Post by Roderick on Aug 23, 2008 0:33:43 GMT 12
Colin MaCahon Paintings .......Post a reply
Seeker_Of_Sins
4/5/2006 1:54:09 PM
Has anyone seen any of this chaps paintings?
Everyone I have seen appears childish, amatuerish and full of imature ramblings. The art is boring, dark, and has no depth. Each painting I have seen leaves me unimpressed.
Now this is not entirely unusual, my appreciation of art extends to talent based on recognition whereas his paintings are more conceptual. Also art is in the eyes of the beholder, and what appeals to one may not appeal to another.
However, recently a list of the ten most important paintings in NZ history was produced and three of Colin MaCahon's paintings were in the top 10 including the number 1 spot.
This I couldn't fathom
What is it about his art that is considered good?
Does anyone even like any of his art?
Is he desrving of having his art portrayed as exceptional and better than pretty much every NZ artist who has gone before?
mebeija
4/5/2006 2:49:17 PM
I love Colin McCahon Paintings.
I
Seeker_Of_Sins
4/5/2006 2:59:14 PM
mebeija
4/5/2006 2:49:17 PM
I love Colin McCahon Paintings.
why? what do you find appealing about them?
PeterJ
4/5/2006 5:30:00 PM
Family went on a gallery trip with Dad one day.
Saw severa McCahons, Dad mad several apt comments - along the lines of S_o_S's - and a whippish looking geek in black got very, very snappy, the guards had big smiles and the "arty fartys" were agust.
Seems McCahon never could take criticism.
NoUseForAName
4/5/2006 6:25:01 PM
Kees Bruin!!!
akashicisis
4/5/2006 7:09:19 PM
to get anywhere in onceptual art, you first have to prove you have the talent for representational art. McCahon's paintings are simplistic and childish because that reflected what he saw in NZ when he was painting. it's a fact our landscapes in some areas are very plain...and it's a fact that snobby colonialists thought of rural nz as childlike and naive for many many years....the writing is lines of poetry and bible quotes, if you take enough drugs i think you might get it. take my comments how you will....McCahon had talent, but i'm not sure the art he's famous for is where he expressed it...but maybe it's just too good for the likes of me to understand fully....
foofighter
5/5/2006 9:58:20 AM
McCahon is easily deserving of the title of NZ's greatest painter, you can measure that in influence, world recognition or talent but it's fairly hard to disagree with when you place him in the canon of NZ art. The thing with McCahon though, is that you generally can't just look at a painting and go "Ah...I get it!" There's a lot of layers and meaning to his works which make them hard to understand on their own - which also means that most people don't want to take the time to learn about them or him either. Most people in NZ would go for a Graham Sydney anyday ... but he just paints what everybody sees (albeit very well), whereas McCahon painted what he saw, and art is all about that.
Rant over.
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:06:11 AM
All art is a con anyhooo....
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:08:07 AM
The above posts prove it..... "art" is pretentious bollox.....good art is art that doesn't clash with the curtains..
izzi
5/5/2006 10:09:07 AM
First time i saw his work it blew me away. It seemed to make sense of some of the stuff in my head. I like it alot.
Len Lye gave me much the same feeling when i saw his work.
master_staff_car
5/5/2006 10:09:49 AM
utter crap you call that art
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:10:34 AM
Stuff in your head...
I rest my case........
foofighter
5/5/2006 10:14:06 AM
master_staff_car
5/5/2006 10:14:13 AM
the bests nzl artists are like fellow simon morse and martin edmond thats my opinon tho
foofighter
5/5/2006 10:23:08 AM
Mephisto Jones is also pretty cool, and you only have to walk around Wellington to see his stuff ...
