Gentlemen with bowler hats on beaches
November 17, 2012 4:01 PM Subscribe
Trying too hard.
posted by availablelight at 4:18 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by availablelight at 4:18 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
Almost impossible to view and not think "Pink Floyd album cover".
posted by davebush at 4:18 PM on November 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by davebush at 4:18 PM on November 17, 2012 [6 favorites]
A) Liked "bowlers on beaches"
B) Not so keen on "bowlers on toilets on beaches"
C) Cows do not want to go swimming! Stop harassing cows for your art!
D) Cows do not want to wear bowlers, either, so just cross that idea off the list right now
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:20 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
B) Not so keen on "bowlers on toilets on beaches"
C) Cows do not want to go swimming! Stop harassing cows for your art!
D) Cows do not want to wear bowlers, either, so just cross that idea off the list right now
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:20 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
I was expecting apples to float before their faces.
posted by Foosnark at 4:40 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Foosnark at 4:40 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
My trademark concept is putting dozens, sometimes hundreds of suited, bowler hat wearing volunteers in the sea at dawn.
Ooh, his trademark concept. Oooh. This is my impressed face. No, really.
Below I’ve tried to give you an idea how my art highlights social and political issues via some recent installations".
Highlights social and political issues. That dude takes himself way, way too seriously.
posted by Malor at 4:51 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Ooh, his trademark concept. Oooh. This is my impressed face. No, really.
Below I’ve tried to give you an idea how my art highlights social and political issues via some recent installations".
Highlights social and political issues. That dude takes himself way, way too seriously.
posted by Malor at 4:51 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
The best criticism is to make something.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:01 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by shakespeherian at 5:01 PM on November 17, 2012
These make me happy. That momentary bit of happiness is pretty much all I demand from photography these days and this gave it to me, so, all good.
It also reminded me of a time before I carried a camera with me everywhere I went, when I walked down Rehoboth Beach just at sunset, only to see a bus full of Amish or Mennonite or some other restrictive 19th century garb wearing church members. They walked out onto the beach, leaving their shoes and socks up by the rocks. The men and boys carefully rolled up their pants and the women and girls pulled their skirts up decorously to just above their knees and then they all solemnly waded into the ocean, some going deeper, some staying just at ankle depth. There wasn't any screaming or hooting or noise at all, maybe some muted giggling but mostly they were silent. They stood there for a long time, staring at the ocean and the sky. They stood there longer than I did, since I began to feel embarrassed for staring and crept away hoping they hadn't seen me being rude.
Later I saw some of them in the Seashell Shop on the boardwalk, carefully inspecting plastic paperweights with starfish frozen inside and windchimes made of painted hot pink shells.
posted by mygothlaundry at 5:02 PM on November 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
It also reminded me of a time before I carried a camera with me everywhere I went, when I walked down Rehoboth Beach just at sunset, only to see a bus full of Amish or Mennonite or some other restrictive 19th century garb wearing church members. They walked out onto the beach, leaving their shoes and socks up by the rocks. The men and boys carefully rolled up their pants and the women and girls pulled their skirts up decorously to just above their knees and then they all solemnly waded into the ocean, some going deeper, some staying just at ankle depth. There wasn't any screaming or hooting or noise at all, maybe some muted giggling but mostly they were silent. They stood there for a long time, staring at the ocean and the sky. They stood there longer than I did, since I began to feel embarrassed for staring and crept away hoping they hadn't seen me being rude.
Later I saw some of them in the Seashell Shop on the boardwalk, carefully inspecting plastic paperweights with starfish frozen inside and windchimes made of painted hot pink shells.
posted by mygothlaundry at 5:02 PM on November 17, 2012 [4 favorites]
Why do these men have sand in their shorts?
Bowlers anytime: Steed, John Steed.
Also reminds me of Patrick Mcgoohan in The Prisoner. Wasn't it Number 1 in the bowler?
posted by BlueHorse at 5:12 PM on November 17, 2012
Bowlers anytime: Steed, John Steed.
Also reminds me of Patrick Mcgoohan in The Prisoner. Wasn't it Number 1 in the bowler?
posted by BlueHorse at 5:12 PM on November 17, 2012
There appear to be gentlewomen on beaches with bowlers too.
posted by arcticseal at 5:18 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by arcticseal at 5:18 PM on November 17, 2012
Where the elite meet to pose for Magritte.
posted by ShutterBun at 5:34 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by ShutterBun at 5:34 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
I think the gentlemen in bowlers on the beach idea is a good one but looking at the pictures i felt like the execution was sloppy. Maybe the photographs aren't the point of the piece and its meant to be experienced not recorded but they're just not good pictures. As such, I feel like they're doing a disservice to the idea and to the men that stood around with wet ankles all day.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:39 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 5:39 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
I assumed this was actually a set of pictures of people just wearing bowler hats to the beach.
