My stars above, I want to do this. And some of this.
I live near older ‘seniors only’ communities, where the first generation to hobby-paint with Bill Alexander and Bob Ross are now dying out. The hobbyists’ yeoman efforts have been making their way into local thrift stores for a good twenty years. Sounds cruel and it sort of is. But these pieces are eventually doomed for landfill, otherwise.
Add to that the glut of cheap, mawkish acrylic paintings from modern ‘paint-n-sip’ classes…there’s a gold rush of uninspired art out there just begging for new life!
Who’s with me?
The monsters added to the thrift store paintings reminded me of a moment in history about 20 years ago when Daubism became the hot topic of discussion in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It’s not often a controversy in the world of art stirs the waters here, but public opinion became heated for a few months when local artist Driller Jet Armstrong hit the headlines for exhibiting a landscape painting by another South Australian artist, Charles Bannon, modified by the addition of some crop circles. Bannon, who was still living, objected and sought redress in the courts. The Armstrong-Bannon controversy led to a modification of copyright law: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MurUEJL/2002/49.html Not much later, Armstrong was commissioned to modify an existing mural on a building in a high-traffic area in the city. The original had been in place for 14 or 15 years and was regarded fondly by most people. Armstrong and his team modified it by painting over it, retaining the basic elements, and that’s been there for longer than the original version. http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/explore-the-city/see-do/maps-and-trails/public-art-guide/sight/daubist-mural-no.-1
Thanks for the citation. I vaguely remember that going down; I was in the US, but the controversy reached some notable art magazines. I love how the art keeps getting added to, turning it into an evolving piece.