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Re: [OM] Lest we lose the real perspective...

Subject: Re: [OM] Lest we lose the real perspective...
From: Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 11:37:39 -0400
On May 28, 2009, at 10:31 AM, Ken Norton wrote:

> Wyeth's Christina's World series is, in it's entirety, a  
> masterpiece. Taken
> individually, few of those paintings have stand-aloneability.

Must respectfully beg to differ, oh Silver Schnozzled One. Been a  
Wyeth fan all my life, N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. Spent many a happy  
hour standing in front of originals, marveling. Also in books. <g> At  
one time or another, each of them has been my favorite. N.C for the  
shortest period, Andrew for the longest, but that's just because in  
the past 10 years or so I've been really looking at Jamie's work. I  
think all-in-all he's the most talented, but I'll never say a bad word  
about Andrew.

> So many of Ansel Adams' images are "over-cooked" and are the  
> posterchild of
> "HDR". However, typically the technique is flawless, but the artistic
> interpretation is not. I personally find the vast majority of his  
> images to
> be cold and calculating, not warm and inviting.

Reminds me of Chuck's post from the scanner group. When you've got a  
technique for nailing gello to the wall, you shoot for the technique.  
When you're image-conscious (in the good sense), you don't worry if  
what you're shooting fits your technique. And you don't look for  
images that lend themselves to your technique. (That may have been a  
function of shooting with an 8x10, though. When you're lugging that  
stuff around, you tend to have an idea what you're looking for. When  
I'm out with 20GB of Compact Flash cards in my pocket, I tend to try  
lots of stuff I might not try with film, particularly 8x10 sheet film.  
<g>


> 4. AA was far too prolific. He understood something most of us just  
> don't
> get. His primary business wasn't taking pictures. His primary  
> business was
> selling pictures. He had a highly successful business model.  
> Unfortunately,
> we "purists" see that as a "sell-out".

One of the reasons the chattering class gave for Wyeth's lack of  
"popularity" among art critics was the fact he was a recluse. He  
wasn't out making speeches and giving seminars and selling himself. He  
didn't hang out with the beautiful people. He pained what he wanted to  
paint when he wanted to paint it and he didn't seem to give a flying  
fig what anyone, least of all the art critic community, thought. On  
the other hand, he was and is immensely popular with the general  
public, the great unwashed. As a rule, I'd rather be liked by the  
people than by the beautiful people. <g>


--Bob Whitmire
"Art's just fart without the eff."
www.bwp33.com





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