Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Analysis: The Flight Into Egypt
Art from Ackland Museum
Sounds by: Spleencast and marvman (from freesound.com)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Painting the Light
Thomas Kinkade, the self described “painter of light” is well known for his pastoral and serene settings. However, his work is sometimes viewed by art critics as superficial or lacking depth. Criticism today says that his works lack true artistic quality and are merely products produced for mass print. American Art’s feature article “Thomas Kinkade’s Romantic Landscape” discusses the argument. The author argues that while Kinkade’s paintings are fairly similar and are produced in very large quantities, they do have and artistic quality to them that is unique to Kinkade. “I argue that his work is neither naive nor simply kitsch, but rather a heartfelt, sentimentalized variant of Romantic landscape painting that he has managed to make relevant to a large audience.
Kinkade’s art brings in several different audiences because of its relatability. Kinkade manages to take his viewers to a different reality as he meshes together nature and civilization and unites them in perfect unity. The mass production and printing of Kinkade’s work shows the high demand for his painting and also allows for a range of prices and availability to several different groups, from wealthy to middle-class. The author of the this article says that Kinkade is “neither responding to market research nor engaging in cheeky parody but is striving in earnest to bring together iconographic and stylistic elements that signify the possibility of an uplifting lifestyle with a spiritual base.”
The fact that Kinkade’s work lends itself to reproduction, with its light, clean colors and clear contrasts, does not indicate a lack of artistic quality. The strategies Kinkade uses to market his work have been successful ones due to the paintings themselves. If I painted a horrific scene that lacked any artistic quality or display of talent -- believe me, I have none -- then you could put it in a fancy gallery, tell people it was art and try to sell it, but your reception would be limited and your business would fail. Fail is quite the opposite of what Kinkade’s business has done and while some credit can be given to marketing techniques, such as a homey warmth yet gallery lit feel in shopping malls, most of it must be accredited to Kinkade’s artistic eye and his ability to connect to his audience through his work.
The most important and prominent aspect of his work and his trademark is the light that so warmly livens his scenes. This aspect mimics the style of the Renaissance period where light was used to represent spirituality. Many also say that the aspect of light brings a connection to the supernatural into the painting and sends a spiritual message. Kinkade was a professing Christian. The author of this article writes, “he sees the contemporary world as degraded and impoverished, and he wants to help restore a sense of well‐being based on spirituality and an appreciation of beauty in art and nature. In adopting this paradigmatic romantic aspiration, Kinkade allies himself with a powerful artistic tradition.”
Kinkade’s “images offer daydream relief from real, serious social and cultural stresses.” This is the point of the paintings. The release offered to the viewer by the aesthetic light is Kinkade’s method of communicating. Other artist use other things, such as sharp contrasts or surprising visuals. His art is for the viewer and his viewers do not have to be knowledgeable about art to enjoy his. This is true because “viewers bring different values and apply different standards with respect to sentimentalism, artistic quality, and the nature and social purpose of art."
Works Cited:
Clapper, Michael. "Thomas Kinkade's Romantic Landscape." American Art , Vol. 20, No. 2 (Summer 2006) The University of Chicago Press. pp. 76-99. Web. April 2012.
Thomas Kinkade, The End of a Perfect Day III (detail) © 1995. April 2012.
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