The thing is that often we don't see art in modern art, just sketches, remastered images, geometric forms or just random brush strokes that represents some often weird ideas of the author. Art has been art because it requires mastery of different skills and I don't see those skills in modern art!
I think that there are still wonderful works in both camps. Too sachrine not good. A fault of some represntational art. However, there is a lot of baloney for shock value out there called modern art, and it is largely a shock and schlock sells thing. I am lover of the best of both camps.Your work is inspiring.
I never understood Picasso's art and artists who tried to imitate from him. I always argued with my art teachers saying that anyone can do this and that I don't see any talent behind this, but I was told by all of them that one day I'll understand his art. After watching your video, I now understand what they meant. We need more artists like you to save this world from the modern 'BSism'. Thank you, Mr. Scott Burdick!
Bravo Mr Burick. Here is the " Mutual Admiration Society" in it's full blown glory. No talent? Who says so? Not most, as they fear chastisement for their "ignorance". No one without training or education will look upon a Michelangelo or a Caravaggio and proclaim their lack of talent.
I have lived and worked in both worlds (MFA 1981) and abandoned modernism 20 years ago to my own banishment from my cities "Art Scene". Silly me, beauty over content... as if Leonardo had no content!!!
It is silly to say that these are not a good as a good illustrator. For one, they are a small sample of works represented in the world of modern realism. Look to some of the great schools like the Florence Academia for inspiring works. And really Mr. puppeli, can you do it?
Look back in a short history to Mr. John D. Rockefeller and the commission by Diego Rivera and one begins to understand why realism was banned from the world of the rich and powerful. Who will say the emperor has no clothes?
I just watched all 4 parts, and I have to say it was an hour out of my day WELL SPENT!!! You've cleared up a lot for me. Thank you for posting...ALL 4 PARTS FAVED!!!
I'm in an illustration program and while it's not as bad as the universities, I still hear the bullshit of modern art. Thanks for this. It's nice to hear from a real artist who supports beauty. I've always believed art can be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level.
@Pi Understanding Classical painting and how it's executed is far more involved then modernist painters and most university professors realize. If you choose to pursue a strictly modernist approach, producing work like Burdick or Velazquez or Rembrandt will forever remain outside of your realm of comprehension. It can only be understood by DOING over a long period of time; you then arrive at conclusions through constant study.Detractors who use words like "pretty pictures" know extremely little.
I have to say, I've agreed with this idea for as long as I can remember, but could never put it into words as well as Burdick has. I've always hated modern "art" with a passion. The irony is that "art" is becoming MORE superficial, mindless and unattractive, designed only to sell. It's no coincidence that most advertising utilizes abstract art in their logos and promos, etc.
My hat off to you Scott! Thank you for daring to say the blatantly obvious in an eloquent way! It is nice when the critique comes from within the artistic world rather than from outside. I plan to publish a thesis, or rather an undisputable obvious statement, of truth, defining the bare minimum requirements of art. The purpose is to attempt to stop the flow of tax payer money into horrible ventures that are in no way art yet proclaim to be so. Thank You again!
I guess if you actually look at traditional paintings, like paint on canvas, then it might be an issue. But why would you paint on canvas anyway? Photoshop + tablet is better in every way, and abstract shit would never be successful online anyway :/.
I never realized that anyone takes abstract art seriously lol. I'm not concerned in the slightest about the "modern art" movement, because I never see it. For example, the art for a video game is never abstract. Nor is the art for a book, or a movie. It's always based on actual skill and conveys a real message, rather than some abstract nonsense bullshit.
http://i54.tinypic.com/14tofbo.jpg
It's very clear what is being portrayed there, no bs.
All art history has been moving towards a perfection embodied in the work of the presenter now he doesn't get the recognition he deserves
No wonder he's pissed
What kind of fascist would delete the negative comments? Mind you Hitler and Stalin suppressed degenerate art too
The entire critique is facile, misrepresents his "enemy" on many fronts and only serves as a sop to those who agree with him. I wish I knew about censoring negative comments.
The only comments that have been deleted were done by the person who posted them. I haven't deleted a single comment myself. I enjoy reading the negative as well as the positive comments here.
And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for finally putting forward an eloquent critique of the ludicrousness of the art world. But, then again, those commissions speak for themselves when you consider that " a fool and his money is soon parted".
I believe that when a work of art has to be 'explained' to be understood and apreciated it becomes a work of literature that is secondly and least importantly represented by a painting.
