Bounty

Two Fishermen - Max Pechstein, 1923

This print gets thrown up in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday we have coming up here. This print also reminds me of the halcyon days of my late adolescence when I hung out with an interesting cat who was apt to make woodcuts in a similar vein (in my dining room) and listened to the Primus (no Dr. Seuss hat though, sorry Lex).

Homefront

The Mothers - Kathe Kollwitz, 1921

Hey, welcome to a new series here at GBOR where I post the work of others because I am too lazy/busy to post anything original on my own. Kidding, of course, that's what I've been doing for years. In this case, I will be posting graphic work that it not my own. See the difference? I don't really have the language to talk about art and, as I have discovered when I foray into discussions of music, when I don't have the language it takes me about four seconds to say something stupid. On the other hand, if I stick to "I like this" or "For me, that it not what I like" people tend to respect that. I don't know why, maybe they just feel sorry for someone so completely defenseless. So that's pretty much what I'll be doing with these posts; just throwing up an image and saying "I like this."

As with music, my tastes in art tend to run to the dark and distorted, so we'll be seeing quite a bit of German Expressionism from the interwar period (is there any other kind?), but I imagine I'll mix in some other stuff that I like as well that it different. Maybe not the classics, but some lighter stuff. Like when I mix Mary McGregor in with my Tool.

This first image is probably my favorite art image of all time. It is so powerful, I cannot imagine anyone not being drawn to it. Why is it that I own a print of it that sits under my bed? I don't know. Maybe 'cause I'd have to look at it all the time.

Pat Two Ways

You'd think it would be fairly easy to get a painting of Obama on velvet. No such luck. Can you find one?

I did find this though. I know Lex will love.

Bard Fest...

kicks ass!

Amber has a lead role in Comedy of Errors - by William Shakespeare (that's right, Shakespeare) - and she was amazingly good. Like, one of three people in the entire play that was not speed-saying her lines, but actually acting with facial expressions and gestures and everything.

Even though most of the kids bit, I'm still processing that a seventh grade class was able to work up a full Shakespeare play and put it on so that a decent portion of the plot was intelligible. I don't really remember seventh grade (good times, good times), but I dare say that we weren't putting on Shakespeare.

Post-play I suggested that she thinking about acting, she was so good. She replied that she didn't think so, as acting seemed like a lot of work.

Always my daughter, that Amber.

You Tell Me

I don't know what this means, but I like it. The Winter GTFF GMM flyer.

I Know What I Hate

I know that irony is dead and Lord knows the internets prove this. We live in such bizzaro times that it is hard to tell a parody site from a just straight up horror. At times like these a man needs a ruling from his friends.

With this in mind, I offer artist Joe Heaps Nelson. I came across him through a Gawker Artist ad on Jezebel. This is the painting that caught my attention.

I was inclined to think that Joe is interesting artist who is making ironic comments on American life. His "Oregon Ducks Cheerleader" painting being a commentary on how cheerleaders are really just sexual objects. Unoriginal, yes, but when the painting is over four feet tall, the point is amplified, so to speak. Also, see his comments for his "USA Cheerleaders," which seem to indicate that his painting is a comment on an American fascist state that hides behind corn-bread smiles.

But...what the heck is the statement made by his "Oregon State Cheerleaders" painting? At 3 foot by 4 foot, that's a huge painting of some questionable looking cheerleaders. Now I have to wonder if Joe doesn't just paint straight up crap.

Alright, a ruling is needed. Genius, kitch, or crap?

[UPDATE: None of the links work, because Joe can't host a freakin' webpage.]