Althouse: Accidental abstract expressionism

January 11, 2023

Accidental abstract expressionism — phase 1 and 2.

36 comments:

rcocean said...: Accidently intriguing.; 1/11/23, 10:08 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Isn't this just proof that modern abstract art is really just a crappy paint job?; 1/11/23, 10:11 AM
Bob Boyd said...: I see a kitten with a ball of yarn in its paws.; 1/11/23, 10:30 AM
tommyesq said...: Trouble picking a color?; 1/11/23, 10:34 AM
Enigma said...: HBtpfH wrote: "...modern abstract art is really just a crappy paint job?"

Yes, yes it does suggest that some people imagine depth and value in mundane things.

https://nypost.com/2015/10/27/modern-art-exhibit-mistaken-for-trash-and-thrown-away/

https://www.theguardian.com/global/shortcuts/2015/oct/27/modern-art-is-rubbish-why-mistaking-artworks-for-trash-proves-their-worth; 1/11/23, 10:35 AM
The Elder said...: Since the walls of your house are now a gallery of intriguing works of art, surely you will leave them that way. Right?; 1/11/23, 10:35 AM
tommyesq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/11/23, 10:36 AM
Robert Cook said...: "Isn't this just proof that modern abstract art is really just a crappy paint job?"

As in all things, some of it is, some of it isn't.; 1/11/23, 10:45 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I have no problem with people who like it. Ya like what ya like. I just don't.
For me, If it looks like the bottom of a trash can... no thanks.

I want some baseline skill going on.; 1/11/23, 10:52 AM
Rocketeer said...: “Yes, yes it does suggest that some people imagine depth and value in mundane things.”

I’m not trying to be churlish when I point out that there is great depth and value in mundane things. That means I’m a grateful and joyous person, not a Philistine.; 1/11/23, 10:54 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: As in all things, some of it is, some of it isn't.

The unintended consequence of a purposeful intention. Seeing something in nothing.

It goes on and on like that. A rabbit hole? An appropriation?; 1/11/23, 10:56 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The finish line is an abstraction. There’s no official finish. I’m remembering some line some painter supposedly said…. It’s finished when I run out of paint. Se fini never anticipated the sequel.; 1/11/23, 11:11 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: Hmm. I was at the deYoung Sunday. You sure there isn't a portal between Meadhouse and San Francisco?

Actually, what an I thinking? The deYoung would never allow such good lighting. Most of the galleries were so dimly lit I could not make out the art. Also, the (new) building itself is depressing on the inside, and looks like a Star Wars First Order command base on the outside.; 1/11/23, 11:23 AM
BudBrown said...: what's the title? Wisconsin/January?
Cant wait for February.; 1/11/23, 11:33 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Unfinished could mean the wall is naked, and there’s a range of possibilities to dress’m up.

Abstract porn.; 1/11/23, 11:35 AM
retail lawyer said...: The top photo is great. Shame to paint over it.; 1/11/23, 11:40 AM
Lurker21 said...: It's pretty, but as with so many artists, the initial positive response to your work has led you to simply repeat yourself. Time to think outside of the box. Break down a few walls. Have the fox stuffed and stuff it into the hole.; 1/11/23, 11:44 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: In the top one, we're in a star's orbit, replenishing our fuel cells. The white line is a solar flare. No worries, if hit our ship is designed to absorb the energy.; 1/11/23, 11:50 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: In the bottom we're in a high rise in manhattan, readying for a night out.; 1/11/23, 12:39 PM
Birches said...: We have yellow walls, not as bright as that photo, but definitely yellow. My very status oriented son wants us to paint it gray. I will not show him this picture.; 1/11/23, 12:44 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We really don’t need psychedelics to see something.

#UnpopularOpinion; 1/11/23, 12:50 PM
Temujin said...: It's actually quite beautiful. The only thing missing is a nod to the Pantone 2023 Color of the Year:
Viva Magenta!; 1/11/23, 12:54 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: I see a dog peeing on a museum of art. Windowpane!; 1/11/23, 2:13 PM
tcrosse said...: Unfortunately, your exhibition has excluded works by members of the LGBT community and people of color. Expect picketers.; 1/11/23, 2:30 PM
MOfarmer said...: I'm confused. IS this art or is it unfinished drywall? There is no context so I can't tell. Are the photos from an art gallery? That would add some context but would not be definitive.; 1/11/23, 2:42 PM
Rollo said...: That corner where the walls meet in the bottom photo makes a great trempe l'oeil tree trunk.; 1/11/23, 3:15 PM
technochitlin said...: All I know is that I have a sudden urge to repaint the hallway.; 1/11/23, 3:20 PM
Rollo said...: Helen Frankenthaler?; 1/11/23, 3:33 PM
Rusty said...: Meade has so many unplumbed talents.
Either that or he got fed with asking you what swatch of color you preferred.; 1/11/23, 3:47 PM
Jupiter said...: Well, but. How can it be "expressionism" if it's "accidental"? What does it express?

Coincidence?; 1/11/23, 5:04 PM
Jupiter said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/11/23, 5:04 PM
Jamie said...: Isn't it lovely that we are made with a capacity to see and enjoy beauty, and that so much of what the best memory of people appreciate we beautiful is the same? A sunrise, a vista, a flower, an opal?

So many things with little or no survival value (I left out "a mother and child" above to make this point) that we nevertheless generally agree are beautiful. (I also used "we are made" purposefully.); 1/11/23, 5:13 PM
boatbuilder said...: The hard part is getting the corners to look clean and square.

I have developed a real appreciation for the skills of drywall finishers over the years while taking on projects that looked like they were going to be simple.; 1/11/23, 5:44 PM
Narr said...: The artist's handling of negative space--some people love it.

Those are definitely better than the things hanging in my dentist's waiting room, so there is that.; 1/11/23, 6:47 PM
Jamie said...: Ugh, I'm missing so many typos this week... I finally fell to the COVID and apparently poor proofing is a little-known symptom.; 1/11/23, 8:33 PM
ken in tx said...: My son once bought a house with every wall covered in Henri Rousseau style jungle paintings, painted directly on the wall. It had been owned by some eccentric foreigner. After living there several years he went to sell it and couldn't. He had to paint over all that art. I thought it was a shame.; 1/11/23, 8:54 PM