Scott you are eloquent and powerful presentation is one I wish I could memorize and quote at will as comeback when needed to defend representational beautiful art. I applaud you and agree 100%! I hope your prediction of an uprising comes true but maybe not in my lifetime..........
This is a wonderfully liberating series of videos. It makes me aware of the cultural power of official art. Even while I applaud the argument of the videos, I feel the weight of that power ... that I am identifying myself as a vacant philistine by revealing my tastes.
I don't really believe beauty is the whole of art, but at the same time, rebellion makes awful art.
Never mind, you have given me the words I need to defend myself. Thank you for that.
Nice job Scott. I admire your courage to stick your own neck out on the chopping block and offer a personal, well thought analysis. I wish I had seen this before I went to college.
Thank you Thank you and Thank you once again!!! The idiotic bullshit that passes for modern art is the ULITMATE retelling of the Emperor's New Clothes. What truly saddens me is that Picasso if you research his work did amazing academies at I believe 14 that were breathtaking. He created Cubism "ahem" to be able to sell his work since he lived at the time of the Aesthetic decline. Well to further this discussion please view the Mona Lisa Curse also on youtube.
@hieraxhideo im sorry if I have insulted you ... this is very personal for me and in the big picture it is you who is insulting. Da Vinci? He is one of the best draftsman/craftsman of all time, now i am confused. Examples of genius: Matisse, Picasso, Basquiat. But i also think Rembrandt, bruegel and goya had genius. I am not saying at all that this kind of art has no place. Of course it does but to say that this is the only true art is ridiculous. Do you also hate jazz and rock and roll?
@hieraxhideo You are assuming i'm a huge fan and defender of all modern art. I am not. There are few artists that i really think are genius and deserve the attention and praise they get. I would like to say that we just disagree but judging by the things you say it seems you just have no idea what you are talking about. If you would like to continue looking at soulless boring pictures of sailboats than go right ahead, no one is stopping you.
@hieraxhideo museums are for artists not craftsmen. I'm not assuming anything... i do see something and you and others continue to say that you can't. I'm not a huge abstract fan and i do not think "everything is art." Do you really think the best artist is someone who can do the best reproduction of a subject? This isn't even a matter of opinion, thats just not true.
There are many classic figurative paintings that i really enjoy but when i see a Basquiat or matisse or a number of other modern painters pictures i am blown away by the pure direct beauty of it. But unlike a lot of traditional paintings it doesn't stop there. It's actually interesting! It makes me think and engages me in a very powerful way. I'm sorry if you aren't able to experience this but don't pretend like i'm the idiot for understanding something you cannot.
@mitchkehe I can agree with you that some of the more popular modern artists are quite good designers and their work has it's own sort of design and beauty to them. The point being made in the video is really more about the movement in general and how much modern art is just "throw a bucket of paint at the canvas and sell it for $3 million". It's not the art that generates that sort of value, it's the name of the artist who put their name to it and the marketing and hype that drives it.
@SquigglyP Sure there is a lot of art that sells way beyond its value. I don't agree that this is the main point of the talk. I really find it hard to even discuss this because it's so ridiculous. While he is talking about paintings that are so terrible and anyone could paint he is showing slides of Matisse paintings. He obviously does not have what it takes to make or recognize a good painting and is angry about it. he just has bad taste, to me that's what it comes down to.
@mitchkehe Matisse was just a guy. He wasn't a god. Anyone COULD paint the stuff matisse painted. I don't kow much about matisse and how much formal training he had, but the point is that for a lot of this modern stuff, you need precisely ZERO training. Pick up a brush, go to home depot and buy the cheapest paint possible, slap it on some cardboard, stick it in a frame, build some hype and sell it for $200K to some dumbass modern art museum. Modern art is more about marketing than art.
@mitchkehe get what you're saying, that Matisse is the only one who could have painted it due to his being the individual that painted it, but anyone can train to become an artist. The craft can be learned by anyone. If there's talent involved in the process at all, it is in the individual's perception of the world, and how that person chooses to represent it. This is why so much modern art makes no sense to me. It's abstracted beyond meaning. It no longer represents anything from reality.
If the whole point of art is to express one's self - which is what a lot of modern artists believe - then why is it that so much of their art fails so miserably at communicating what it is the artist is trying to say? Some modern artists can actually do this, but for every one of them there are 100 who just slap some paint around and then expect us to believe that it's meant to represent some kind of complex philosophical BS that's typed up next to the canvas. Words should not be necessary.
