I am a Warrior for Light
April 6, 2012 8:29 PM Subscribe
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is kind of weird ironic-obit territory. -- cortex
Wow. I fall on the "don't speak ill of the dead" side of things, but that's a bit too glowing of an obituary for a man who was a royal son of a bitch both in business and as a human being.
posted by griphus at 8:36 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 8:36 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
That was unexpected. So, and I mean this as non-cynically as possible, what does that do for the value of his art? Are there historical examples of a popular artist dying near the peak of his or her market saturation?
posted by mmcg at 8:37 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mmcg at 8:37 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
.
(I thought Vermeer was the 'painter of light'...)
posted by mediated self at 8:37 PM on April 6, 2012
(I thought Vermeer was the 'painter of light'...)
posted by mediated self at 8:37 PM on April 6, 2012
Are there historical examples of a popular artist dying near the peak of his or her market saturation?
Andy Warhol.
posted by Trurl at 8:38 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Andy Warhol.
posted by Trurl at 8:38 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, I really hope that his death raises the value of his, er, art, just so that all the people screwed over by being convinced to purchase it as an investment can get at least a bit more money out of it than otherwise.
posted by griphus at 8:41 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by griphus at 8:41 PM on April 6, 2012
RIP Thomas Kinkade, slain by his rival Abrak zul'Kresh, the Painter of Darkness.
posted by p3on at 8:42 PM on April 6, 2012 [10 favorites]
posted by p3on at 8:42 PM on April 6, 2012 [10 favorites]
I did not know that he had worked at Bakshi Studios. Hunh.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:43 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:43 PM on April 6, 2012
"I'm a warrior for light," Kinkade told the Mercury News in 2002
Wow. I was only vaguely aware of the guy -- head his name mentioned every now and then and knew he was a popular artist -- but self-aggrandizing on that scale when your body of work is pretty much made for 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles? Sure, they're pretty, but wow.
Well, at least he left his family well provided-for.
posted by Gator at 8:44 PM on April 6, 2012
Wow. I was only vaguely aware of the guy -- head his name mentioned every now and then and knew he was a popular artist -- but self-aggrandizing on that scale when your body of work is pretty much made for 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles? Sure, they're pretty, but wow.
Well, at least he left his family well provided-for.
posted by Gator at 8:44 PM on April 6, 2012
Oh right, he didn't do the Michael Jackson and Bubbles statue.
posted by sleepy pete at 8:44 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by sleepy pete at 8:44 PM on April 6, 2012
selling millions of limited edition prints of his work
Can someone help me with this paradox?
posted by stbalbach at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Can someone help me with this paradox?
posted by stbalbach at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
You've got to give it to the guy, he was a brilliant entrepreneur who could tap into what a large swath of America wanted (neo-impressionist renditions of a parallel-universe US) and then gave it to them. I've had similar (totally cynical) ideas myself, but Kinkade was a real genius on the execution side- which is what counts.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by dunkadunc at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
A tragic loss for art. But the master's death opens the way for his natural successor: Jon A. McNaughton, Painter of Trite.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:47 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Rhaomi at 8:47 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I always thought this painting of Angelina Jolie hovering over Wal-Mart was the natural successor to his postmodern style.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:49 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by dunkadunc at 8:49 PM on April 6, 2012
Jon A. McNaughton, Painter of Trite.
This fills me with hate, rage, fear, and marzipan.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:50 PM on April 6, 2012
This fills me with hate, rage, fear, and marzipan.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:50 PM on April 6, 2012
Wow. Now all those shitty paintings are gonna be worth a fortune.
posted by chillmost at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by chillmost at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012
Has it really been eight years since this goon gallery of his work?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012
I will be curious about the "collector's market" he essentially invented for his work. From the outside, it seemed like the collector's market for Beanie Babie -- a small group of dedicated collectors, but one which wouldn't ever really be willing to spend more for a Kinkade than they spent buying it new ($1k or thereabouts). A market like can't sustain itself, because they just end up selling the pieces back and forth to each other, and the price never goes up significantly.
Kinkade's work would only gain value if it was an audience that either expanded it size, which would make the existing pieces increasingly value because it would limit the number of people who could own one, or if his reputation were to grow to such an extent that the perceived value of his work increased (and even then, I am going to go ahead and guess that nearly everybody who wants a Kinkade currently owns a Kinkade.)
And that will be his legacy. He's never going to be taken seriously in critical circles, and the buyers for his art are likely to move on to the next popular niche artist who sells them the specific work that satisfies their needs.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Kinkade's work would only gain value if it was an audience that either expanded it size, which would make the existing pieces increasingly value because it would limit the number of people who could own one, or if his reputation were to grow to such an extent that the perceived value of his work increased (and even then, I am going to go ahead and guess that nearly everybody who wants a Kinkade currently owns a Kinkade.)
And that will be his legacy. He's never going to be taken seriously in critical circles, and the buyers for his art are likely to move on to the next popular niche artist who sells them the specific work that satisfies their needs.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 8:51 PM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
From the McNaughton site: Those who are familiar with my work know I like to use symbolism and metaphor to engage the viewer. See if you can find and decipher the many symbols in this image.
Ho boy. That is some subtle metaphor going on there. Bloke's a right Albrecht Dürer.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:56 PM on April 6, 2012
Ho boy. That is some subtle metaphor going on there. Bloke's a right Albrecht Dürer.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:56 PM on April 6, 2012
.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:00 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by shakespeherian at 9:00 PM on April 6, 2012
I did not know that he had worked at Bakshi Studios. Hunh.
posted by Sticherbeast
According to the commentary for Fire and Ice, Bakshi hired two guys to paint all the backgrounds for the film, one was Kinkade, the other was James Gurney.
posted by RobotHero at 9:02 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by Sticherbeast
According to the commentary for Fire and Ice, Bakshi hired two guys to paint all the backgrounds for the film, one was Kinkade, the other was James Gurney.
posted by RobotHero at 9:02 PM on April 6, 2012
You guys are really mad at a guy for being successful at making attractive paintings of landscapes and I can't really put my finger on why.
posted by the jam at 9:02 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by the jam at 9:02 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by Nelson at 8:31 PM on April 6, 2012 [6 favorites]