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:23:52 AM
Michael Bedard
aboutyou
5/5/2006 11:48:14 PM
colin mc carhons painting are good enough to go on display at the warehouse maybe even noel leemings
izzi
5/5/2006 11:51:16 PM
hey ...it's not about you
rick3
7/5/2006 1:06:13 AM
Shane Cotton NZs most amazing Maori artist.Deep deep feelings in his work and it all comes out.He is an great artist.
rick3
7/5/2006 1:06:43 AM
Shane Cotton NZs most amazing Maori artist.Deep deep feelings in his work and it all comes out.He is an great artist.
aboutyou
7/5/2006 1:07:50 AM
i am new zealands most amazing maori artist
rick3
7/5/2006 3:04:49 AM
Hi nice to know there is another amazing Maori artist out there.Are you sure you are an artist and a Maori,Let me know
aboutyou
7/5/2006 4:58:50 AM
yes im an artist yes im maori yes im amazing
mebeija
7/5/2006 8:00:53 AM
What do I like about his paintings? I like the rawness and the obvious layers that are there open for for interpretation. The writing and images just have an appeal to me. That is what I like. I like to be able to look at a work and toy with the idea of what it could mean.
prettygal1977
7/5/2006 9:06:53 AM
Ud8ya2CqaJGrM:www.ncf.ca/~ek867/iandthou_mccahon.jpg">
i have seen the kids at school produce better art than this
Seeker_Of_Sins
7/5/2006 10:14:37 AM
" A candle in a dark room"
yes, I can see how that would be considered deep and deserving of great thought and contemplation
Nice examples of his work there pretty, childish, not good,(my wife draws better when we play pictionary), and hardly deserving of the title.......best NZ artist
kittytig
7/5/2006 10:24:48 AM
If that is what is considered good art, and that is what is considered the best of New Zealand artists, then we are seriously screwed for artistic talent in this country. I have only ever seen one peice of art that has inspired me. I wrote a poem about it. I can't remember the artist or the title of the painting, but the picture amazed simply in that the more I looked at it the more I saw. the only way I can describe it is that it looked like a window, out of a forest at a town, and there was a lot of hidden things within the painting. I have never seen anything like it since.
aboutyou
7/5/2006 10:54:13 AM
good art around here we call that stuff grafitti
fredio
7/5/2006 10:58:23 AM
Colin McCahon was an alcoholic. He was, also, the curator at the Auckland City Art Gallery for a few years and had some of his own work in Exhibitions at the time - self promotion!?
Anyway, I like some of his work (I think two paintings) but most I think are not that great.
Painting
22/8/2008 11:00:05 PM
Hello
Colin McCahon. Hmm...
Of course his art is conceptual. He carries a lot of emotion in his work. It is every bit 'himself'. His statements are bold and he broke a lot of rules that fine artists adhered to. He could actually be offensive in that way because it seems like he's saying, 'take that & stick it!'. I like his work. LOL he was quite erratic sometimes and his statements were honest. I like his work because you can feel his emotion.
embroider
22/8/2008 11:11:32 PM
i agree with you izzi on Len Lye's art/sculpture.
i far prefer my great aunt Maud's water colour paintings, at least we can tell what they are of. all e have ever had to do is getting them framed. i certainly didn't get the art genes. one of my cousins has a water colour painting of daffodils by the same gt aunt and i love daffodils. i am so envious.
embroider
22/8/2008 11:14:28 PM
if anyone here likes landscape paintings of New Zealand you might like Jonathan White's paintings. My mother has one of his paintings and a book of his paintings.
player4u
23/8/2008 12:22:26 AM
Yes embroider...i agree with you...i know him personally as a family friend , and his art is actual Landscapes...beautiful IMO...many South Island pictures....we have a couple still...two i originally got were his early ones , and the paint cracked and crazed badly...possibly my fault , not being careful enough in their placement...not sure...they were of Mangapohatu...Rua's stronghold , which are of particular interest to me...Ureweras and the South Island seem to be his speciality...he is a very nice guy to meet in person...lived in Whakatane area when i knew him...possibly still does...
player4u
23/8/2008 12:27:42 AM
Here is his net address...
www.jonathanwhite.co.nz/
maybe of interest to you embroider....many paintings are displayed
Seeker_Of_Sins
4/5/2006 1:54:09 PM
Has anyone seen any of this chaps paintings?
