This creepy critter lives in my yard...One functioning eye and a black patch in the middle of its forehead. happy halloween! I'm convinced it's somekind of omen.
watch out, bunny-- i hear thorneycroft is prowling around. heh.
i remember a few years back, i wrote a piece about her doll's mouth series (which isn't as good as her canadiana stuff, which is fabulous).
i mentioned that i had lived across the street from her for a while, and nothing weird had ever happened-- no dead bunnies or other weird stuff.
there was, though, i mentioned, a few live ones that used to come into my yard and eat dandelions sometimes.
i thought that was pretty clever of me.
some guy emailed me and said: "I don't know where you come from, but you need to go back there, because you don't understand anything about Winnipeg or about art."
and then he said, "people like you, i could line fifty different garbage trucks up against a white wall, one after the other, and photograph them, and you'd call it art."
i emailed him back and said: "you're right, i WOULD call it art. so go ahead and do it, and i'll write about it."
or at least i SHOULD have emailed that back. i think, instead, i probably said, "thanks for your comments."
I like Thorneycroft. She is an imaginative artist and teacher who provokes the people of Winnipeg more than any other single public* artist. I didn't have the pleasure to take one of her classes, but I lived them vicariously through other students who did. Her assignments were interesting to say the least. I think the way she enters into the mind and conversation of Winnipeg art is a testament to her success. I don't necessarily agree with her art in an aesthetic, or conceptual way, but I appreciate that she thinks differently, and philosophically. I like that she performs, as herself.
*I say public because the property damage/beautification (depending on your opinion)done by graffiti artists is more often than not, anonymous. There is likely one or more of them who's 'provocation' rivals Diana's, but there is no way for us to know for sure.
Haha word verification "exper"
I suppose, for me to have any authority on these matters I would have to know a lot more Winnipeg artists.
macro: whatever. you know enuff about wpg artists and artists otherwise.
in an aesthetic sense, her canadiana work is amazing. at least i think so. to me, its where shes really matched her theory and the visuals the best out of any of her work ive seen.
and i agree about her place in wpg. she rattles cages and gets people talking, for sure. everytime i wrote about her i was guaranteed lots of emails.
I haven't seen anything that really stands out. I find she gravitates to the easy targets. Religion , beloved cartoon characters,animals, etc. Best bang for your buck so to speak. I'm no authority here either, I only know what moves me, or what leaves me cold.
I bumped into a print of hers the other day, an intalgio I think, and it looked like an old Master drawing, her drawing skills are some of the best I've ever seen.
And that skill runs through all her work.
I think her canadiana stuff is good, but not her best. But hey, diarama photos are trendy right now.
everyone is entitled to like (or not like) thorneycroft and her work as they see fit.
however... and this is mostly for bluey... to me, it's not enough to say about someone else's art "i just don't like it" or "it bugs me" or "it leaves me cold."
especially as an artist your/my/ourself(ves), i think any work of art, whether you like it or not, merits more than that.
to me, saying "i like it" is a perfectly acceptable reaction.
saying "i don't like it" and leaving it at that, especially from a fellow creator, is too easy, and, *for me*, unless it comes with specific critiques or criticisms, is a rather empty and meaningless comment. (not calling your comments "meaningless" per se here, bluey).
particularly with thorneycroft, the tendency is to bash her (and particularly, sorry bluey, but in the "conservative" camp) and her work without really seeing it or knowing much about it.
tom "pay attention to me" brodbeck has gone a long ways towards contributing to that. as i mentioned, every time i ever wrote about her (4 or 5 times, i think) i received a flood of angry emails, all of them saying something like: "this is a bunch of crap and you're stupid and she's stupid."
it was never: "i don't like her work because i find she tries to hard to make connections between dead bunnies and the abuses of the church", or never "i don't like it because i find it relies more on shock value than technical proficiency."
only: she's stupid and you're stupid.
a knee-jerk reaction, in other words.
thorneycroft, whatever else you might say about her, is two things: one of the hardest-working artists around, and one of the most technically proficient artists around.
so, for me, anyone who wants is free to criticize whatever art they want. but for my buck, especially when coming from artists themselves, those criticisms should be "fleshed out" a little more. otherwise, i feel like (particularly in Thorney's case) they fall under the knee-jerk reaction.
and again, i encourage one and all to check out her Canadiana series-- i think it's fabulous, and quite different from her normal work.
If it doesn't move me....how long can I possibly explain myself? I'm well aware that I'm free not to like her work. If she told me to my face that she doesn't like my work, I would not expect, or demand an explanation. "I don't like it" is perfectly acceptable, even from another artist. The first time I met Ted Mayer, he pulled me aside to tell me he hated my painting. I laughed and asked why, he said (and I quote)" I just don't like it." I think it was and is fine. Rebuttle to what you seem to imply:
- Not liking her work has nothing to do with being conservative. - I'm not a Brodbeck fan. - I did not bash her, I gave an opinion, one that didn't fit your critirea - I have been to at least 3 or 4 installations in person, and viewed many online articles/photos.
I agree that she is a hard woking, proficient artist. So are many Liberals, but I don't always agree with what they are working on! (LoL)
hey, my word was "earth"- first time reporting my word V
A Love for Art was a collaborative blog for visual artists, musicians, writers, and social scientists. This blog has evolved into a new blog called BETA, go check it out!
