Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Culture vulture: Genuine imitations
Yessiree, folks, step right up and get yer jen-you-wine imitation art. Support the starving artists (in China) ... no painting more than $59 ... sofa-sized art from just nine-teeeeeen dollars! Guaranteed to match the sofa, or we'll find the same genuine masterpiece in a color that does.
When art imitates art
The Culture Vulture tries hard not to be a snob. If creating something makes you feel good -- great! If viewing something makes you feel good -- smashing! There is accounting for taste, however, and everyone has had different influencing factors in their lives. When it comes to artistic palates/palettes, your Culture Vulture likes that there's something for everyone in this wacky, brilliant world. That being said, everything is not for everyone. Pardon me while I troll through the carrion of the creative highway ... art that imitates the semblance of art.
Overheard at the Starving Artists Group art sale
"These look like the ones at that mall store, you know the place?"
"Yeah, Mama said she had her eye on a couple of them there. She's waiting until they go out of business to try and get them."
Forget the starving artists, I think to myself. What about the starving art gallery owners in our midst?
Made in China
Although the oil paintings at the show I attended in January were signed by artists named "S Hofner" and "King," this is production-line art, made in China (the current darling of the cheap labor world). The formula is skewed to visual cliches that are acceptable and understandable to the masses. That explains why people in China are churning out paintings of English cottages in the woods and Parisian street scenes with storefronts labeled "Retaurant" and "Conffction." Let's even overlook that the confection shop showcases liquor bottles in the window.
The Chinese are celebrated for their bold yet minimalist watercolors and calligraphy, for delicate, intricate porcelain painting and masterful cloisonne. These oil paintings, however, are the work of production-line workers, who are told just what to paint and how.
I guessed that many people at the art sale were looking for paintings to match their furniture. As they trotted out happily with their finds, I hoped they would enjoy looking at them. But "starving artists" is merely the name of a company traveling with the canvases. In another week, they'll receive another shipment with equally uninspired strokes and imagery. If you don't like the flower field with the cottage sitting on the left, there will be one with the cottage on the right. I overheard the workers discussing whether they made "18" at this show last year or "22 or 24." I can assure you, they were referring to the cash box, not canvas counts.
Master of allusion
John Reburn and I (he of Roanoke Valley Printworks) often discuss Thomas Kinkade, the self-proclaimed "Painter of Light." Like Peter Max, Kinkade has purveyed his name and imagery into a brand. You can get Thomas Kinkade household objects including coasters, sofas, wallpaper and even ... a house!
In 2001, The Village, a Thomas Kinkade Community, debuted in Vallejo, Calif. (near San Francisco). Actually, you can't get a house, because the 100-unit subdivision completely sold out (in more ways than sales). These houses don't look like the cottages in Kinkade prints, they're "inspired by the feeling" of his work. They don't have lush woods and a carnival of flowers abloom -- there wasn't enough money (read: conversion to profit) for that level of landscaping. You do get a little patio for your $375,000-plus. And do you know, it worked. As long as people got a sliver of allusion to the imagery and the artist's signature to the concept, they bought it.
Kinkade's company Web site proclaims it's the "leading art-based lifestyle brand" and only sells reproductions "inspired by" his paintings. They employ a production line of highlighters to later add individual strokes to the prints.
At least the Chinese production workers get to paint the whole scene!
Miriam Young is a creative director living in color in Roanoke.
Note: Some Web links provided by the Culture Vulture may contain art featuring nudity, strong political content and bizarre visions. Parental guidance is suggested. Please respect the copyrights of the owners when visiting online galleries, and obtain artists' permission before downloading any images.
And here is every dirty one of them!
ON THE WEB:
Salon.com articleon the Village: www.salon.com/mwt/style/2002/03/18/kinkade_village
NPR's "All Things Considered" story on The Village: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1130646
I wish I could provide links to The Village, but once they sold out, they pulled previous Web links. The community and builder only link to what's currently on the market.
Our valley's submissions to the Museum of Temporary Art are on display!
www.museum-of-temporary-art.com/theexhibits.html
(We are exhibits 2, 4, 8, 11, 16, 29 and 31)