Modern art is a scam that allows the laziest, least gifted members of society to make money doing nothing. Every artist in the world is an unemployed a-hole who refuses to get a real job.
@Kite208 I don't like a lot of modern art strictly because a lot of modern artists ignore the craft and yet still believe they command it - and are hailed as brilliant. I think art is great and there are a ton of artists whose work I love. I have hundreds of bookmarked art websites. I'm an artist myself. I just hate 'artists' who shit all over the craft and then try to pass it off as some kind of bullshit message or rebellion.
@mitchkehe You're not understanding anything. You're applying your own interpretation to something you see, and I guarantee you that the artist wasn't actively putting that meaning into the artwork - not while they were creating it. Afterward they might have come up with a story for it, but the process of creation was probably closer to "dump something on here that will look neat". You will see what you want to see. It's like seeing the face of Jesus on some burned toast.
@SquigglyP First i would like to comment on how funny it is that the maker of this video is removing comments that oppose his points. You and others continue to try to argue with me about abstract "splattering paint" art. I'm not sure why because i have said i don't like that kind of thing a few times. In fact i dislike about 95% of contemporary art. I've really said all there is to say. I like looking at the things I like to look at. You can continue looking at whatever you like.
@mitchkehe The modern artist - these guys you're listing, at least - fail to learn anything about their craft. They are hailed as brilliant geniuses, tho. Let's apply that logic to some other shit, shall we?
A student gets F's in school because he refuses to learn how to read. Obviously he's a genius eschewing modern language paradigms.
A chef uses the worst ingredients, undercooks your food and screws up the recipe. But what's he trying to SAY with his creation?
@SquigglyP wow ... really great analogies. It was entertaining at first reading these but now i'm just getting sad that there are adults (maybe not?) that have such small capacity for art. You keep arguing with points i haven't even made. The notification emails are getting annoying and this is a waste of time.
let me say first that i agree with some of what is said here, mainly about the art world in general. i agree that this sort of common beauty that you describe does have a place and should be available for the public to see. This is the same reason singers like Celine Dion or politicians like Sarah Palin hold popularity in the general public. Maybe if you were not so obviously bitter and ignorant about what is interesting and beautiful in a lot of modern art, this video maybe easier to swallow
Scott, There are many painters worthy that are in museums today. Curators don't bar
good painters all the time. There is truth in what you say but if you avoid modern art
with so partially you are missing a lot. Jerome Witkin can paint. He is recognized. Wayne Thiebaud is no slouch. Diebenkorn.. Odd Nerdrum draws and paints fairly....
@0362868 i checked out the artists you mentioned. To me they looked medicore at best, and nowhere near the level of a good illustrator. But i gotta give you that, in recent years i have seen signs of actual skill in some modern "artists". Not a lot of skill mind you. They are modern "artists" after all. But some skill, enough that im hopeful for the future :P
Someone said and I thought it was beautiful: "Just because something is pretty, it's not a better art. Cute girl in good light? Seriously? Sure, it might be a better thing to hang on a wall, but to me personally ART is something that inspires inner turmoil. Doesn't have to be filosophical or political or anything...Just...something that moves you a little bit into a direction you did not anticipate..and find yourself naked before it. Intuitively. Humbled, inspired and energized at the same time.
There is however an important question that is not dealt with in these excellent videos. Why push ‘the ugly’ if the art business can make just as much (I suspect even more) money by selling beauty. Or, to put it otherwise: if it's not the money that drives the art market, what does? We know, for example, that Hollywood routinely produces movies that they know will flop financially (eg. the endless holocaust - yawn, yawn - films). I repeat the question: what, ultimately, drives the industry?
Thank you Scott, and I am grateful also to those artists who have kept the skills of classical realism during those dark years so that today I am able to learn because of them! THANK YOU!
A fellow artist who shares my admiration for your and Susan's work put me on to this video.
Thank you, thank you, Scott...I won't waste my time showing this to my art-school-graduate daughter...it would just confirm her belief that I am totally ignorant of what "art" is. She entered art school a much better artist than when she left.
This video made my day...Sometimes I feel so alone when artists go on and on about how "great" something is, when I think it looks like...(insert your own word)
There are multiple needs interests and drive. Not everybody is driven to representationalism. I don't really buy the troubles of representationalism, in fact commercial interest well align with representationalists, who work for movie companies and advertising agents. But same goes for abstract aethetic. Beauty is tremendously useful because it helps sell.