15 comments:
This creepy critter lives in my yard...One functioning eye and a black patch in the middle of its forehead. happy halloween! I'm convinced it's somekind of omen.
wwweeeeeird.
watch out, bunny-- i hear thorneycroft is prowling around. heh.
i remember a few years back, i wrote a piece about her doll's mouth series (which isn't as good as her canadiana stuff, which is fabulous).
i mentioned that i had lived across the street from her for a while, and nothing weird had ever happened-- no dead bunnies or other weird stuff.
there was, though, i mentioned, a few live ones that used to come into my yard and eat dandelions sometimes.
i thought that was pretty clever of me.
some guy emailed me and said: "I don't know where you come from, but you need to go back there, because you don't understand anything about Winnipeg or about art."
and then he said, "people like you, i could line fifty different garbage trucks up against a white wall, one after the other, and photograph them, and you'd call it art."
i emailed him back and said: "you're right, i WOULD call it art. so go ahead and do it, and i'll write about it."
or at least i SHOULD have emailed that back. i think, instead, i probably said, "thanks for your comments."
coincidently she was in the paper n the weekend. she is giving a talk to a church about monstrance. even neal bardal is going to be there!
I like Thorneycroft. She is an imaginative artist and teacher who provokes the people of Winnipeg more than any other single public* artist. I didn't have the pleasure to take one of her classes, but I lived them vicariously through other students who did. Her assignments were interesting to say the least. I think the way she enters into the mind and conversation of Winnipeg art is a testament to her success. I don't necessarily agree with her art in an aesthetic, or conceptual way, but I appreciate that she thinks differently, and philosophically. I like that she performs, as herself.
*I say public because the property damage/beautification (depending on your opinion)done by graffiti artists is more often than not, anonymous. There is likely one or more of them who's 'provocation' rivals Diana's, but there is no way for us to know for sure.
Haha word verification "exper"
I suppose, for me to have any authority on these matters I would have to know a lot more Winnipeg artists.
PS
Poor bunny.
(that looks like a painting)
Whoa, word verification "China"
watership down.
word verification: cobble
macro: whatever. you know enuff about wpg artists and artists otherwise.
in an aesthetic sense, her canadiana work is amazing. at least i think so. to me, its where shes really matched her theory and the visuals the best out of any of her work ive seen.
and i agree about her place in wpg. she rattles cages and gets people talking, for sure. everytime i wrote about her i was guaranteed lots of emails.
I haven't seen anything that really stands out. I find she gravitates to the easy targets. Religion , beloved cartoon characters,animals, etc. Best bang for your buck so to speak.
I'm no authority here either, I only know what moves me, or what leaves me cold.
Religion , beloved cartoon characters and animals leave you "cold"?
You guys!
I bumped into a print of hers the other day, an intalgio I think, and it looked like an old Master drawing, her drawing skills are some of the best I've ever seen.
And that skill runs through all her work.
I think her canadiana stuff is good, but not her best. But hey, diarama photos are trendy right now.
Yes, that's exactly what I was saying Macro.
thoughts, a few days later:
everyone is entitled to like (or not like) thorneycroft and her work as they see fit.
however... and this is mostly for bluey... to me, it's not enough to say about someone else's art "i just don't like it" or "it bugs me" or "it leaves me cold."
especially as an artist your/my/ourself(ves), i think any work of art, whether you like it or not, merits more than that.
to me, saying "i like it" is a perfectly acceptable reaction.
saying "i don't like it" and leaving it at that, especially from a fellow creator, is too easy, and, *for me*, unless it comes with specific critiques or criticisms, is a rather empty and meaningless comment. (not calling your comments "meaningless" per se here, bluey).
particularly with thorneycroft, the tendency is to bash her (and particularly, sorry bluey, but in the "conservative" camp) and her work without really seeing it or knowing much about it.
tom "pay attention to me" brodbeck has gone a long ways towards contributing to that. as i mentioned, every time i ever wrote about her (4 or 5 times, i think) i received a flood of angry emails, all of them saying something like: "this is a bunch of crap and you're stupid and she's stupid."
it was never: "i don't like her work because i find she tries to hard to make connections between dead bunnies and the abuses of the church", or never "i don't like it because i find it relies more on shock value than technical proficiency."
only: she's stupid and you're stupid.
a knee-jerk reaction, in other words.
thorneycroft, whatever else you might say about her, is two things: one of the hardest-working artists around, and one of the most technically proficient artists around.
so, for me, anyone who wants is free to criticize whatever art they want. but for my buck, especially when coming from artists themselves, those criticisms should be "fleshed out" a little more. otherwise, i feel like (particularly in Thorney's case) they fall under the knee-jerk reaction.
and again, i encourage one and all to check out her Canadiana series-- i think it's fabulous, and quite different from her normal work.
and p.s. having said all that, you're still free not to like her work, bluey.
i just like to hear why, that's all.
If it doesn't move me....how long can I possibly explain myself?
I'm well aware that I'm free not to like her work. If she told me to my face that she doesn't like my work, I would not expect, or demand an explanation. "I don't like it" is perfectly acceptable, even from another artist.
The first time I met Ted Mayer, he pulled me aside to tell me he hated my painting. I laughed and asked why, he said (and I quote)" I just don't like it." I think it was and is fine.
Rebuttle to what you seem to imply:
- Not liking her work has nothing to do with being conservative.
- I'm not a Brodbeck fan.
- I did not bash her, I gave an opinion, one that didn't fit your critirea
- I have been to at least 3 or 4 installations in person, and viewed many online articles/photos.
I agree that she is a hard woking, proficient artist. So are many Liberals, but I don't always agree with what they are working on! (LoL)
hey, my word was "earth"- first time reporting my word V
lately the word verifications have been words or wordlike. It's better than having to type out iquwgdoui.
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