# Why is Dogs Playing Poker considered bad art? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 11, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622 "2011-11-11T18:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/1 "2011-11-11T18:46:35Z")
Well? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/2 "2011-11-11T18:57:15Z")
For the same reason a velvet Elvis is. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/3 "2011-11-11T19:00:13Z")
The famous dogs were never in the running as “Fine Art.” I doubt the paintings were ever submitted to the various academies that defined what was “good” back in the day. Mostly, the prints we sold to barrooms & poolhalls. However, no maverick artists, fighting for The Shock of The New, were ever oppressed by dog painters. Hey, there were _several_ artistes of [that genre](http://www.dogsplayingpoker.org/gallery/)! I had no idea… Probably there are dog-art lovers among the advocates of [Lowbrow Art](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowbrow_(art_movement)). Influenced by Custom Car Art, these weirdos have seen a renaissance in Art on Velvet & the Return of the Tiki. (Of course, all true art fans know of [Leeteg of Tahiti](http://www.barracudamagazine.com/leeteg.htm)!) (NSFW picture at the bottom of that site.) Lots of this is ironic, but in a good-humored joking way. If you have ever smiled at a dog playing poker, you could be a Hipster… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/4 "2011-11-11T20:08:15Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well? They’re well-executed, but lacking in depth. Once you laugh at the joke, there’s not a lot more to them. That said, I’ve always been particularly fond of the paw-passed-ace in “A Friend in Need”. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/5 "2011-11-11T20:33:03Z")
I have a soul-changing experience…staring at “His Station and Four Aces”. It’s hard to explain…something visceral, inside me! Coolidge is the greatest artist who ever lived! Screw Rothko, or Mondrain-the “dogs playing poker” rock! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Miss\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/6 "2011-11-11T20:41:30Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well? The question should be, “What makes it good art?” ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/7 "2011-11-11T20:43:30Z")
> [@Miss\_Sunshine](#): > > The question should be, “What makes it good art?” Dogs == Awesome Poker == Awesome Therefore, Dogs playing Poker == Awesome ^2 ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/8 "2011-11-11T20:45:36Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a soul-changing experience..staring at “His Station and Four Aces”. > It’s hard to explain..something visceral, inside me! > Coolidge is the greatest artist who ever lived! > Screw Rothko, or Mondrain-the “dogs playing poker” rock! Something like[this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_YvswCOB2U), I imagine? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/9 "2011-11-11T21:10:59Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Something like[this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_YvswCOB2U), I imagine? That made me jump. 🙂 This reminds me of a customer I used to have when I was a receptionist at an RV Dealer. This lady would sit if front of me in her wheelchair, demanding to see the owner. I don’t care how many times I told her that he wasn’t in, she would sit there and argue with me, telling me that she could smell him. I can smell him. I can smell him. She would repeat this over and over. Anyway, why this reminds me of her is the whole reason she wanted the owner was to convince him that her velvet Elvis would make a fair trade for one of our Motorhomes. Poor old thing was quite off her rocker. :0) ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/10 "2011-11-11T21:14:32Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I have a soul-changing experience..staring at “His Station and Four Aces”. > It’s hard to explain..something visceral, inside me! > Coolidge is the greatest artist who ever lived! > Screw Rothko, or Mondrain-the “dogs playing poker” rock! Ah, but you cannot truly judge until you’ve seen the originals. Two of them [went for $590,400 back in 2005](http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/16/news/newsmakers/poker_dogs/). Quite a bargain, compared to a Rothko! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/11 "2011-11-11T21:29:29Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > They’re well-executed, but lacking in depth. Once you laugh at the joke, there’s not a lot more to them. > > That said, I’ve always been particularly fond of the paw-passed-ace in “A Friend in Need”. I prefer the everyman’s-despair poignancy of “Pinched With Four Aces.” Ha! Who is this Edvard Munch?! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/12 "2011-11-11T21:32:01Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Two of them [went for $590,400 back in 2005](http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/16/news/newsmakers/poker_dogs/). Wow. I’ve learned more about these paintings today than I’ve ever really had a desire to know. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/13 "2011-11-11T21:42:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > For the same reason a velvet Elvis is. Wait…what? HERETIC! ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/14 "2011-11-11T22:02:16Z")
I saw [this](http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2009/08/presidents-playing-poker.html) version in a gallery window in D.C. a few weeks ago. (There’s a version with Democratic Presidents as well, but I find this funnier.) I wish I was wealthy and had someone I could give this to. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/15 "2011-11-11T22:09:32Z")
> [@Miss\_Sunshine](#): > > The question should be, “What makes it good art?” Just because something is not good doesn’t mean it necessarily has to be bad. There’s a large continuum: mediocre, okay, passable, etc. The default assumption is that a piece of art is neither bad nor good, just like anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Miss\_Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/16 "2011-11-11T22:56:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Just because something is not good doesn’t mean it necessarily has to be bad. There’s a large continuum: mediocre, okay, passable, etc. > > The default assumption is that a piece of art is neither bad nor good, just like anything else. I was just being a smart-ass… You took my reply way too seriously.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/17 "2011-11-12T00:43:09Z")
It’s not bad art. Just low brow art. Punk rock art. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/18 "2011-11-12T05:50:06Z")
Ya know, dogs can’t keep a poker face. There will always be a tell about whether they have a good hand or not. Their ears perk up, their tails wag… they’re hopeless. Hence, it is not great art. [Cats Playing Poker](http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/351/d/d/the_cat __s_out_of_the_bag____ by_blackbirdrose-d351u82.jpg) is the true masterpiece. Note the contents of the pot! ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/19 "2011-11-12T09:17:54Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Ya know, dogs can’t keep a poker face. There will always be a tell about whether they have a good hand or not. Their ears perk up, their tails wag… they’re hopeless. Hence, it is not great art. > > [Cats Playing Poker](http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/351/d/d/the_cat __s_out_of_the_bag____ by_blackbirdrose-d351u82.jpg) is the true masterpiece. Note the contents of the pot! Not a fan of the impressionistic approach. Give me a more realistic Cats Playing Poker and I’ll trade the Mona Lisa for that any day. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2011, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622/20 "2011-11-12T11:38:07Z")
Great art makes you ask questions. Bad art spoon-feeds you answers. Disposable art has a punchline. Now I respect a lot of bad and trashy art, but I never confuse it with the good stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-dogs-playing-poker-considered-bad-art/602622.md?page=2)