The issue I have with what you do is actually advocate a demolition. Rather than a diversity.
@socrates856 He does not advocate a demolition, he predicts a bubble bursting. I agree that this will come to pass. I like the the point he makes that those individuals and institutions that own these works valued at millions and tens of millions MUST toe the line, or else they will lose. It WILL come from the roots up.
For a couple of years i have been to some British art auctions in middle east as a visitor,and surprisingly i found out its not about art nor creativity nor beauty nor movement, or at least it did not move me at all. Since I know some of those establishment painters you mentioned! after seeing your video i remember the famous Chinese story of the king and invisible dress makers, there was no dress, but i was afraid to be taken as an ignorant.
While I think abstract art has a place in museums, I definitely agree it's dominated far too much of the contemporary art conversation! I hope (though perhaps naively, but hope none-the-less) for a future where representational art isn't confined to the commercial art ghetto and can be viewed in museums as readily as Picasso.
The musical soundtrack is WAY too loud in this portion, especially the French song. It distracts from the spoken words, and makes hearing them difficult.
I love Scott's work and really want to support this video, I agree with most of what's said. Unfortunately, I can't get behind the idea that this is conspiracy. While individuals are definitely taking advantage of the system, conspiracy implies coordinated intent to do harm.
As Scott mentions, there is a self perpetuating cycle of greater monetary gain with less work and training, but why call it conspiracy? It only discredits the idea an makes it's proponents sound crazy and paranoid.
@robreyart When public institutions, including museums and art schools are involved, it's way more than individuals taking advantage of the system.
It's a whole establishment conspiring to allow them to take advantage of the system, at loss of normal people who just want to view things that have aesthetic value.
What a beautifully concise appreciation of beauty and its importance in Art. As Oscar Wilde said," no meaning but its beauty, no message but its joy."
Any chance of getting a transcript of this lecture?
Modern art is famous because of its rebellion against the Art establishment which is quite fun but now they become the very thing that they rebel against which lost its whole meaning and they ground to stand on.
Thank you Scott. I enjoyed your lecture immensely. I have to strongly disagree with a few things, and completely agree with most other points made. ...and yes... now I too am aware of you and your artwork; will check it out promptly... it is... beautiful.
Thank you for this outstanding analysis of the state of art today. It is filled with examples and facts from history that support this outstanding presentation. I applaud you and I hope it will be widely read. Beauty and truth. Universal, everlasting!
Very little painting or sculpture, whether representational, abstract or conceptual, is art at all.
David Kasman
dksculpture 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
The thing is that often we don't see art in modern art, just sketches, remastered images, geometric forms or just random brush strokes that represents some often weird ideas of the author. Art has been art because it requires mastery of different skills and I don't see those skills in modern art!
Abdiel181 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
Great script, great art, great series.
jaekae8 2 months ago
I think that there are still wonderful works in both camps. Too sachrine not good. A fault of some represntational art. However, there is a lot of baloney for shock value out there called modern art, and it is largely a shock and schlock sells thing. I am lover of the best of both camps.Your work is inspiring.
christoffelcarol 2 months ago in playlist Banishment of Beauty
I never understood Picasso's art and artists who tried to imitate from him. I always argued with my art teachers saying that anyone can do this and that I don't see any talent behind this, but I was told by all of them that one day I'll understand his art. After watching your video, I now understand what they meant. We need more artists like you to save this world from the modern 'BSism'. Thank you, Mr. Scott Burdick!
HasanKhanArt 2 months ago
God, i want to shake your hand.
Fantastic.
blesshiscottonsocks 3 months ago
Bravo Mr Burick. Here is the " Mutual Admiration Society" in it's full blown glory. No talent? Who says so? Not most, as they fear chastisement for their "ignorance". No one without training or education will look upon a Michelangelo or a Caravaggio and proclaim their lack of talent.
I have lived and worked in both worlds (MFA 1981) and abandoned modernism 20 years ago to my own banishment from my cities "Art Scene". Silly me, beauty over content... as if Leonardo had no content!!!
Ritratto98 4 months ago
It is silly to say that these are not a good as a good illustrator. For one, they are a small sample of works represented in the world of modern realism. Look to some of the great schools like the Florence Academia for inspiring works. And really Mr. puppeli, can you do it?
Look back in a short history to Mr. John D. Rockefeller and the commission by Diego Rivera and one begins to understand why realism was banned from the world of the rich and powerful. Who will say the emperor has no clothes?
Ritratto98 4 months ago
Hiding in the shadows like some kind of art Batman.
