Bonsai Philosophy

linzoy

I wouldn't really know where I'm supposed to find an art critic. All I know about thomas kinkade I know from this topic and from going to the kinkade store at the mall.

I think people can sometimes enjoy things at a level that's deeper than gut level. I never understood what was so great about the mona lisa at first because I was juding it the way I judged everything else, by the first glance. It's a face. Then I heard people talking about weather it was smiling or not, and when I looked at it again I relalized it could be read as any human expression.

Thomas kinkade is an artist that I could enjoy at gut level. You look at one of his paintings and say, oh look, it's a pretty sunset. But then you realize that no sunset you have ever seen in your life looks like that sunset. Then you look at his other paintings and they all look very similer to the first one. Then you come back a year later and his painting still all look the same. Real artists try to improve.

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Attila

That's what is so great about learning: as you learn, your taste changes. Your view on everything changes. So you start to enjoy new things that you haven't noticed before. The more you learn about art, the more your taste will change.

But the enjoyment still comes from the level of your instincts. If you like something at first sight, you shouldn't try to convice yourself later that you are wrong: there is no harm in enjoying a picture. The more fun you are having in life, the better off you are.

Your argument about the sunset being fake, doesn't hold too much water. There are plenty of examples of great art that don't look like nature at all: they can very well be a product of the artist's imagination. Art stopped looking like nature a long time ago. Just look at any museum of modern arts. And if Michelangelo created a dozen more Davids after the first one, the first David would still be a masterpiece.

linzoy

You're right, it doesn't hold any water. I can't explain why, but if I see one kinkade picture it looks fine at first, but something about a whole gallery of kinkade paintings makes me dislike him.

I like a lot of art that isn't realistic, but if it seems like someone's aiming for realism they shouldn't fail at it.

zube

Kinkade is not aiming for realism, he is aiming for commercial success, and is the McDonalds of the art world. I'm not sure which manufacturers the worst swill, but at least a Big Mac is cheap.
zube

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Attila

I don't blame you. With due respect to those who like him, I feel that there is something disturbing about his gallery. If I could compare him with a cup of tea, I would say that it has an overdose of sugar. I like tea with a little sugar, but when they pour a whole boxful in it, that makes me slightly nauseous.

The guy is a commercial genious though, I have to give him credit for that.