Most Overrated Artist

[Servo2000]

I'm in the mood to rant about art. There's got to be some art dorks out there who have something to say.

I vote Matthew fucking Barney. Three-hour megamillion wastes of time, more like it. Feel free to argue with me about this, I'd appreciate insights into what people see in this guy, because from everything I've seen, read, and heard, it seems like he's got star power, Bjork, and giant budgets going for him and not much else.

I'm going to download all of his movies and start giving them away just to spite him.

[artificialsky]

Banksy. Kaws. Neckface.

[onemancult]

I agree on Barney and Kaws, but not so much on Banksy, although I get why he'd make the list.

However, for various deeply personal reasons, I think Neckface is way underrated on all fronts- by the graff heads, by the 'serious artists', by street artists/stencil geeks...

If you don't find the sublime genius in this:

then you just aren't weird enough. I will say, it takes a lot of practice to draw that crudely.

[djrajio]

Definitely Kaws now. I really enjoyed his original Calvin Klein works but now his work feels so commerical.

[stillthehorror]

estevan-oriol.

my-space-bar-stopped-working-so-i-cant-get-too-into-this-topic-even-though-i-want-to.

[Aramyr]

Obvious one, Thomas Kincaid. Who buys this shit?

[stillthehorror]

Obvious one, Thomas Kincaid. Who buys this shit?

haha.

i-was-about-to-say-that.

my-mom-is-proud-that-he-went-to-my-school.

[Carl]

Terry Richardson...yawn.

[Servo2000]

Obvious one, Thomas Kincaid. Who buys this shit?

aw but he makes cute little cottages that make me want to claw my eyes out

P.S. What the hell is the deal with Terry Richardson? His website is a bunch of boring snapshots of... nothing. I probably know less about photography than anything else, but that's just my first impressions. Vapid, meaningless, trite, etc...

[cultpop 0217]

i actually like barney, banksy (although he gets more credit than he's due for sure) and neckface. (how can he possibly be overrated?)

not a big kaws fan however.

but thomas kincaide is the anti-christ.

i actually told him to his face.

you should have seen the look he gave me and i thought the gallery owner was going to puke.

1 in 10 homes in america has a print of his.

and that joke godard, the guy who does those olives, is currently the best selling artist in america

[Carl]

but thomas kincaide is the anti-christ.

i actually told him to his face.

I had a 5th grade teacher who shoved him down our poor little 10 year old throats.

Ive had a passionate hatred of him ever since.

[azad]

andy fucking warhol.

[mike lowrey]

I agree on kaws..

[cultpop 0217]

andy fucking warhol.

you may not like his work but if not for warhol i doubt we would be discussing art at all on a fashion forum. he changed everything. the modern day prevalence of popular culture as a valid subject for artistic expression would not exist if not for his influence as well as the concept of art x commerce and the whole idea of art x fashion/toy/collectable "collabos" probably would not exist either. so while i can understand not being a fan of his actual art he can not possibly be overrated in terms of the influence he has had on pop culture.

[Salad]

i actually like barney, banksy (although he gets more credit than he's due for sure) and neckface. (how can he possibly be overrated?)

not a big kaws fan however.

but thomas kincaide is the anti-christ.

i actually told him to his face.

you should have seen the look he gave me and i thought the gallery owner was going to puke.

1 in 10 homes in america has a print of his.

and that joke godfrey, the guy who does those olives, is currently the highest paid artist in america.

I didn't think there was actually a guy named Thomas Kincaide. I thought that was some made up shit. You mean one guy actually paints that crap?

[tweeds]

yeah that's like saying "i hate levi's, they're so overplayed they're daft". they may suck now (in the same way that warhol merchandise today are ridiculously feeding off all that wannabe-artsy mass consumers) but they are almost singlehandedly responsible for the very creation of jeans. if you stick the finger at levi's, you're more or less disowning your denim. likewise warhol.

you may not like his work but if not for warhol i doubt we would be discussing art at all on a fashion forum. he changed everything. the modern day prevalence of popular culture as a valid subject for artistic expression would not exist if not for his influence as well as the concept of art x commerce and the whole idea of art x fashion/toy/collectable "collabos" probably would not exist either. so while i can understand not being a fan of his actual art he can not possibly be overrated in terms of the influence he has had on pop culture.

[cultpop 0217]

yeah that's like saying "i hate levi's, they're so overplayed they're daft". they may suck now (in the same way that warhol merchandise today are ridiculously feeding off all that wannabe-artsy mass consumers) but they are almost singlehandedly responsible for the very creation of jeans. if you stick the finger at levi's, you're more or less disowning your denim. likewise warhol.

exactly my point.

and flame. he didnt say anything. he was hand retouching one of his prints for an elderly asian couple and i just stood over his shoulder for a few minutes sipping my coffee. he turned around and asked "what can i do for you?"

and i told him (paraphrasing here) "stop selling your work. a good friend of mine thinks you are the antichrist and i agree with him. your work sums everything wrong with the way people view art in america today and if you want to know what you can do for me, stop painting."

he just kinda sat that there, mouth open, realizing his fanbase was watching, and said nothing. the "gallery" owner looked horrified and started towards me but i turned and marched right out before he could really react. im not usually that bold but i saw an oppurtunity and i took it.

and it felt fucking good.

the thing i really dont understand is how anybody thinks this shit is going to be worth anything down the road. the market is completely flooded with his tripe.

