Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Bad art

I love art.  I enjoy strolling through an art gallery and enjoying the paintings and sculpture.  I've been to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.  I've seen the Venus on the half shell.  I've been to the Louvre in Paris.  I've seen the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.  I've been to the art gallery in Chicago and seen American Gothic.  I've been to the National Gallery and seen the Gauguin collection and a special showing of Calder's work.  I've been to the impressionist art museum in Paris before they moved it to the train station and now I can't remember what the name was 'cause I'm old and old people forget stuff.  Anyway, I enjoy art.

How come there is so much bad art out there?  I work at a college.  There is TONS of bad art here.  Most of it is very ugly, depressing and bland.  I guess when you have a lot of young people and a lot of angst and lots of art materials you can get a lot of bad art.

Why am I telling you this?  They've removed the ugly art in the hallway leading to the ladies room in my building.  Yippee!!!  I think.  Who knows what they will hang to replace the piece I am certain was a representation of a dead cow?  Or what will hang instead of the special piece consisting of a black line and black outline of a circle and a red dot?  Or, what will replace the piece that looked like black ink watered down and smeared across the paper?  Btw, what is the deal with all the black.  Don't we buy colored paints or inks or anything with a splash of color?  Or, can we have art that is a representation of something identifiable?  Just a question.  Anyway, now we have blank walls and the improvement is ENORMOUS.  Time will tell.

Oh, and don't think a college is the only place with bad art.  There ought to be a law.

Em, send some art my way.  We need some beauty over here.




23 comments:

  1. oh come on now...dont go snooty art critic on me...smiles. there are starving artists out there that cant afford materials beyond what they find in the junk yard...snickers...sorry i rather like mod art...reimaging someones junk...i am jealous of going to paris...would love to go sometime...

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  2. If I could have done it, it's not art. <---- Mama Zen, Art Critic

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  3. I am afraid I don't have much good art to share with you... but art captures a mood doesn't it? Though I think I'd usually agree without about bad art, there are also moments when the paintings you describe would touch me deeply because they touched me where my mood was. I think maybe your building's decorator has a lot of sour moods?

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  4. Le Musee D'Orsay (impressionist museum moved to a train station) - probably my favorite art museum ever!

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  5. I have to admit, I like it all (usually).  Oh, how I miss being able to go to the Art Institute in Chicago. It was always a favorite growing up... Hopefully, you can find some new pics that make you smile :)

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  6. well, art does tend to reflect the culture. . . . . . ???  just sayin'.  :-)  i guess it's not providing a great narrative if what you are describing is typical.  
    if it were all as uplifting as emily's, i'd be happy.  hopefully those bare walls will either stay bare or be filled with acceptable beauty for you :-)

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  7. It's in the eye of the beholder - some say.  Sounds like the art you describe belongs outside the restroom.   :) 

    The National Gallery of Art in DC - one of my favorite places to go.

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  8. Oh oh oh, if you are in this neck of the woods you MUST let me know.  I would meet you there.

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  9.  Oh Joybird.  Yes, thank you for the name.  I just hate it when the mental filing system goes awry.

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  10. Well amen sista friend.  I prefer art that probably isn't "art" at all.  The more colorful, whimsical and identifiable it is...the better I think it is:)  Thanks for your last comment.  I love that term - Blogging with a purpose!  That's awesome:) 

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  11. I just popped over from Lynn's blog.  Having studied art at uni, I've learned to appreciate all kinds, and now find the really modern conceptual stuff more interesting than the old rather boring traditional masters. :D

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  12.  Thanks for stopping by.  I'm not a critic, but I likes what I likes.

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  13. I am blessed to live in a town where there are quite a few good artists and many great galleries. I am still transfixed when I go to the National Gallery.  I would like to visit the Louvre.

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  14. I'm jealous of your having gone all those places! I stuck my toe across and into Canada, once...:)

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  15. I will.  My sister has moved away to the Shenandoah Valley now though.  They did live in Annandale, VA and when I visited them I would hop on that Orange line train at the Dunn Loring station and get off at the Smithsonian stop.  I think I know every inch of those museums.  I sure miss it there.

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  16. I've been more places than this, but I didn't want too make too many of my reader into Happy Girl haters.  :)

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  17. i would love to send you some art :) and i totally get this, i really do... sometimes i feel as though people defile the canvas. but then i feel guilty for judging them. :) great post!

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  18. You know I have to say that I'm not an art critic, but I agree with you. Some pieces of art, I just don't understand why they are considered art. And I never understand why some are so expensive and considered so famous. This doesn't mean I don't love art-I do. I even dabbled in painting for a while. I think art can be very moving, but some pieces, I just don't get. Maybe I'm not cultural enough.

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  19. thanks so much for stopping by.  I'd love it if you read again.

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  20.  I have to tell you, Hope Blooms is my favorite of yours, but the original is not for sale.  :(

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  21. Art has definitely taken a dark road in the past decade.  That does say a lot for those young angsty, pent-up, repressed emotional peeps!  The beauty of things heavenly, angelic, and/or just pretty is what helped the artists to deal with the angst so many years ago.  All that dark art can't be helping this generational artists, just depressing them more.  

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