June 28, 2021

"What do you think of Howard Stern’s painting?"

My son Chris asks, texting this:

 

ME: it doesn’t seem to express anything about him...
        just looks like a tediously copied photo...
        he’s such a special person. he should express himself! 

CHRIS: His paintings always seem like realistic paintings of flowers and stuff like that 

ME: maybe what he’s expressing is that he’s a big old dullard!
        maybe it’s a meditation or self-calming
        maybe he’s atoning for his shock-jockeying 

CHRIS: Yeah I think he does it as a hobby as a calming thing
        His show has changed a lot over the years

Chris also sends that kitty-cat-in-a-shoe painting below. That's a Howard Stern painting from last year. 

ME: it’s like he wants women to love him
        before he was overdoing his effort at appealing to men
        but where is the real howard stern?
        maybe inside he feels like nobody

6 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

Temujin writes:

"Sometimes a thing is just what it is. No reading into it is necessary. Was Howard trying to appeal to women now? Or is he trying to find his zen? Or is this his way of offsetting his over-the-top guy schtick on his show? I'll just toss this out there: Maybe he just likes to paint. Frankly, I think he's got some serious talent and that does not come easily. It takes a ton of work and teaching. More work and more still to get good at painting. And for some, that still would not be sufficient. I think he's good and he likes the results he's getting otherwise he would not show it."

Ann Althouse said...

K writes:

"Just can't help feeling that that "painting" is a colorized photo."

Yes, I suspect it's just a photo manipulated through the computer.

It may be a photo copied onto paper in some way that he then marks up with pencil or watercolor.

Ann Althouse said...

Mara writes:

"I guess all that brash, gross over sexualization of women and treating them all like objects in the meanest way really is the classic situation of a guy trying to direct people to look away from his very sensitive, vulnerable side."

Ann Althouse said...

Mary Ann writes: "It’s called “photo realism”, and I think Howard Stern is very good at it."

The photorealist movement had some edge to it — read about it here. here.

The technical term for what Stern is doing is "kitsch."

Ann Althouse said...

Tom writes:

"I largely agree with Temujin. It's entirely possible that Stern is a craftsman not an artist (and views himself that way). He may well just like to paint and especially the technical aspects of it that allow the realistic depiction of the world. Of course, eliminating the psychological speculation of Stern's motives would eliminate the basis of the post and leave us with "here's a cute painting of a kitty"."

But you've got psychological speculation there too. You say "He may well just like to paint and especially the technical aspects of it ...."

I said "maybe it’s a meditation or self-calming"

That's the same kind of exploration of the possibility that he isn't claiming that it's art or special in any way.

Ann Althouse said...

Caroline writes:

The two paintings that I see seem very precise/detailed. I can understand the drive and satisfaction of attempting to recreate something as closely as possible.

I am lacking in the ability to let go of my control and allow my imagination to flow. Imagination I don’t process or am unable to access. When I was in middle and high school I would see artwork and have an overwhelming desire to attempt to recreate it. Trying to get as close as possible to the original. I loved Frank Frazetta’s work because of his attention to detail and fantastical world building.

I took art courses in college and did well but couldn’t find the enjoyment that I found in my copy work.

I don’t draw anymore but I still have the the need to recreate the amazing things other people do create. Now I do it with crochet, knitting, and cooking - each something that comes with directions my rigid little heart can work to.