Jeez...I just don't know what to think of Thomas Kinkade and his genuinity. Everything I have read about him and his charecter has been so black and white.I'm going to start off by making one thing clear: whether or not he is a true artist, the man does have talent. I've seen his paintings before taking this class and while taking this class, and it is undeniable: his work is spectacular and pleasing to the eye. Look at this picture to the bottom right; I know I sure can't paint like that.
The majority of Kinkade's paintings are bought by people of the public to bring home and hang in their family rooms. This brings me to the main question of this blog: is this truly art, is Kinkade an artist? What does his work mean, where is it's depth and what does it say to us.
How many people have Chris Olifi's Holy Virgin Mary hanging in their home? I doubt that Mr. Olifi created that piece to make millions off of. With that comparison, is it to be said that Thomas Kinkade has some financial motivation here? Absolutely, I'm sure all of you can agree with me on that. Remember reading this "Kinkade’s success started in the 1990s, when he and his friend Kenneth Raasch started Media Arts Group. Eight years later the company was listed in Forbes as a top ten business to watch. When Kinkade was on QVC, he sold over $2 million worth of products in one hour." (Wikepedia)
Of course we can't know exactly what when on in the mind of Kinkade when this happened, but as human beings, we can make a pretty good guess: he realizes that he can paint these beautiful, fluffy, feel-good, chocolate box paintings, they have a massive appeal to the public, who are willing to pay big money for this "art," he gets his first taste of millions, and over the years continues to pump out these paintings for that reason.
I also think that the "Christian hook" has a lot to do with his success (and fraudulant behavior). I read in the Wikepedia article that many who bought into Kinkade's gallery franchise saw it as a religious oppurtunity. And with his reputation of being a devout Christian, he was trusted. The 2006 lawsuit against him claimed that franchise owners were "defrauded." Basically, lied to. Well, I guess not directly lied to, but not given full truth and cheated of information. Do true Christians do that??
I do think that Kinkade is simply feeding into consumer demand, it just doesn't seem like art to me. Look at what has happened to his paintings and their revenues over the past 10-20 years: this is the model of capitalism.
6 comments:
Your closing sentence is really good! Thomas Kinkade is just a money making machine, not so much an artist anymore.
~yes there are BAD christians out there, I lost a daughter to one! BUt I do say Thomas is one good salesman! and I am sure alot of the information on him can be black and white there are those that are jeolous! but if I owned a house and could afford the painting by chris I WOULD hang it, but I am a little twisted
Kathleen,
You pretty much summed up how I feel. On the one hand "the guy has talent", but I believe that you are absolutely correct when you say that he's doing this for financial reasons. But is that the litmus test of whether or one is an artist? Can't a real artist make lots of money too?
I would have to agree with you about how Thomas Kinkade having such awesome talent, but Brook is right, Thomas is a money making machine, but then again, what do we know? We only read and listen to what's in the news and what's on the internet. The man is innocent until proven guilty. That's just my opinion.
I agree with you it's definitaly a fact that he has talent! I'm just trying to figure out if he's using it for the right reasons..
I definitely agree with your blog. It is very similar to what I put in mine. He started out as a talented young artist, but a drive for greed and taste for money, turned him into more of a businessman who saw mass production as a means for instant riches. Great job on your blog.
Post a Comment