Art Loathing
Art is in the eye of the beholder… or is that beauty? I guess it doesn’t matter. Balloon animals = art… yes? At least art investors think so.
Art is in the eye of the beholder… or is that beauty? I guess it doesn’t matter. Balloon animals = art… yes? At least art investors think so.
“I cried all the way to the bank.” Attributed to Liberace, in response to poor critical response.
@Robert – yeah but Liberace was an artist in his own right, even those who could truly criticize his playing couldn’t touch his showmanship. He earned the right to be just a tad arrogant, heh. There are too many people out there with their noses in the air just because they got some fools to cough up hard cash for junk they called “art”.
I heard an artist talking about doing a painting once… (or maybe they were just thinking about doing a painting?) that they planed to make as one of those trick images where you have to stand at just the right distance to actually see what the image is supposed to be. The person was disgusted by all the so called “Art Experts” loving things he didn’t view as art and being willing to pay tons of money for something he felt a child could do better.
He said that he would title it “You don’t know crap about art”, and if you were at just the right angle and distance you would see that it was supposed to look like a big pile of poo with flies circling it. Then he would sit back and watch how many “Art Experts” fell in love with it and thought it was lovely impressionist art and what they thought it represented. All the while he would be sitting back and laughing at anyone who actually thought it was some kind of fine art piece.
Ballon “animals” are ephemeral and the blending of colors to obtain a model is certainly a degree of craftsmanship in a limited media. So ART; maybe. Chrome plating, while extending life of the model, destroys the coloring – that’s at best bad conservation.
Robert… Yes, he was seemingly amused… or unamused… because he didn’t LAUGH all the way to the bank… heeeee heeeee.
Grey… Yes, HE WAS VERY good! ANd he could laugh at himself. Arrogant is what I would call Jeff Koons. He doesn’t even MAKE his art… he has “craftsmen” do it for him. I didn’t have room for that in this strip.
Gramy… Anyone who says: “you don’t know CRAP about art…” has very little artistry to their demeanor.
Beetles… I like the word ephemeral… AND the craft of chrome plating… seems to be the “funny” of the balloon animal… just as a urinal is art. It doesn’t make me like Jeff Koons anymore though.
Not long ago, There was an interview done with Mr. Koons at his studio, given by Pharrell Williams (the musician)… it was interesting… there were naked tea bearers involved… and I find that a bit hard to understand.
Duchamps did not, strictly speaking, present a urinal as art. He the conceptual conflict of inverting a urinal and calling it a fountain as art.
As an author, my “Jeff Koon” is E. L. James. “50 Shades of Grey” is literature? SERIOUSLY?
Every time I read the word “balloon” I can’t help but recall the image and sound from one of the early F-Troop episodes where they’re at the camp of the Hekawi tribe and the chief spots that big hot-air bolloon and points up and cries “It is Balloooon!”
I loved F-Troop! I’m at the perfect age in that I was five years old when it premiered in 1965. I memorized the theme song and still sing it today. One time, on our annual trip from Madison to Phoenix, we stopped by and saw an F-Troop set/tourist attraction along Route 66 near the Arizona/New Mexico border. (Yeah, I had a fun life as a kid.)
Rich… hahahahahah…. sound the “evil spirits alarm”… ! hahaha.
Yah, I watched F-Troop… it was in re-runs in the afternoons. So was Get Smart and, my favorite, Batman. Yah. good times, Pete… good times.
Beetles… and somehow, he started a movement… How absurd. (hahahah) …
I’d love to see Randie take out her rage on Roy Lichtenstein. Goddamned thief laughed his way to the bank while the comic artists he swiped from starved!
Dada… whilst trolling the contemporary art musee in Amsterdam, we came upon a Lichtenstein. I was asked if I like his work. My response: “I feel that I somehow should, but I don’t really… and I’m not sure why.” Perhaps you put your finger on it.
As a photographer I’m very insulted by how Koons ripped of the “puppies” photographer, and I’m very glad he was found to have violated the copyright and made to pay. Not only that, but he lost 2 other similar copyright violation lawsuits (that I know of). Not a nice guy! http://www.owe.com/resources/legalities/30-jeff-koons-copyright-infringement/
Of course, being conceptual, Found Art is more literary than depictive, and Dadaism was originally a literary movement.
DadaH: If youŕe going to dismis Lichtenstein for rip-off, how do you respond to Warhol?
JC… WOW! I didn’t know that Koons stole Odie! (AND WHA? How can you live in the US and not know who Odie is? Really?)… thanks for posting that great article!
Beetles… The underlying question here is, “What is art?” … and it is one of those unanswerable questions… because of the relativeness of it all. But this is why the urinal made such a splash (hahaha) when it was unleashed.
I’m of two minds about the whole “borrowing art” issue: a lot of artists have done some great things with previously made artwork (the Pop artists are well known for that, and, of course, my own online name comes from a certain anti-art movement that made some awesome creations out of any old thing).
…and on the other hand I have to stand up for all of the comic artists throughout the years who worked very hard and had the profits taken by other parties, whether it was the publishing company or people like Lichtenstein who blatantly stole their work, put in about 1/500th of the effort that the original comic artist had to, and make 500 times more money. It’s really frustrating, but sadly the history of comic books is riddled with people who got horribly screwed.
I’m not going to get into the fiery issue of copyright law here because it’s such a minefield of misinformation. I’m just going to say that Lichtenstein stole, intentionally or not, from artists who deserved some recognition (and a decent paycheck) for their hard work.
Hi, Bridgett! Nice comic!
Dada… (Hi!) I agree that it is a crazy world out there as far as what is considered manipulated enough to be considered your own art. Jeff Koons is certainly one who is pushing boundaries in the art world. And he doesn’t even MAKE the art… he hires skilled crafts people to do it for him.
I agree… people who have worked in the comic strip and comic book areas have not exactly become millionaires … well, only a few. But yah so many cartoonists got hosed.
Once the line between inspiration and theft is sufficiently blurred, the line between theft and forgery wavers.
Jeff Koons reminds me of a quote of Marshall McLuhan (which has also been attributed to Andy Warhol):
“Art is anything you can get away with.”
This has obviously been taken to heart by Mr. Koons and lots of other wannabes who do all manner of tomfoolery and “get away with it” by calling it “art”.
Beetles… In today’s internet world, the lines are SUPER BLURRY.
uwg… yes, well stated… I think that that is a perfect quote for this toon.