Howard Finster - Man of Visions
Posted on 03/24/2006 6:35:10 PM PST by aculeus
Entrepreneur artist who hangs in one in 20 US homes accused of fraud and drunken antics
"There's over 40 walls in the average American home," a business manager for the artist Thomas Kinkade once said, "and Thom says our job is to figure out how to populate every single wall in every single home and every single business throughout the world with his paintings."
Kinkade's luridly idyllic landscapes, full of quaint cottages and glowing firelight, already hang in an estimated one in 20 US homes. "In the often hurried, unsympathetic and complex world we live in, the images Thomas Kinkade paints offer a place of refuge," his company's literature purrs. "A place where the transient things of life give way to the things that matter most ... faith and family, a loving home and the people who know and love us."
Art critics have long dismissed his work as a kitsch crime against aesthetics. But now the world has grown even more "unsympathetic and complex" for the artist, who describes himself as a devout Christian and has trademarked his "Painter of Light" soubriquet. In court documents and other testimony, he has been accused of sexual harassment, fraudulent business practices and bizarre incidents of drunkenness including a habit of "ritual territory marking" that involves urinating in public places.
'Misleading picture'
A court-appointed arbitration panel has ruled in favour of two former owners of Kinkade-branded galleries, ordering his company to pay them $860,000 (£500,000) for breaching "the covenant of good faith and dealing" and failing to disclose pertinent business information.
(Excerpt) Read more at arts.guardian.co.uk ...
Howard Finster - Man of Visions
If next year the Christmas kitsch people switch to Christmas tree figurines, every Kincaid picture will have a Christmas tree in it.
Just watch. He knows what his fans like, and will add stuff to his paintings. The lamppost is another example of this.
The monthly utility bills of the folks in these paintings must be astronomical. Does any normal person keep every light in the house on at the same time?
OK, I kind of like the question mark.
wish that was bigger. HF is an artist!
I'll bet you don't like the drum solo in "In A Gadda Da Vida" either. Commie.
WHERE did you find that one??!!!??
"Do the people who live in these houses come and go by canoe, or what?"
That is hilarious.
"luridly idyllic" indeed. Actually, I've always thought that too about this guy's stuff...great phrase.
So perfect they seem creepy.
Seriously, a "dogs playing poker" pic would probably be a better investment. Did you hear one of the originals sold for about $850K?
Nah . . . it's just easy in this case.
My favorite bad musician is P.D.Q. Bach . . .
Think Again
Acrylic on canvas by Unknown
Acquired by Scott Wilson from trash
This disturbing work "makes an offer you can't refuse". The chilling, matter-of-fact manner in which the subject presents the severed head to us is a poignant reminder of just how numb we have become. The understated violence implicit in the scene speaks volumes on our own desensitization, our society's reflexive use of force, and the artist's inability to deal with the hindquarters of the animal ....
from the Museum of Bad Art
What can I say, I guess Martha Stewart had to fill her days somehow when she was in the Big House...
Lileks strikes again!
I love that song...
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