It was a demonstration in relativity - it might surprise you but I find high worth in Meissonier for his clarity and restraint - likewise I like Monticelli for just the opposite reasons - I am also fond of a wide range of artists such as both modern Couture to Jenny Saville and John Lee, and pre-Modern such as deHooch (sp?)to Poussin, who allowed their skills to serve their creativity even if the work they would produce was uneven, rather than enslaving their creativity to their skills and the sentimentallity and tastes of their audiences
I knew you would find value in Dagnan-Bouveret because your dogmatic vision would not allow you to see what he is for what he is - some one trying to keep up with the tastes of his audience On 9/2/09 8:46 AM, "Chris Miller" <[email protected]> wrote: "Miller ploy" Saul Ostrow,Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:22:22 -0700 I admit that Mr. Ostrow had me fooled, and rather cheered that he was finally able to step outside the "discourses" that are so important to him, and consider issues of artistic value on his very own. His argument concerning "most creative" and "modernize academic tradition" seemed plausible because Dagnan-Bouveret's work is clearly different from Girome and other painters of earlier generations. Even the phrase "surprising modernity" might have suggested a connection with the large scale, dramatic images that are the latest rage in contemporary art (even though they are photographs rather than paintings) But alas -- Saul was just kidding. Very funny! But to quote Ayn Rand,"Romantic Manifesto" page 126: "Humor is not an unconditional virtue; its moral character depends on its object. To laugh at the contemptuous is a virtue, to laugh at the good is a hideous vice. Too often humor is used as the camouflage of moral cowardice. There are two types of cowardice in this connection. One type is the man who dares not reveal his profound hatred of existence and seeks to undercut all values under cover of a chuckle, who gets away with offensive, malicious utterances, and if caught, runs for cover by declaring " I was only kidding" The other type is the man who dares not reveal or uphold his values and seeks to smuggle them into existence under cover of a chuckle, who tries to get away with some concept of virtue or beauty, and , at the first sign of opposition, drops it and runs declaring: "I was only kidding" In the first instance, humor serves as an apology for evil; in the second, as an apology for good. Which, morally, is the the more contemptible policy?" So which type is Saul? I'm guessing that he actually does admire Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan- Bouveret, but when challenged by Kate, he turned tail and ran. ____________________________________________________________ Click for estimate on vinyl siding. Durable and affordable. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxVS3QsbYJkRVyp1qb23wOhjr euuXUVpng8CYIVyhvE4PpYXstMWg4/ --
