Welcome to my world of beauty, peace and hope.
Although I didn’t stay to watch Andy Rooney detail the contents of his desk drawer, I did enjoy watching the profile of Thomas Kinkade on “60 Minutes.” For those who don’t know him, Kinkade is the king of HOTEL MOTEL ART FAIR art, with cozy cottages and gardens and lighthouses as far as the eye can see. Kinkade takes it to a new level, though, by having hundreds of canvas-backed prints made of each image, with a few paint blobs added by factory workers to make them look more like originals. Brilliant, really.
What fascinated me about the profile was that while they were obviously making fun of Kinkade’s awful mass-produced “art” and the rabid fans who put their lives in hock to buy the stuff, they’re also (wittingly or unwittingly) giving him tons of free publicity. How many people, sitting waiting for their weekly Andy Rooney fix, will take a look at that profile and think, “Boy, that’s some good art. Gotta get down to the mall to get me some of that.”
The double-edged sword of pop culture.
I find his paintings dark and ominous for some reason. Also, as a Christian I’m somewhat annoyed at the attention he gets for his art. It’s very safe. There’s nothing challenging about what he paints or the way he paints it. Yet, he is embraced by Christians, in part because of his faith, as a brilliant painter. Then he opens 100 stores in malls. I don’t have problems with Christians becomming famous or rich, but it feels like the faith is part of the marketing package. Am I making sense?
And don’t forget Thomas Kinkade-ville http://www.thevillage-kinkade.com/#
I was going to write a post about this too – I would think twice about buying a painting of his for $1 at a garage sale. It’s just not my style – after seeing the mass production, I find the price of his work unwarranted and a little disgusting.
I didn’t see the 60 Minutes segment but The New Yorker did a great profile about Kincade’s popularity and the marketing plans to build his brand and take his company public.
I had never heard of him, but only a few weeks later I saw a Kincade painting hanging on a friend’s wall. I wanted to see the brilliant mystical glow his fans rave about. What I saw was that my friend spent a lot of money for a very tiny, very average picture.
Geez, if you’re going to spend lots of money on art, spend it on mine at arthurcoddington.com . I’ll even splash some paint on for a nominal fee.
The New Yorker profile was very good. I especially like the way they described the people who are throwing wads of cash at him, and waiting in line for some flunky to add the famous lighting.
Then again, if these people weren’t getting their Kincade fix, they would just be out buying Precious Moments figurines, or wall clocks with an inspirational poem wriitten on a lacquered decorated piece of tree trunk. Or maybe clown art. Hard to believe, but there are worse things