ernieinjax
18 Jan 2019
03:55:00pm | re: David Opdyke's postcard-ageddon
I checked out this artist's work. Of these iconic images of America, he writes:
"This naïve boosterism seems, along with the quaint hand-colored look of the cards, obsolete. Rightly so. The modern, globally-interconnected world we inhabit is so much... more.
The postcards are missing something important, the key ingredients in modern life: complexity, anxiety, and ambivalence.
So I fixed them"
Nothing new with an "artist" mocking, rejecting and holding traditional America and its symbols in utter contempt.
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ikeyPikey
19 Jan 2019
02:41:31pm | re: David Opdyke's postcard-ageddon
.
I recently read an explanation (in the context of markets & investments) of why pessimism 'sells' so much better than optimism: pessimism creates a sens of urgency, goosing you to act & protect yourself ... while optimism is, well, less compelling.
I imagine that the same dynamic is at work with respect to art: if art reflects & confirms what you already think, it's not gonna move your needle ... but if art juxtaposes, say, facts that do not match your values, your pulse might quicken, your mind might become more alert, etc.
I find Mr Opdyke's piece a little heavy-handed - hence my title for this thread - but I think it qualifies as art, and that it is pretty darn good.
T F Chen's City Gleaners (1985) is a far better example of "mocking, rejecting and holding traditional America and its symbols in utter contempt."
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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