tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post3017705942465657916..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Edvard Munch and Jasper JohnsJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-88286449181368260032016-12-21T11:38:54.092-05:002016-12-21T11:38:54.092-05:00Well, you can do that. Some of his episodes -- if...Well, you can do that. Some of his episodes -- if that's the right word-- from his Public TV show "The Joy of Painting" can be found on YouTube. Here is a shorty:<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAyVuyJPP5k<br /><br />Here's a complete show<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEUMVwc4o5U<br /><br />He had this soothing voice, and, boy, could he make it look easy (and fast).Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05353532874773316117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-46129707715360064332016-12-21T06:55:06.691-05:002016-12-21T06:55:06.691-05:00Johns is fascinating in that he seems to have grow...Johns is fascinating in that he seems to have grown up poor and unhappy in a culturally sterile rural environment, and presumably that is part of what drove him toward wanting to become a famous and successful artist, once he moved to New York City and discovered his homosexuality.<br /><br />Of course, the irony is that for whatever reason, he chose to embrace Dadaism of all things. When you're part of an art philosophy that attempts to opt out of critical appraisal by preemptively declaring your work pointless, you're going to have a hard time becoming a famous and successful artist.<br /><br />But he had the good fortune to have been in New York City in a time when that sort of work was oddly well received, and he happened to develop relationships with individuals who were an influential part of the art scene.<br /><br />I get the strong sense that he was less anamored with art, and more enamored with New York art culture. He seemingly didn't have anything insightful or impactful to say - hence the purposefully absurdity of dadaism - but he enjoyed the company of other artists and the lifestyle they led, and so if he's moving in those circles anyway, why not make and sell his own art, however absurd it may be?<br /><br />He weirdly reminds me of Bob Ross: an ex-military man from the rural South who didn't find much satisfaction in what life offered him, who broke into art through his personal relationships, whose art was neither technically impressive nor particularly inspired, but whose works were curiously marketable as commercial pop art and allowed him to live a radically more cosmopolitan lifestyle than he otherwise could have.<br /><br />The major difference between the two is that I actually like Ross' art and philosophy. If your work is nothing particularly special, doesn't have anything much to say, and is ultimately just a commercial product, then the least you can do with it is use it to encourage people to find joy and happiness through it.<br /><br />I'd much rather spend half an hour watching ol' Bob leisuring painting trees and squirrels and talking about self empowerment and the value and ease of personal creativity, than spend that same half hour in an art museum looking at 50 identical paintings of brushes in a coffee can that say absolutely nothing whatsoever.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com