I went to the Thomas Kinkade show last night, at Cal State Fullerton.
It was a weird show, and at first I was disappointed, and not at all impressed.Thomas Kinkade sells over $100 million worth of his art a year, which makes him the top-selling artist in the United States. Paintings were just the start, now his works include LA-Z-BOY recliners, figurines, plates, wallpaper, mouse pads and bible covers. One out of 20 homes contains a Thomas Kinkade creation.
In other words, it's shit. But because the show was curated by Jeffrey Vallance, who has done some crazy stuff, and I doubted that he was putting it on out of an appreciate of the inherent artistic value of Kinkade's work, I figured there was going to be a high level of irony. And initially, I thought there was.
Which isn't what disappointed me. The
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/8344309.htm
http://24hour.startribune.com/24hour/entertainment/story/506678p-4034838c.html
http://www.salon.com/mwt/style/2002/03/18/kinkade_village/print.html
Posted by jjwiseman at April 05, 2004 12:35 PM