# Most despised (visual) artists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287 "2002-12-28T02:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/21 "2002-12-28T08:08:24Z")
I knew he’d have his defenders. I’m still unconvinced. I don’t like his stuff. Thomas Kinkade is lousy! I’m kidding 😉 I mean Rockwell. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/22 "2002-12-28T08:19:06Z")
Forbin: You don’t _have_ to like Rockwell. But your reasons for not liking him were these: > [@](#): > > I don’t think he ever had anything important to paint. No passion. No conflict. Boring! Huh? You mean a painting like _Murder in Mississippi_ (linked to above) which depicts civil rights workers getting slaughtered isn’t “passionate” and doesn’t have enough “conflict” for you? It isn’t “important” enough for you? And do you mean that the several paintings we have linked to have “nothing important” to say and are “boring”? You seriously think he never had _anything_ important to paint? Could you please explain how you came to this conclusion? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/23 "2002-12-28T13:20:16Z")
Who was that artist in the 80’s - early 90’s who hired other artists to execute his sketches or would make one of something and have his assistants make “original” copies and his clients were completely OK with this and he was unapologetic about it . He did a **huge** business with wealthy clients. He did sculpture and painting. It was not Andy Warhol. IIRC his name a was Kommetko… Komoko or something that sounded similar? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/24 "2002-12-28T16:15:34Z")
**astro** – are you thinking of the guy who did the chrome version of the blow-up Easter Bunny? I’m thinking Koontz, but a quick google of koontz-bunny didn’t do me much good. (Well, it was entertaining, but it didn’t bring up the guy I’m thinking of.) Yeah, he was annoying. Julian Schnabel is a pretentious @ss. I also like the pre-Raphaelites, though I’ll admit Wm. Holman Hunt can be a bit … preachy. (I’ve always had kind of a fondness for his _Scapegoat_, though: [http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/scapegoat.htm](http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/scapegoat.htm) And I’ve always loved Hicks – my fellow Quaker. (Along these lines, there was a really wonderful show on American landscape painting of the 19th century here in Philly last summer – a couple of _huge_ honkin’ Bierstadts – yup, love the Hudson Valley school, too. Oh, wait, the OP wanted people I **don’t** like? I’ve never liked Renoir much – those hectic fleshtones… ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/25 "2002-12-28T16:28:02Z")
Noone’s mentioned Bob Ross? OTOH, don’t mess with Bill Alexander. More seriously, what do people think of [Nagel](http://www.artbrokerage.com/images/nagel/nag_chee.jpg) these days? ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/26 "2002-12-28T17:59:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*And do you mean that the several paintings we have linked to have “nothing important” to say and are “boring”? You seriously think he never had _anything_ important to paint? Could you please explain how you came to this conclusion? \*\* I don’t mean the _events_ weren’t important. I simply don’t believe that NR had the gravity or depth to adequitely portray them. Vegetables are delicious, snappy, flavorful food too, but they can be boiled to mush. I prefer _al dente_. Norman Rockwell just isn’t for me.\* I knew he was regarded as an “illustrator” BTW. I dislike that label as others have mentioned. Remember, I work in the decorative (applied, if you prefer{Hell, Industrial if you prefer}) arts. I think we often have much more to say than the so called “fine” artists. The harmonies of J.S. Bach are profound, but the Dianna and Minerva commode by Thomas Chippendale isn’t? I don’t think so! \*Merely a matter of taste. I don’t like Christmas either, and every year, well meaning people try to troubleshoot my obviously wrong point of view. This seems like the same thing to me. We disagree, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/27 "2002-12-28T19:40:44Z")
I was thinking of Jeff Koons – here’s a link: [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/9929/koons/](http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/9929/koons/) Is this who you were thinking of, **astro**? Regardless, he’s one of my nominees. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/28 "2002-12-28T20:04:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Who was that artist in the 80’s - early 90’s who hired other artists to execute his sketches or would make one of something and have his assistants make “original” copies and his clients were completely OK with this and he was unapologetic about it \*\* Perhaps you’re thinking of [Mark Kostabi](http://www.markkostabi.com/)? BTW, many old masters would also put their signatures on work done by their apprentices under their guidance. Not that I’m comparing Kostabi to a master, by any stretch of the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/29 "2002-12-28T20:16:22Z")