Brimblebar 6 months ago
I just watched all 4 parts, and I have to say it was an hour out of my day WELL SPENT!!! You've cleared up a lot for me. Thank you for posting...ALL 4 PARTS FAVED!!!
deeknits 7 months ago
I'm in an illustration program and while it's not as bad as the universities, I still hear the bullshit of modern art. Thanks for this. It's nice to hear from a real artist who supports beauty. I've always believed art can be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level.
jerumwolf 7 months ago
"From the time you enter a university art history program, your grades and your employment depends on your endorsement of modern art theory."
I'm about to enter a university art program. Is there any hope for me?
Picassia 7 months ago
@Pi Understanding Classical painting and how it's executed is far more involved then modernist painters and most university professors realize. If you choose to pursue a strictly modernist approach, producing work like Burdick or Velazquez or Rembrandt will forever remain outside of your realm of comprehension. It can only be understood by DOING over a long period of time; you then arrive at conclusions through constant study.Detractors who use words like "pretty pictures" know extremely little.
brushfour44 7 months ago
I have to say, I've agreed with this idea for as long as I can remember, but could never put it into words as well as Burdick has. I've always hated modern "art" with a passion. The irony is that "art" is becoming MORE superficial, mindless and unattractive, designed only to sell. It's no coincidence that most advertising utilizes abstract art in their logos and promos, etc.
CBScares 8 months ago
god I love you this video made me cry of happines :')
ThePaintercat 8 months ago
My hat off to you Scott! Thank you for daring to say the blatantly obvious in an eloquent way! It is nice when the critique comes from within the artistic world rather than from outside. I plan to publish a thesis, or rather an undisputable obvious statement, of truth, defining the bare minimum requirements of art. The purpose is to attempt to stop the flow of tax payer money into horrible ventures that are in no way art yet proclaim to be so. Thank You again!
Gambit58 8 months ago
I guess if you actually look at traditional paintings, like paint on canvas, then it might be an issue. But why would you paint on canvas anyway? Photoshop + tablet is better in every way, and abstract shit would never be successful online anyway :/.
TheKingdomofErnor 8 months ago
I never realized that anyone takes abstract art seriously lol. I'm not concerned in the slightest about the "modern art" movement, because I never see it. For example, the art for a video game is never abstract. Nor is the art for a book, or a movie. It's always based on actual skill and conveys a real message, rather than some abstract nonsense bullshit.
http://i54.tinypic.com/14tofbo.jpg
It's very clear what is being portrayed there, no bs.
TheKingdomofErnor 8 months ago
Aha! It all comes into focus finally!
All art history has been moving towards a perfection embodied in the work of the presenter now he doesn't get the recognition he deserves
No wonder he's pissed
What kind of fascist would delete the negative comments? Mind you Hitler and Stalin suppressed degenerate art too
The entire critique is facile, misrepresents his "enemy" on many fronts and only serves as a sop to those who agree with him. I wish I knew about censoring negative comments.
cheekymonkeyali 9 months ago
@cheekymonkeyali "What kind of fascist would delete the negative comments" Hey drama queen, left wing rags like the Guardian UK do it all the time.
bublycat 8 months ago
@cheekymonkeyali
The only comments that have been deleted were done by the person who posted them. I haven't deleted a single comment myself. I enjoy reading the negative as well as the positive comments here.
Scott Burdick
ScottBurdickArt 1 week ago
Thank you so much for putting this together Scott, the world needs it :-)
nagualero 9 months ago in playlist Banishment of Beauty
This video is a thing of beauty! Thanks Scott.
BrianH20092 10 months ago
And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for finally putting forward an eloquent critique of the ludicrousness of the art world. But, then again, those commissions speak for themselves when you consider that " a fool and his money is soon parted".
archsleuth 11 months ago
I believe that when a work of art has to be 'explained' to be understood and apreciated it becomes a work of literature that is secondly and least importantly represented by a painting.
archsleuth 11 months ago
I think what I hate the most, is your censoring of any negative comments. This just proves how narrow are your views. Good day.
28rebotco 1 year ago
Thank you, thank you so much.
Long live truth and beauty<<3
Sebastianlordo 1 year ago
Scott you are eloquent and powerful presentation is one I wish I could memorize and quote at will as comeback when needed to defend representational beautiful art. I applaud you and agree 100%! I hope your prediction of an uprising comes true but maybe not in my lifetime..........
cplady1 1 year ago 2
This is a wonderfully liberating series of videos. It makes me aware of the cultural power of official art. Even while I applaud the argument of the videos, I feel the weight of that power ... that I am identifying myself as a vacant philistine by revealing my tastes.
