# Well-known or well-respected art you would never hang on your walls **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404 "2007-07-27T17:54:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spiral\_Stairs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Spiral\_Stairs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiral_Stairs)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/1 "2007-07-27T17:54:29Z")
No wall owned or controlled by me shall ever display (i) an Ansel Adams print; (ii) a Monet print; or (iii) an old French advertisement or facsimile thereof. It’s not that I don’t see the art in those things: (i) Ansel Adams’ technical prowess and eye for composition are unassailable; (ii) no argument is needed for Monet’s talent and historical significance; and (iii) old French advertisements are often colorful and graphically interesting. But they’ve become visual cliches. Every joker with his or her first post-college apartment walks into Bed, Bath & Beyond and buys these three things. They scream, “I have not given any thought to what I would like to display on my walls, but instead have simply purchased that which is most likely to appeal to a large number of people but offend none.” What attractive, inoffensive works of art would you never hang on your wall? Or am I the only one with oddly strong feelings about these things? (It might have something to do with the daily beatings I received from my parents, who wielded framed Ansel Adams and Monet prints, topped off with whippings by way of a rolled-up French advertisement.) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/2 "2007-07-27T17:55:53Z")
[QUOTE=Spiral Stairs] What attractive, inoffensive works of art would you never hang on your wall? [/QUOTE] That “light” guy (don’t recall his name). ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/3 "2007-07-27T18:00:40Z")
I have an Ansel Adams, but it’s a picture of the University where I got my doctorate, so it has personal meaning. Mine would probably be Aubrey Beardsley, Andy Warhol and that guy who does drawings of model-y looking women who all have the same face. I can’t think of his name, maybe someone else can. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/4 "2007-07-27T18:04:07Z")
Any popular Klimt. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/5 "2007-07-27T18:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] That “light” guy (don’t recall his name). [/QUOTE] Thomas Kinkade. My wife loves him. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/6 "2007-07-27T18:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Thomas Kinkade. My wife loves him. [/QUOTE] Also known in my house as “Thomas Kinkade (shake your fist here and clench your teeth and kind of growl out the rest), goddam painter of light” 🙂 I’m going to go with Escher. Cool looking drawings, but with a college dorm feel. Keep in mind this is coming from a woman with a Dali print on her wall. That she got in college. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/7 "2007-07-27T18:15:26Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Thomas Kinkade. My wife loves him. [/QUOTE] Bingo. I guess many people like his work, but I do not. [QUOTE=cher3] Andy Warhol [/QUOTE] :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Apollo\_s\_Towel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Apollo\_s\_Towel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollo_s_Towel)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/8 "2007-07-27T18:22:20Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] that guy who does drawings of model-y looking women who all have the same face. I can’t think of his name, maybe someone else can. [/QUOTE] [Patrick Nagel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Nagel)? For me I guess it would be any of the “big names,” like Van Gogh, Picasso, Kandinsky or Chagall. Not that I don’t like the work, but again, they are pretty much all over the place, too much so. Add to that Jack Vettriano’s [_Singing Butler_](http://www.respree.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/articles/singing-butler-jack-vettriano-auction.html?E+scstore). That damn painting is everywhere now. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/9 "2007-07-27T18:25:23Z")
Yes, Patrick Nagel’s the one. **vetbridge** , it’s not that I object to Andy Warhol’s work. It’s just too ubiquitous and doesn’t fit my personal style of decoration. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/10 "2007-07-27T18:25:45Z")
[QUOTE=ShelliBean] I’m going to go with Escher. Cool looking drawings, but with a college dorm feel. Keep in mind this is coming from a woman with a Dali print on her wall. That she got in college. [/QUOTE] I misread Escher as saying “Bosch”, and was about to take you to task for being so wrong-headed…I wouldn’t display an Escher for the same reason. Then again, Bosch (and Dali) would seem similarly college-dormish, the difference being that Bosch is really really good. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/11 "2007-07-27T18:37:11Z")
[QUOTE=cher3] **vetbridge** , it’s not that I object to Andy Warhol’s work. It’s just too ubiquitous and doesn’t fit my personal style of decoration. [/QUOTE] Gotcha. It’s just that we are both Pittsburghers, and I really like his work. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Hildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Johnny\_Hildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Hildo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/12 "2007-07-27T18:41:38Z")
As I’ve said before, Van Gogh’s _Sunflowers_ series is some of the ugliest shit I’ve ever seen. They look like something you’d find in a flea market for 3 bucks and the only reason you’d buy it was for the frame. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/13 "2007-07-27T18:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny Hildo] As I’ve said before, Van Gogh’s _Sunflowers_ series is some of the ugliest shit I’ve ever seen. They look like something you’d find in a flea market for 3 bucks and the only reason you’d buy it was for the frame. [/QUOTE] Different strokes. What about _Starry Night_? If I ever found my self filthy rich, I would love to own _any_ Van Gogh, with _Starry Night_ toping the list. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/14 "2007-07-27T18:53:06Z")
I’d rather have a fresh turd on my wall than anything by Pollock. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/15 "2007-07-27T18:56:43Z")
Anything by Margaret Keane. What better time to say “Ow, my eyes! The goggles do nothing!” ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/16 "2007-07-27T19:06:39Z")
A giant vagina painting. ---
**Author:** ![Eltanin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Eltanin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eltanin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/17 "2007-07-27T19:26:40Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] A giant vagina painting. [/QUOTE] Does the female form make you uncomfortable, **Least Original User Name Ever**? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/18 "2007-07-27T19:29:55Z")
[QUOTE=Eltanin] Does the female form make you uncomfortable, **Least Original User Name Ever**? [/QUOTE] Is a vagina the female form? If so, is a penis the male form? My guess is that if you asked 100 artists to sketch the female form, damn few would sketch a vagina. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/19 "2007-07-27T19:31:20Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Thomas Kinkade. My wife loves him. [/QUOTE] I’m so sorry for you, **Liberal**. That’s just plain horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404/20 "2007-07-27T19:32:46Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Is a vagina the female form? If so, is a penis the male form? My guess is that if you asked 100 artists to sketch the female form, damn few would sketch a vagina. [/QUOTE] Whoooosh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-or-well-respected-art-you-would-never-hang-on-your-walls/413404.md?page=2)