[azad]

you may not like his work but if not for warhol i doubt we would be discussing art at all on a fashion forum. he changed everything. the modern day prevalence of popular culture as a valid subject for artistic expression would not exist if not for his influence as well as the concept of art x commerce and the whole idea of art x fashion/toy/collectable "collabos" probably would not exist either. so while i can understand not being a fan of his actual art he can not possibly be overrated in terms of the influence he has had on pop culture.

youre right, it was looking at the art, not the artist himself. If I were to look at the artist, overrated would not be the most accurate word to express my view. disgraceful on the other hand seems more fitting.

[cultpop 0217]

youre right, it was looking at the art, not the artist himself. If I were to look at the artist, overrated would not be the most accurate word to express my view. disgraceful on the other hand seems more fitting.

disgraceful to whom or what? the artistic community? himself? the world?

and why? would you care to explain your opinion at all? if you want to discuss it im down. if you want to just be flippant well i guess thats cool too but im actually curious where you stand.

[azad]

i gotta stop procrastinating and finish these two essays do tomorrow, so i'll get into what i mean in the coming week.

till then guy

[cultpop 0217]

i gotta stop procrastinating and finish these two essays do tomorrow, so i'll get into what i mean in the coming week.

till then guy

cool. thanks.

[poly800rock]

neckface sucks. it was almost embarassing to see his stupid tags throughout tokyo.

i feel like art in general nowadays is all pretty bland.

[englandmj7]

Mingling

[snugglepony]

neckface sucks. it was almost embarassing to see his stupid tags throughout tokyo.

i feel like art in general nowadays is all pretty bland.

cosign. his studio art isn't so bad -- not really my thing, but i see no reason to harp on other people's tastes.

that said, i remember being in new york in 2000-2001 and seeing his tags all over brooklyn. it wasn't "almost embarassing" -- it was fucking awful, especially when it was 10ft away from a beautiful tag done by someone w/ some talent...

[cultpop 0217]

Mingling

i love damien hirst. but where's the bisected lego cow in formalydehyde?

[Louche]

Overrated...

I don't really like that term. How can you judge a good artist or designer?

Their technique?

Their style?

Their edge and creativity?

Their messages and contexts?

Or this combined with their marketing skills?

It seems like some people feel that for an artist to be called a true artist, one has to be poor and unsuccesful until ones death. Of the artists mentioned earlier in this post, they all have great skills in some ways. A couple of examples:

Banksy has a unique loud message with a lot of humour, matched with great marketing skills through his guerilla stunts. Thomas Kincaid, aka the Devil, has a dead ass boring message that appeals to a lot of dull people, and he has an insane nose for marketing and business. But does this make him overrated? No, he's really good at what he is doing, one just don't like it artistically.

Servo2000, what have you seen by Terry Richardson? Check out www.richardsonmag.com. I'm sure you'll understand more by seeing those series. Look at those series and look for technique, style, edge, message, and think about his marketing skills and how he is perceived in the photographic community.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

to the OP: you no likey cremaster?!!!

any moment i spend not watching those films is wasted time.

i have permanent boner for barney no matter what he does in the future thanks to the cremasters

[poly800rock]

Overrated...

I don't really like that term. How can you judge a good artist or designer?

Their technique?

Their style?

Their edge and creativity?

Their messages and contexts?

Or this combined with their marketing skills?

It seems like some people feel that for an artist to be called a true artist, one has to be poor and unsuccesful until ones death. Of the artists mentioned earlier in this post, they all have great skills in some ways. A couple of examples:

Banksy has a unique loud message with a lot of humour, matched with great marketing skills through his guerilla stunts. Thomas Kincaid, aka the Devil, has a dead ass boring message that appeals to a lot of dull people, and he has an insane nose for marketing and business. But does this make him overrated? No, he's really good at what he is doing, one just don't like it artistically.

Servo2000, what have you seen by Terry Richardson? Check out www.richardsonmag.com. I'm sure you'll understand more by seeing those series. Look at those series and look for technique, style, edge, message, and think about his marketing skills and how he is perceived in the photographic community.

that terry richardson site is straight porno. particularly like the cumshot photoset. Have you seen this site http://hustler.com/mansion/home.php?cs=1 ? i don't know the photographer but that shit is cutting edge.

I think Larry Clark is overrated. his photos are ok at best and his movies for the most part suck (kids in particularly). Saying that, I do really wanna see Wassup Rockers though.

good find!

[englandmj7]

Wassup Rockers was great.......having lived in L.A. for quite some time made me understand/appreciate it alot more. Definitely check it out.

[viv1984viv]

andy fucking warhol.

sorry, your wrong, 6 years of studying contempory art and although ive never liked warhol his influence is amazing you cant escape his influence, advertising, graphic design, art, production etc etc. Hes been cliched to hell and back, and thats telling.