Everyone I have seen appears childish, amatuerish and full of imature ramblings. The art is boring, dark, and has no depth. Each painting I have seen leaves me unimpressed.
Now this is not entirely unusual, my appreciation of art extends to talent based on recognition whereas his paintings are more conceptual. Also art is in the eyes of the beholder, and what appeals to one may not appeal to another.
However, recently a list of the ten most important paintings in NZ history was produced and three of Colin MaCahon's paintings were in the top 10 including the number 1 spot.
This I couldn't fathom
What is it about his art that is considered good?
Does anyone even like any of his art?
Is he desrving of having his art portrayed as exceptional and better than pretty much every NZ artist who has gone before?
mebeija
4/5/2006 2:49:17 PM
I love Colin McCahon Paintings.
I
Seeker_Of_Sins
4/5/2006 2:59:14 PM
mebeija
4/5/2006 2:49:17 PM
I love Colin McCahon Paintings.
why? what do you find appealing about them?
PeterJ
4/5/2006 5:30:00 PM
Family went on a gallery trip with Dad one day.
Saw severa McCahons, Dad mad several apt comments - along the lines of S_o_S's - and a whippish looking geek in black got very, very snappy, the guards had big smiles and the "arty fartys" were agust.
Seems McCahon never could take criticism.
NoUseForAName
4/5/2006 6:25:01 PM
Kees Bruin!!!
akashicisis
4/5/2006 7:09:19 PM
to get anywhere in onceptual art, you first have to prove you have the talent for representational art. McCahon's paintings are simplistic and childish because that reflected what he saw in NZ when he was painting. it's a fact our landscapes in some areas are very plain...and it's a fact that snobby colonialists thought of rural nz as childlike and naive for many many years....the writing is lines of poetry and bible quotes, if you take enough drugs i think you might get it. take my comments how you will....McCahon had talent, but i'm not sure the art he's famous for is where he expressed it...but maybe it's just too good for the likes of me to understand fully....
foofighter
5/5/2006 9:58:20 AM
McCahon is easily deserving of the title of NZ's greatest painter, you can measure that in influence, world recognition or talent but it's fairly hard to disagree with when you place him in the canon of NZ art. The thing with McCahon though, is that you generally can't just look at a painting and go "Ah...I get it!" There's a lot of layers and meaning to his works which make them hard to understand on their own - which also means that most people don't want to take the time to learn about them or him either. Most people in NZ would go for a Graham Sydney anyday ... but he just paints what everybody sees (albeit very well), whereas McCahon painted what he saw, and art is all about that.
Rant over.
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:06:11 AM
All art is a con anyhooo....
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:08:07 AM
The above posts prove it..... "art" is pretentious bollox.....good art is art that doesn't clash with the curtains..
izzi
5/5/2006 10:09:07 AM
First time i saw his work it blew me away. It seemed to make sense of some of the stuff in my head. I like it alot.
Len Lye gave me much the same feeling when i saw his work.
master_staff_car
5/5/2006 10:09:49 AM
utter crap you call that art
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:10:34 AM
Stuff in your head...
I rest my case........ foofighter
5/5/2006 10:14:06 AM
master_staff_car
5/5/2006 10:14:13 AM
the bests nzl artists are like fellow simon morse and martin edmond thats my opinon tho
foofighter
5/5/2006 10:23:08 AM
Mephisto Jones is also pretty cool, and you only have to walk around Wellington to see his stuff ...