This might be related to my super-WASPy grandfather who would consistently wear searsucker suits to the beach on Nantucket when we were kids. I mean, he'd also wear like these plaid swim trunks with a belt or something for actually swimming but other times he'd wear a seersucker suit. That said, a seersucker suit is pretty beach appropriate once you acknowledge that you're going to wear a suit to the beach. A bowler hat is ridiculous and sort of smacks of trying too hard.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:43 PM on November 17, 2012
This might be related to my super-WASPy grandfather who would consistently wear searsucker suits to the beach on Nantucket when we were kids. I mean, he'd also wear like these plaid swim trunks with a belt or something for actually swimming but other times he'd wear a seersucker suit. That said, a seersucker suit is pretty beach appropriate once you acknowledge that you're going to wear a suit to the beach. A bowler hat is ridiculous and sort of smacks of trying too hard.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:43 PM on November 17, 2012
Half of them look like the cheapo flocked plastic things you buy at the party store, kind of weak sauce if you're going for the iconic Magritte look.
posted by usonian at 6:04 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by usonian at 6:04 PM on November 17, 2012
but they're just not good pictures.
Wow, you said it. They're just really lousy snapshots, mostly. Ill-framed, and with all sorts of lighting issues... I mean, with a project like this that goes to such great lengths (getting all these people together in costume, at the beach) it's astonishingly shortsighted of the artist to not make sure that it's documented excellently by a pro photographer.
And, yes, when you read stuff like...
"My trademark concept"
and " I’ve tried to give you an idea how my art highlights social and political issues"
... it really makes you wish he'd take Zappa's advice: shut up 'nplay yer guitar do yer art.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 PM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow, you said it. They're just really lousy snapshots, mostly. Ill-framed, and with all sorts of lighting issues... I mean, with a project like this that goes to such great lengths (getting all these people together in costume, at the beach) it's astonishingly shortsighted of the artist to not make sure that it's documented excellently by a pro photographer.
And, yes, when you read stuff like...
"My trademark concept"
and " I’ve tried to give you an idea how my art highlights social and political issues"
... it really makes you wish he'd take Zappa's advice: shut up 'n
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:13 PM on November 17, 2012 [1 favorite]
Like Mrs. Pt, i thought this would be a collection of old photos of gentlemen in bowler hats at the beach (maybe stripey unisuits). I would have liked that.
posted by parki at 6:20 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by parki at 6:20 PM on November 17, 2012
but they're just not good pictures.
The pieces are installations-- Baines is an installation artist and isn't working in the medium of photography (as far as I know). These are really just snapshots of installation pieces.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:21 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
The pieces are installations-- Baines is an installation artist and isn't working in the medium of photography (as far as I know). These are really just snapshots of installation pieces.
posted by shakespeherian at 6:21 PM on November 17, 2012 [2 favorites]
Baines is an installation artist and isn't working in the medium of photography
So is, for example, the great Andy Goldsworthy, but he is aware that it is through the medium of photography that his art will be experienced and enjoyed by the public at large. So he became a really good photographer. This is something rather admirable, I think, for my life has absolutely been enriched by viewing his amazing artwork, very, very little of which I would have ever seen without his excellent photo-documentation of it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:35 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
So is, for example, the great Andy Goldsworthy, but he is aware that it is through the medium of photography that his art will be experienced and enjoyed by the public at large. So he became a really good photographer. This is something rather admirable, I think, for my life has absolutely been enriched by viewing his amazing artwork, very, very little of which I would have ever seen without his excellent photo-documentation of it.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:35 PM on November 17, 2012 [3 favorites]
It'd be nice if he alerted more photographers though, this is pretty cool.
posted by whorl at 6:36 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by whorl at 6:36 PM on November 17, 2012
Not good pictures? Heck, they're not even good hats.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:09 PM on November 17, 2012
posted by Sys Rq at 7:09 PM on November 17, 2012
"Making my art", says the nonartist.
posted by Weltschmerz at 8:38 AM on November 18, 2012
posted by Weltschmerz at 8:38 AM on November 18, 2012
Men in bowler hats. Now where have I seen that before ?
posted by Baud at 11:57 AM on November 18, 2012
posted by Baud at 11:57 AM on November 18, 2012
I like it when multiple people go to the trouble to do something silly for no reason other than to do something silly, which is how I took this.
I carefully declined to read the text, however, which is obviously why I'm still able to enjoy the pictures.
posted by small_ruminant at 1:41 PM on November 18, 2012
I carefully declined to read the text, however, which is obviously why I'm still able to enjoy the pictures.
posted by small_ruminant at 1:41 PM on November 18, 2012
I just adore cow art.
My dining room wall.
It complements the bajillion cow figurines, windchimes, tea kettles, and other cows in my house.
posted by MissySedai at 6:24 PM on November 18, 2012
My dining room wall.
It complements the bajillion cow figurines, windchimes, tea kettles, and other cows in my house.
posted by MissySedai at 6:24 PM on November 18, 2012
I don't know. This image of gentlemen in fashionable hats looking out toward the sea, is to me a metaphor of the current state of the Republican party.
I'm pretty sure that the seventh one from the right is Mitt Romney, watching, wistfully, as the moment sunsets before him.
posted by twoleftfeet at 11:52 PM on November 19, 2012
I'm pretty sure that the seventh one from the right is Mitt Romney, watching, wistfully, as the moment sunsets before him.
posted by twoleftfeet at 11:52 PM on November 19, 2012
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