I don't really believe beauty is the whole of art, but at the same time, rebellion makes awful art.
Never mind, you have given me the words I need to defend myself. Thank you for that.
BugsMr123 1 year ago
Nice job Scott. I admire your courage to stick your own neck out on the chopping block and offer a personal, well thought analysis. I wish I had seen this before I went to college.
BryanMarkTaylor 1 year ago
So well put. Thank you Scott,
jagartist2010 1 year ago
Excellent presentation! Thanks!
LibertaerUeberAlles 1 year ago
Absolutely wonderful!!!
Recently had a conversation with someone about this very subject and I made exactly the same points. *****
immuntocrap2 1 year ago
Thank you Thank you and Thank you once again!!! The idiotic bullshit that passes for modern art is the ULITMATE retelling of the Emperor's New Clothes. What truly saddens me is that Picasso if you research his work did amazing academies at I believe 14 that were breathtaking. He created Cubism "ahem" to be able to sell his work since he lived at the time of the Aesthetic decline. Well to further this discussion please view the Mona Lisa Curse also on youtube.
dragonfist777 1 year ago
@hieraxhideo im sorry if I have insulted you ... this is very personal for me and in the big picture it is you who is insulting. Da Vinci? He is one of the best draftsman/craftsman of all time, now i am confused. Examples of genius: Matisse, Picasso, Basquiat. But i also think Rembrandt, bruegel and goya had genius. I am not saying at all that this kind of art has no place. Of course it does but to say that this is the only true art is ridiculous. Do you also hate jazz and rock and roll?
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@hieraxhideo You are assuming i'm a huge fan and defender of all modern art. I am not. There are few artists that i really think are genius and deserve the attention and praise they get. I would like to say that we just disagree but judging by the things you say it seems you just have no idea what you are talking about. If you would like to continue looking at soulless boring pictures of sailboats than go right ahead, no one is stopping you.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@hieraxhideo museums are for artists not craftsmen. I'm not assuming anything... i do see something and you and others continue to say that you can't. I'm not a huge abstract fan and i do not think "everything is art." Do you really think the best artist is someone who can do the best reproduction of a subject? This isn't even a matter of opinion, thats just not true.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
There are many classic figurative paintings that i really enjoy but when i see a Basquiat or matisse or a number of other modern painters pictures i am blown away by the pure direct beauty of it. But unlike a lot of traditional paintings it doesn't stop there. It's actually interesting! It makes me think and engages me in a very powerful way. I'm sorry if you aren't able to experience this but don't pretend like i'm the idiot for understanding something you cannot.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@mitchkehe I can agree with you that some of the more popular modern artists are quite good designers and their work has it's own sort of design and beauty to them. The point being made in the video is really more about the movement in general and how much modern art is just "throw a bucket of paint at the canvas and sell it for $3 million". It's not the art that generates that sort of value, it's the name of the artist who put their name to it and the marketing and hype that drives it.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@SquigglyP Sure there is a lot of art that sells way beyond its value. I don't agree that this is the main point of the talk. I really find it hard to even discuss this because it's so ridiculous. While he is talking about paintings that are so terrible and anyone could paint he is showing slides of Matisse paintings. He obviously does not have what it takes to make or recognize a good painting and is angry about it. he just has bad taste, to me that's what it comes down to.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@mitchkehe Matisse was just a guy. He wasn't a god. Anyone COULD paint the stuff matisse painted. I don't kow much about matisse and how much formal training he had, but the point is that for a lot of this modern stuff, you need precisely ZERO training. Pick up a brush, go to home depot and buy the cheapest paint possible, slap it on some cardboard, stick it in a frame, build some hype and sell it for $200K to some dumbass modern art museum. Modern art is more about marketing than art.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@SquigglyP it's actually the opposite. Anyone COULD NOT paint the stuff matisse painted. That's the whole point.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@mitchkehe get what you're saying, that Matisse is the only one who could have painted it due to his being the individual that painted it, but anyone can train to become an artist. The craft can be learned by anyone. If there's talent involved in the process at all, it is in the individual's perception of the world, and how that person chooses to represent it. This is why so much modern art makes no sense to me. It's abstracted beyond meaning. It no longer represents anything from reality.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
If the whole point of art is to express one's self - which is what a lot of modern artists believe - then why is it that so much of their art fails so miserably at communicating what it is the artist is trying to say? Some modern artists can actually do this, but for every one of them there are 100 who just slap some paint around and then expect us to believe that it's meant to represent some kind of complex philosophical BS that's typed up next to the canvas. Words should not be necessary.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@SquigglyP
Modern art is a scam that allows the laziest, least gifted members of society to make money doing nothing. Every artist in the world is an unemployed a-hole who refuses to get a real job.
