A discussion of art in general.

[Nighthawk 0]

I wondered what kind of a response this thread would get, and I honestly have no idea, but here goes.

 

When did Dali become art's poster boy for generation x? Ask any sneakers wearing goofball in a Hot Topic shirt who their favorite artist is, 90% of the time they'll say Dali. Now these are people who know shit about art. Ask them to just name artists randomly, they'll be able to tell you the ones the ninja turtles were named after, Dali, and on a good day, maybe Van Gogh and Andy Warhol. For one, I wonder why they latch onto him like that. Is it just because his stuff is weird, and they like weird? Or is his art really that good? Because Dali isn't just popular with that crowd, everybody likes him to some degree. Is he actually the most accessible artist ever?

So, what's your opinion of Dali, and my most accessible artist conjecture?

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Dali is incredibly accessible. He's weird and skilled; his stuff is fascinating to look at, often has the appeal of a brain-teaser, and looks pretty on a wall. You can get away with Dali being counterculture or just something cool to have on your wall, depending on the piece you're considering. He's bizarre, but not too bizarre to be offensive to most sensibilities. Out of the surrealist artists, he probably made the most conventionally pretty art - he's cool to look at without being too aesthetically confrontational. That's the hook.

 

I think he's all right. Decent for all the reasons mentioned above.

[godthedog 0]

i'd give the "art's poster boy for gen x" nod to m. c. escher. his stuff DOMINATES the college dorm rooms, and his art is probably more recognized than dali's (although dali has the bigger name).

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

There a lot of math whizzes at your school? I always saw Escher on walls of math and science majors, and all the business creeps. Dali was usually on the walls of the humanities kids. I like Dali well enough I guess, but I know precisely dick where visual art's concerned. I can't even begin to draw or paint beyond a fifth grade level (poor by those standards, even), and looking at phenomenally detailed stuff just pisses me off usually. I had a Dali calendar once, which is usually the only way I have any art hanging on my walls.