When I was in high school, as long as I had good grades, I could skip school every Friday.I would take the bus to downtown Riverside, California, get lunch and check out the local museums and galleries.
Initially, I was intimidated by the seemingly pretentious mannerisms of the patrons.
One day, a tall elegant older French lady mentioned that she would see me every week and asked why I wasn't in school. I explained my arrangement and she decided to help me understand art. She told me not to worry about what everyone else liked or thought and to just pick a painting that I liked. It wasn't a classic Michelangelo but a modern piece. She advised me to learn about the style and the artist and to look into his works and other works in the same genre. Soon I could tell a Warhol from a Rothko and I developed my own tastes. (Kind of like getting to know wine - don't be intimidated)
Keith Herring - Colorful and simple. Almost primitive. Maybe it's from his days as a graffiti artist. Herring did the boom-box on the cover of the Buffalo Gals (Malcolm McClaren) album, worked with Grace Jones and his works appear in ads still today.
Kenny Scharf - Juicy Jungle Reminds me of a B-52's song
Joan Miro - These "doodles" command millions at auction.
Mark Kostabi - His works seem like art school projects that were never fully realized for detail.
Dondi White - I love graffiti. I still go to the local train yards to check out the movable feast of urban (and urbane) art.
Picasso - everybody knows Pablo.
Salvador Dali - An ex-girlfriend said the this piece (about narcissism) reminded her of me. Dali is most often a teen aged boy's favorite gallery artist.
Jean Michael Basquiat - His works seem as though they were made by a fifth grader.Okay, no "deep" thought.. but there's more to life than politics and the economy.
Addendum:
RunningMom - I try to draw and paint every once in a while. Usually all I make is a mess.
Debo Blue - Thanks
brohammas - I'd never seen or heard of Bua ( http://www.justinbua.com/newSite/originals.php ) but his stuff is cool.
Banksy and his rats (rat anagram for art), the uncle (not the godfather) of stencil street art...
( http;//www.banksy.co.uk/menu.htm/ )
Yeah, I like his stuff.
4 comments:
I like graffiti too. When I sit waiting for a train to pass, I always look for the art.
It amazes me the things that people can do with a can of spray paint. The precision is amazing.
I used to paint.. I haven't in a long time. I still have my paints and canvasses and brushes though.. Maybe soon.
Refreshing.
Compliments your depth.
not a bad deal. My school teacher parents equated skipping school with sacrelige.
what do you think of Justin Bua or Banksy?
Everybody that likes contemporary art likes these though, seriously. I'm just sayin. I'm not saying this good or bad. Also, you forgot one of the usual suspects, Kadinsky.
Post a Comment