Willem De Kooning's Untitled XXV sold for $27.1 Million Dollars a week and a half ago. I don't pretend to love most post modern art, being a Comic book fan boy I really liked Roy Lichenstein's work and Jack Kirby's 1960's pencil renderings of Marvel Superheroes were really my style. But $27.1 for that? C'mon... I understand he's a post modern "action" painter who's contemporaries include Jackson Pollock, Larry Rivers and Mark Rothko (I actually did like art history) but this particular piece I don't think merits the money. Untitled XXV was sold at a Sotheby's/ Christie's auction along with Warhol's Mao which fetched $17.1 million. No wonder art thefts are on the rise... Remember "The Scream" was stolen 21/2 years ago, and Tom Hanks ripped off the Mona Lisa recently too.
I mean if this = $27.1 Million, then I think that a large canvas Roger Deacons' 1970's Yes Album cover from the RELAYER album should = $5 million. Or a Frank Frazetta "Berzerker" (on the Molly Hatchet album) should = $10 million. I could really never figure out how to judge the modern art market at all, because so much of it is subjective. Renaissance Art I understand. Rembrandt I understand. Picasso's Pre Cubist era I like mucho.
But artists like Mondrian (the Partridge family bus pattern dude) make me want to puke.
I will admit that I do get a kick out of Jackson Pollock's work though, as he threw that paintbrush on the canvas while listening to Jazz, which explains a lot of his work. Furthermore he threw a lot of his cigarette butts into the canvas tells me he seems a lot like Denis Leary if he was a painter. So I think I'd get along with the guy. But even Pollock would tell you that you were full of shit if someone offered you $27.1 Million for his work.
So why the hell am I writing about a painting? Because it's on my desktop here at work and it reminds me of what my head feels like a this job somedays.... and the 27.1 million reasons I wouldn't mind finger painting for a living.
5 comments:
Man, don't you wish you had these kinds of problems? Gee...that painting's going for thirty mil, but I can really only afford 27.1. I guess I'll put it back.
I gotta say, art school grad I might be but modern art critic...nope. I've come to appreciate more modern art these past years, like Picasso and especially Pollock after Ed Harris did that awesome biopic. I showed the part where he paints the Guggenheim mural to the kids I was teaching this past year and they loved it. It showed a real passion for creating, if nothing else. But some things I still just don't get...like friggin' 'Tundra' at the Philly museum. Sorry, but I still just see a blank canvas. Or a good half of the stuff that used to go on exhibit at UArts from the sculpture department. While we were fighting for the right to simply HAVE a show, some sculpture major got away with putting curdled milk in giant baby bottles on a shelf and called that a thesis.
I bet they probably got an A.
Nice post!
My all time favorite art exhibit was when they had some of DaVinci's sketches on display at the Philly Art Museum.They were from the collection of Queen Elizabeth.
I cut classes to go too. Didn't see any hidden Code messages, although his notes were written backward so you had to read by mirror [ if you could understand it]
Mondrian influenced a lot of polyester pants designers --I unfortunatley wore a bunch of these back in the 70's
oh, and I'd say Elton John's "Captain Fantastic" = $10 mil.
Little creepy naked things pooping and stuff. ick!
--k
i am a lover of modern art, was this one of his last pieces before he passed away of Alzheimer's?
the fine art coming out of UARTS to me was dissapointing. my college, montserrat, may be tiny in comparision(my graduating class had maybe 50 people), however the paintings, sculptures, printmaking, etc. was top notch and most of my friends from montserrat are still working artists. not to say that we had some wacky modern art, we all loved any opening in our school as it meant a free dinner with wine :P
i recently got back in touch with 2 friends who i am happy to say got married. their work is amazing and chatting with them made me realize how much i missed being a part of the art scene.
my college holds an auction annually now, to help finance grants, etc. myself and many other alumis are donating our pieces. should be fun to see what one of my photos would go for in an auction!
LOL
oh btw, i bet that suzie, charley, emily & jayden could produce something way better than that painting ;)
you got spammed! ewww!
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