Actually, I think Thomas Kinkade is a fascinating artist because so many people think he sets the bar for terrible artwork, yet he continues to make billions (yes, billions, not millions) from his namebrand enterprise. This piece from Vanity Fair discusses his aesthetic requests for a recent movie - Christmas Cottage - based on his world view, which went straight to video. Contrary to what people tend to assume, I think Kinkade is a seriously strange man whose work in fact deserves some real criticism and not merely high-minded dismissals. He understands and has tapped into "the nesting instinct" in a very deep way. Also, he signs all his original work with an ink that contains an injection of his own DNA. Check the article. By the title you can see it's judgmental, but it does contain some interesting facts and things to think about.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/culture/2008/11/14/thomas-kincades-16-guidelines-for-making-stuff-suck.html
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4 comments:
I love Thomas Kinkade and I love the idea of his paintings being brought to life on film. He's not making a movie for people who hate his work, but for people who love it. I think Vanity Fair was way overcritical. Sure, his paintings are idealized and fanciful, but that's what makes them so appealing to people! You want to be in them!
the more i hear about Kinkade the more interested i become. She makes Kitsch, but I guess the question becomes, what is wrong with that? People say it dumbs down the masses... but does everything we encounter have to provoke us? And besides, if you really think about the man behind the art, it actually can be provoking. Thinking about who people buy these quaint paintings is more interesting, to me, than looking at a glowing scene of tranquility. ps- i am annoyed that my local gallery featured an artist who does pencil drawings of old farm equipment.
i meant "he" not "she"
and "why" , not "who"... i should really proofread
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