Sorry, _pulykamell_\*, but Francis Bacon’s paintings are just horrid and unwatchable to me. Whatever is supposed to be so “important” about him is lost in the intense repulsiveness he flings in the viewer’s face. Sorry, I just can’t relate to that. He is inaccessible. It’s like hip-hop rap music. Its defenders protest that it has a lot of important things to say … but the sound upfront is so ugly and repellent, I just can’t let it in my ears. ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/30 "2002-12-28T20:17:16Z")
There have already been many Kinkade bashing threads here, if you look far enough. That one is too easy. It should be disregarded, just for the fact that it is the one that pops into everyone’s mind without really having to think about. 😃 Actually, I can’t really think of any that I would say I hate, except for people who are strictly shock art. Like the guy with the decomposing cow’s head, or whatever it was. Forgive me for not finding the link, but I can’t bear to look at his art again. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/31 "2002-12-28T20:47:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Forbin \* > I simply don’t believe that NR had the gravity or depth to adequitely portray them. Vegetables are delicious, snappy, flavorful food too, but they can be boiled to mush. I prefer _al dente_. Fine—if you don’t like him, that’s fine. No other explanation necessary. Your specific reasons for not liking him (IMO) are hard to back up too concretely. (I think the rest of us have given ample cites which indicate that you are in the minority in how you interpret his efforts.) So the bottom line is that you don’t like him. No biggie. ---
**Author:** ![JayElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/32 "2002-12-28T22:05:19Z")
I’ve never been a big fan of Keith Haring’s [dancing dudes](http://www.superseventies.com/1971_2singles.html). ---
**Author:** ![JayElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/33 "2002-12-28T22:06:45Z")
Oops. Wrong link. [Here ya go.](http://www.haring.com/master1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/34 "2002-12-28T22:45:37Z")
**JayElle** beat me to it. Keith Haring, hands down. ---
**Author:** ![Ravi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Ravi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravi)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/35 "2002-12-28T23:49:56Z")
I agree… Keith Haring booooooooring ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/36 "2002-12-28T23:52:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hodge \* > \*\*Perhaps you’re thinking of [Mark Kostabi](http://www.markkostabi.com/)? BTW, many old masters would also put their signatures on work done by their apprentices under their guidance. Not that I’m comparing Kostabi to a master, by any stretch of the imagination. \*\* That’s him! ---
**Author:** ![lout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@lout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lout)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/37 "2002-12-28T23:54:15Z")
I have to agree that Keith Haring was one of the most overrated painters of the 1980s, along with the pathetic Michael Basquaet (sp?). One the other side of the coin, the '80s produced some really interesting painters, especially Eric Fischl and Ralph Humphries. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/38 "2002-12-29T00:41:08Z")
Christo. [http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/christo/xtojc/wc.html](http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/christo/xtojc/wc.html) Sorry but throwing a tarp over something and wrapping it with rope does nothing for me. Neither does wrapping a stick in a rag and wrapping it with string. Nor does wrapping a hillside or coastline with sheets. (Do you see a pattern here?) I gotta agree with Haring, Nagel and Kinkade as well. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/39 "2002-12-29T00:53:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster47 \* > I’ll admit Wm. Holman Hunt can be a bit … preachy. (I’ve always had kind of a fondness for his _Scapegoat_, though: [http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/scapegoat.htm](http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/scapegoat.htm) As someone who’s similarly not a Hunt fan, but who lived in Liverpool for some years and often had the chance to look at it in the Walker, I’ll fondly agree with you about the _Scapegoat_. Not a great painting, but the sort of thing that can become wonderfully familiar. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287/40 "2002-12-29T03:32:40Z")
**Jeff Koons** is best compared with Dadaists such as **Marcel Duchamp** , the guy who mounted a urinal on a platform and called it a “fountain” and who scrawled a moustache on a Mona Lisa postcard. I love Koons’ stuff and his attitude and sense of humor and am happy to see his work displayed in prestigious museums worldwide. I can’t believe nobody has mentioned **Leroy Neiman** yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-despised-visual-artists/145287.md?page=3)