Kite208 1 year ago
@Kite208 I don't like a lot of modern art strictly because a lot of modern artists ignore the craft and yet still believe they command it - and are hailed as brilliant. I think art is great and there are a ton of artists whose work I love. I have hundreds of bookmarked art websites. I'm an artist myself. I just hate 'artists' who shit all over the craft and then try to pass it off as some kind of bullshit message or rebellion.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@mitchkehe You're not understanding anything. You're applying your own interpretation to something you see, and I guarantee you that the artist wasn't actively putting that meaning into the artwork - not while they were creating it. Afterward they might have come up with a story for it, but the process of creation was probably closer to "dump something on here that will look neat". You will see what you want to see. It's like seeing the face of Jesus on some burned toast.
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@SquigglyP First i would like to comment on how funny it is that the maker of this video is removing comments that oppose his points. You and others continue to try to argue with me about abstract "splattering paint" art. I'm not sure why because i have said i don't like that kind of thing a few times. In fact i dislike about 95% of contemporary art. I've really said all there is to say. I like looking at the things I like to look at. You can continue looking at whatever you like.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
@mitchkehe The modern artist - these guys you're listing, at least - fail to learn anything about their craft. They are hailed as brilliant geniuses, tho. Let's apply that logic to some other shit, shall we?
A student gets F's in school because he refuses to learn how to read. Obviously he's a genius eschewing modern language paradigms.
A chef uses the worst ingredients, undercooks your food and screws up the recipe. But what's he trying to SAY with his creation?
SquigglyP 1 year ago
@SquigglyP wow ... really great analogies. It was entertaining at first reading these but now i'm just getting sad that there are adults (maybe not?) that have such small capacity for art. You keep arguing with points i haven't even made. The notification emails are getting annoying and this is a waste of time.
mitchkehe 1 year ago
let me say first that i agree with some of what is said here, mainly about the art world in general. i agree that this sort of common beauty that you describe does have a place and should be available for the public to see. This is the same reason singers like Celine Dion or politicians like Sarah Palin hold popularity in the general public. Maybe if you were not so obviously bitter and ignorant about what is interesting and beautiful in a lot of modern art, this video maybe easier to swallow
mitchkehe 1 year ago
Scott, There are many painters worthy that are in museums today. Curators don't bar
good painters all the time. There is truth in what you say but if you avoid modern art
with so partially you are missing a lot. Jerome Witkin can paint. He is recognized. Wayne Thiebaud is no slouch. Diebenkorn.. Odd Nerdrum draws and paints fairly....
Ray Charles once said,"To be hip is to be open."
0362868 1 year ago
@0362868 i checked out the artists you mentioned. To me they looked medicore at best, and nowhere near the level of a good illustrator. But i gotta give you that, in recent years i have seen signs of actual skill in some modern "artists". Not a lot of skill mind you. They are modern "artists" after all. But some skill, enough that im hopeful for the future :P
puppeli 6 months ago
Someone said and I thought it was beautiful: "Just because something is pretty, it's not a better art. Cute girl in good light? Seriously? Sure, it might be a better thing to hang on a wall, but to me personally ART is something that inspires inner turmoil. Doesn't have to be filosophical or political or anything...Just...something that moves you a little bit into a direction you did not anticipate..and find yourself naked before it. Intuitively. Humbled, inspired and energized at the same time.
Lucasjs 1 year ago
There is however an important question that is not dealt with in these excellent videos. Why push ‘the ugly’ if the art business can make just as much (I suspect even more) money by selling beauty. Or, to put it otherwise: if it's not the money that drives the art market, what does? We know, for example, that Hollywood routinely produces movies that they know will flop financially (eg. the endless holocaust - yawn, yawn - films). I repeat the question: what, ultimately, drives the industry?
Matthysable 1 year ago
To true!
Skepticktok 1 year ago
Many real artists are moving to entertainment industries, lika games and movies. This shows how general public WANT beauty.
rafaelborven 1 year ago
Thank you Scott, and I am grateful also to those artists who have kept the skills of classical realism during those dark years so that today I am able to learn because of them! THANK YOU!
taleofsixstrings 1 year ago
THANK YOU >>>THANK YOU!!!
