I am a Warrior for Light

April 6, 2012 8:29 PM

The brilliantly ironic postmodern artist Thomas Kinkade met his eternal reward with Jesus at the age of 54.
posted by jjray (27 comments total)

*
posted by Nelson at 8:31 PM on April 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

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]

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]

.

(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]

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

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]

I did not know that he had worked at Bakshi Studios. Hunh.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:43 PM on April 6, 2012

.

(^ is 47 different shades of white)
posted by peagood at 8:44 PM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

"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

Oh right, he didn't do the Michael Jackson and Bubbles statue.
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]

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]

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]

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

A bit of editorializing in the FPP link text, no?
posted by asnider 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 [1 favorite]

Wow. Now all those shitty paintings are gonna be worth a fortune.
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

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]

a bit too glowing of an obituary

Apropos!
posted by RogerB at 8:53 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

He would visit studio executives but also got to know all the homeless people in Los Gatos. He read classic books but also enjoyed shooting and blowing up things on his ranch.

Sounds like an interesting guy.

proclivity for ritual territory marking through urination, once relieving himself on a Winnie the Pooh figure at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim while saying "This one’s for you, Walt."

I'm starting to like this guy.

he openly groped a woman's breasts at a South Bend, Indiana sales event

Maybe not so much.

Seems like the guy either had a drinking problem or some psychological issues. Possibly both, due to self medication.
posted by b1tr0t at 8:54 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

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

See? How can you hate this guy?
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:59 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

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]