[vannrox]

THIS IS A GREAT ARTICLE. IT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FEELINGS OF MANY, MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE ABSOLUTELY SICK AND TIRED OF BEING TOLD THAT JUNK IS ART AND ART IS JUNK AND THAT WE HAVE TO LIKE IT AND APPRECIATE IT. IF WE DON'T THEN WE ARE UNENLIGHTENED AND STUPID.

[stylin19a]

so....on which side does Christo fall ?

[vannrox]

[Publius6961]

"It's terrifying and awful when you realize that billions of tons of pollutants are flowing down the Niagara River every day," Moore said.

Oh yes, that reminds me. It is most noteworthy that not mentioned in the critique is that many, if not most living artists are as dumb as rocks. This MENSA candidate obviously has no clue as to what "billions of tons" is.

I had the good fortune to see the traveling exhibit, Master Paintings of the Hermitage", in the late 70s. Having seen it in the flesh (so to speak), my favorite painting, period, is Evening in the Ukraine, 1878, by Arkhip Ivanovich Kuinji.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I dare any current weenie to jam that much beauty and power into a canvas today.

[Billthedrill]

Great posting. The purpose of art is not to allow an artist to express himself or herself. The purpose of art is not to allow an artist to express beauty. The purpose of art is for an artist to communicate beauty. Charlatans can only pretend to, and even if their pretensions are validated by a sycophantic art "community" they are still charlatans.

...another English artist, Ray Hutchins, who dumped a load of manure in front of the Tate and propped up a sign reading "Modern Art is a Load of Bullshit"

There are, of course, exceptions, but in the main the fellow was absolutely right.

[infidel29]

...Finley's "artworks" consisted of anger, nudity, profanity and chocolate-smearing her nude body with chocolate while screaming obscenities at an audience. Despite the art critics who had praised these "performance works" as "a provocative brand of artistry," the NEA turned down her application for more tax dollars. So, joined by three other "controversial artists,"3 she sued, challenging the NEA's "decency and respect" law as violating her right to Free Speech and accusing the NEA of Communist-style repression: "That's what they do in China," she said.

This is crap, along with other forms of modern art which are more focused on "feelings and intent" instead of passion, skill, aesthetics and beauty. Read the above paragraph then read this to put them in context.

Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings," substituting shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.

Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and television.

These are goals set forth by the communist party and are being pushed, upheld and defended by the ACLU. SOURCE.

[Ditter]

I am an artist and I am sick of so called art that consists of rubber chickens hanging from dead branches and other such rubbish that I have actually seen in galleries. I will look for this magazine.

[little jeremiah]

Agree 100% - no, I agree 200% - and bump. Did you read an article some time ago about some dead "artist" who had filled a lot of cans with his own excrement, sealed them up, and they were sold for good sums of money to various art museums?

[baystaterebel]

This summed it up for me:

""Publisher Eric Rhoads makes it very clear what his magazine stands for: "I am not opposed to 'modern' art in any knee-jerk way. I am only opposed - firmly - to any art of any era that is a sham, a ruse, or a mockery, that uses shock value to hide the artist's total lack of talent and the complete lack of any firm artistic foundation. My daughter can bang her hands on a piano, but that doesn't make her a pianist; and the fact that someone can slap paint onto a canvas doesn't make him a fine artist.""


Amen.

[Publius6961]

What a great article!
The article itself proves the premise, since if an individual had not posted it here on FR, I might have never heard of it.
Now I plan both to subscribe to the magazine and to join the other site.

I have never had a problem calling crap crap. Even in the Louvre, or at the National Gallery of art, or the Corcoran Gallery in DC, or the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.
That makes me an ignorant fool? Water off a duck's back. Has about as much an effect on me as being called "insensitive, hateful homophobe" ---- by neurotic perverts.

Thanks for the post!

[FranklinsTower]

bump

[mowkeka]

BTTT.

[Brett66]

It seems to me that a legitimate artist could be far more marketable, they could actually sell their paintings to a large swath of normal people that would enjoy them. You don't even need a gallery anymore, the web is a great place to display your work and it doesn't have to pass through the government-funded deranged artist effetes.

[abner]

Fantastic article! I sent it off to an artist friend of mine whose web site I will be updating shortly. He is an incredible glass artist of some renown that feels the same way about glass. I would love to see the ideas in this article spill over into the glass world!

Chihluly comes to mind as the greatest example of no substance.

[okie01]

Thanks for posting this article. And for the hope it conveys...

[Tribune7]

bump

[fullchroma]

I dropped out of art school in the 70's (1970's) because no one would teach me how to draw or paint. Globs of orange acrylic paint, straight out of the tube, dribbled onto aluminum foil were cheered as "art" while anything requiring thought, skill, and practice was soundly derided . The antipathy toward representational art was pervasive and harsh.

Since then I've learned by doing and by studying with other artists. I now have many friends -- other traditional oil painters -- who had the same experience during those years. Back then I thought I might be simple and "unsophisticated" but I've since learned otherwise.

Thanks for posting.

[GovernmentShrinker]

In 2001, English artist Jacqueline Crofton was banned for life from the Tate Galleries after she threw two eggs at an artwork in the Tate.

Banned??? But she was expressing herself! That's art! How can the modern art crowd fail to appreciate her self-expression?

[Age of Reason]

Could it be the bigger fool theory in art is about to come to an end?

Imagine the poor schnooks stuck with million dollar urinals.

[pepperdog]

What a wonderful article. I feel vindicated. I knew, at twelve years of age, modern art was crap and I said it. I was told I was too young to understand. I said the same thing at 20 and was told it was lack of education. At 30 I was told I was "old fashioned and a stick in the mud". I'm just glad to find out that I wasn't the crazy person, they were! (I always knew they were)

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Bump