TheButterflyfreedom 1 year ago
Long live beauty and truth! Amen
Joyfull1953 1 year ago
:salute:
Sorrow612 1 year ago
A fellow artist who shares my admiration for your and Susan's work put me on to this video.
Thank you, thank you, Scott...I won't waste my time showing this to my art-school-graduate daughter...it would just confirm her belief that I am totally ignorant of what "art" is. She entered art school a much better artist than when she left.
This video made my day...Sometimes I feel so alone when artists go on and on about how "great" something is, when I think it looks like...(insert your own word)
1kshama1 1 year ago
There are multiple needs interests and drive. Not everybody is driven to representationalism. I don't really buy the troubles of representationalism, in fact commercial interest well align with representationalists, who work for movie companies and advertising agents. But same goes for abstract aethetic. Beauty is tremendously useful because it helps sell.
The issue I have with what you do is actually advocate a demolition. Rather than a diversity.
socrates856 1 year ago
@socrates856 He does not advocate a demolition, he predicts a bubble bursting. I agree that this will come to pass. I like the the point he makes that those individuals and institutions that own these works valued at millions and tens of millions MUST toe the line, or else they will lose. It WILL come from the roots up.
downeybill 1 year ago
For a couple of years i have been to some British art auctions in middle east as a visitor,and surprisingly i found out its not about art nor creativity nor beauty nor movement, or at least it did not move me at all. Since I know some of those establishment painters you mentioned! after seeing your video i remember the famous Chinese story of the king and invisible dress makers, there was no dress, but i was afraid to be taken as an ignorant.
maryamnademi 1 year ago
While I think abstract art has a place in museums, I definitely agree it's dominated far too much of the contemporary art conversation! I hope (though perhaps naively, but hope none-the-less) for a future where representational art isn't confined to the commercial art ghetto and can be viewed in museums as readily as Picasso.
GreenKore 1 year ago
The musical soundtrack is WAY too loud in this portion, especially the French song. It distracts from the spoken words, and makes hearing them difficult.
jetuber 1 year ago
I love Scott's work and really want to support this video, I agree with most of what's said. Unfortunately, I can't get behind the idea that this is conspiracy. While individuals are definitely taking advantage of the system, conspiracy implies coordinated intent to do harm.
As Scott mentions, there is a self perpetuating cycle of greater monetary gain with less work and training, but why call it conspiracy? It only discredits the idea an makes it's proponents sound crazy and paranoid.
robreyart 1 year ago
@robreyart When public institutions, including museums and art schools are involved, it's way more than individuals taking advantage of the system.
It's a whole establishment conspiring to allow them to take advantage of the system, at loss of normal people who just want to view things that have aesthetic value.
Sorrow612 1 year ago 2
amazing set of videos, beautiful
askirojadu 1 year ago
Wanted to take a moment to thank you for sharing this fantastic presentation. Outstanding work!
Copperbat 1 year ago
What a beautifully concise appreciation of beauty and its importance in Art. As Oscar Wilde said," no meaning but its beauty, no message but its joy."
Any chance of getting a transcript of this lecture?
nicebiscuit 1 year ago
oh my
radicalbacon 1 year ago
You are so right. Critics are a new priesthood, in a fraudulant religion.
rahotep101 1 year ago 21
@rahotep101
Modern art is famous because of its rebellion against the Art establishment which is quite fun but now they become the very thing that they rebel against which lost its whole meaning and they ground to stand on.
Oddonan 10 months ago
@Oddonan That's it in a nutshell.
rahotep101 10 months ago
Thank you Scott. I enjoyed your lecture immensely. I have to strongly disagree with a few things, and completely agree with most other points made. ...and yes... now I too am aware of you and your artwork; will check it out promptly... it is... beautiful.
Izabela
belaart.com
BelaArt 1 year ago
Scott: well done! as
worsleypeter 1 year ago
A powerful close! Well done Scott.
FigureQuickSketch 1 year ago
I like the direction you are taking the conversation.
blahcap 1 year ago 3
Scott,
Thank you for this outstanding analysis of the state of art today. It is filled with examples and facts from history that support this outstanding presentation. I applaud you and I hope it will be widely read. Beauty and truth. Universal, everlasting!
B ravo,
J Joy Nocifora
jnocifora 1 year ago 30