BiggzBlues
5/5/2006 10:23:52 AM
Michael Bedard
aboutyou
5/5/2006 11:48:14 PM
colin mc carhons painting are good enough to go on display at the warehouse maybe even noel leemings
izzi
5/5/2006 11:51:16 PM
hey ...it's not about you
rick3
7/5/2006 1:06:13 AM
Shane Cotton NZs most amazing Maori artist.Deep deep feelings in his work and it all comes out.He is an great artist.
rick3
7/5/2006 1:06:43 AM
Shane Cotton NZs most amazing Maori artist.Deep deep feelings in his work and it all comes out.He is an great artist.
aboutyou
7/5/2006 1:07:50 AM
i am new zealands most amazing maori artist
rick3
7/5/2006 3:04:49 AM
Hi nice to know there is another amazing Maori artist out there.Are you sure you are an artist and a Maori,Let me know
aboutyou
7/5/2006 4:58:50 AM
yes im an artist yes im maori yes im amazing
mebeija
7/5/2006 8:00:53 AM
What do I like about his paintings? I like the rawness and the obvious layers that are there open for for interpretation. The writing and images just have an appeal to me. That is what I like. I like to be able to look at a work and toy with the idea of what it could mean.
prettygal1977
7/5/2006 9:06:53 AM
Ud8ya2CqaJGrM:www.ncf.ca/~ek867/iandthou_mccahon.jpg">
i have seen the kids at school produce better art than this
Seeker_Of_Sins
7/5/2006 10:14:37 AM
" A candle in a dark room"
yes, I can see how that would be considered deep and deserving of great thought and contemplation
Nice examples of his work there pretty, childish, not good,(my wife draws better when we play pictionary), and hardly deserving of the title.......best NZ artist
kittytig
7/5/2006 10:24:48 AM
If that is what is considered good art, and that is what is considered the best of New Zealand artists, then we are seriously screwed for artistic talent in this country. I have only ever seen one peice of art that has inspired me. I wrote a poem about it. I can't remember the artist or the title of the painting, but the picture amazed simply in that the more I looked at it the more I saw. the only way I can describe it is that it looked like a window, out of a forest at a town, and there was a lot of hidden things within the painting. I have never seen anything like it since.
aboutyou
7/5/2006 10:54:13 AM
good art around here we call that stuff grafitti
fredio
7/5/2006 10:58:23 AM
Colin McCahon was an alcoholic. He was, also, the curator at the Auckland City Art Gallery for a few years and had some of his own work in Exhibitions at the time - self promotion!?
Anyway, I like some of his work (I think two paintings) but most I think are not that great.
Painting
22/8/2008 11:00:05 PM
Hello
Colin McCahon. Hmm...
Of course his art is conceptual. He carries a lot of emotion in his work. It is every bit 'himself'. His statements are bold and he broke a lot of rules that fine artists adhered to. He could actually be offensive in that way because it seems like he's saying, 'take that & stick it!'. I like his work. LOL he was quite erratic sometimes and his statements were honest. I like his work because you can feel his emotion.
embroider
22/8/2008 11:11:32 PM
i agree with you izzi on Len Lye's art/sculpture.
i far prefer my great aunt Maud's water colour paintings, at least we can tell what they are of. all e have ever had to do is getting them framed. i certainly didn't get the art genes. one of my cousins has a water colour painting of daffodils by the same gt aunt and i love daffodils. i am so envious.
embroider
22/8/2008 11:14:28 PM
if anyone here likes landscape paintings of New Zealand you might like Jonathan White's paintings. My mother has one of his paintings and a book of his paintings.
player4u
23/8/2008 12:22:26 AM
Yes embroider...i agree with you...i know him personally as a family friend , and his art is actual Landscapes...beautiful IMO...many South Island pictures....we have a couple still...two i originally got were his early ones , and the paint cracked and crazed badly...possibly my fault , not being careful enough in their placement...not sure...they were of Mangapohatu...Rua's stronghold , which are of particular interest to me...Ureweras and the South Island seem to be his speciality...he is a very nice guy to meet in person...lived in Whakatane area when i knew him...possibly still does...
player4u
23/8/2008 12:27:42 AM
Here is his net address...
www.jonathanwhite.co.nz/
maybe of interest to you embroider....many paintings are displayed
