uniqueness of a single work, his "talent" is highly suspect, he's no Renoir or Monet (heck, he's not even Rockwell. Saul Steinberg and Al Hirschfeld are 100 times more the artist that he could hope to be) and so on...
While I can't defend a single aspect of his work, I can't deny that I get a certain "homey"/"nostalgia" feeling when I glance at certain works of his.
And yes, I am a fan of Norman Rockwell, who is/was a far more accomplished artist/illustrator.
At best, Kinkade was a 'more successful' (not 'better', just 'more successful') Bob Ross.
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I think "guilty pleasure" is a perfectly sound argument. What are the art Nazis going to do, take it away from you? 
Still, you seem to have an underlying knowledge and appreciation of art. Which you must expunge thoroughly in order to enjoy Kinkade.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 14:59:35 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by On fire for Christ
I don't get what's wrong with the pictures. They seem pretty well drawn to me.
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There's nothing "wrong" with them per se. There is a great deal of technical skill. But the subjects are saccharine and immature. A bit twee. A bit inane. Basically pop culture kitsch churned out en masse and sold at absurd markups to unsophisticated consumers. Kinkaid paintings are the art equivalent of Wonder Bread.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 17:06:05 [Permalink]
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| KMart art. |
"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 22:37:46 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by H. Humbert
Originally posted by On fire for Christ
I don't get what's wrong with the pictures. They seem pretty well drawn to me.
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There's nothing "wrong" with them per se. There is a great deal of technical skill. But the subjects are saccharine and immature. A bit twee. A bit inane. Basically pop culture kitsch churned out en masse and sold at absurd markups to unsophisticated consumers. Kinkaid paintings are the art equivalent of Wonder Bread.
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You said that better than I had. More succinct, and less ranting, yet spot on in the observations. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 04/10/2012 : 22:43:14 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Randy
KMart art.
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BINGO! |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Kitsch "artist" Thomas Kinkade dies at 54
