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Do not compare this guy to Bob Ross. No offense to Bob Ross fans but Ross was not an artist. His paintings were not of high quality amongst the field of what is
by jordache 6y ago
Do not compare this guy to Bob Ross. No offense to Bob Ross fans but Ross was not an artist. His paintings were not of high quality amongst the field of what is considered art. This assertion goes beyond subjective tastes. His paintings were amateurish, but much better than people who do not paint.
Bob Ross was a wonderful figure who democratized the act of painting to the mass consumer demographic. The level of fame he attained is much higher than the quality of his paintings.
- aquadrop 6y agoI disagree. Even though paintings use simple techniques doesn't mean it's not art. It's liked by the people, doesn't matter what experts consider high quality or not. And you're saying like democratizing act of painting has nothing to do with art, his overall contribution to culture was probably not less than Picasso or any other high known painter.
- jordache 6y agoIf you're going by technicality, yeah anything can be art, including a painting by some run of the mill 3 year old. I'm simply contrasting the level of fame Ross achieved, to his level of art. They are not equivalent at all. His paintings are of rather low quality.
- colejohnson66 6y agoWho’s the definitive authority of “level of art”? There isn’t one because, by definition, art is subjective. Just because you see it as “lower effort” or whatever doesn’t mean it can’t be a high “level of art”. Piet Mondrian drew lines and colored in some of the boxes. Seems pretty amateurish to the “uneducated eye”, but they’re still held in high regard.
- jordache 6y agoThe botched Jesus painting restoration effort. Everyeone is in agreement of the result not being art. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_Homo_(Mart%C3%ADnez_and_Gim%C3%A9nez) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecce_Homo_(Mart%C3%ADnez_and_G... I'm not saying Ross' painting is as bad as this extreme example, but to even a casual appreciator of world class art, Ross' paintings are of very amateurish quality. The stuff you'd see hung in a motel breakfast corner for example.
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- foobarian 6y agoWhat are some example reasons why Ross paintings are of amateurish quality? I've seen plenty of motel paintings, watched plenty of Bob Ross episodes, but the comparison doesn't seem fair. Motel paintings are often printed - you can tell by the CMYK dots if you come close enough. Ross at least seems to use actual oil paint on canvas supported by real solvents which seems a lot higher quality than the usual school process using acrylics or temperas. (Although granted using liquid white seems a bit dodgy). So what is Ross missing. Not enough detail? Does not take enough time to paint a painting? Not enough paint on the canvas? Not photorealistic enough? Too photorealistic?
- jordache 6y agoRoss' attempt at realism fails. The paintings are neither realistic, nor an appealing stylistic take on realism. I would apply the uncanny valley dynamic to his landscape paintings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
- gogopuppygogo 6y agoYou and I are artists in our own way. Maybe not professional artists where we get paid to partake in our creative outlets. On the other hand, Vincent Van Gogh only sold a single painting in his lifetime. Bob Ross was more professional artist than most. He is still widely known for his work teaching people how to create new creative works.
- nemo44x 6y agoArt for arts sake I guess. That’s what is best about Ross. Paint because it brings you joy. Learn and hone techniques and find yourself improving over time. I’d say he certainly was an artist. If he was a good artist or not is a matter of opinion. Certainly from a technical and conceptual point of view there’s good argument he wasn’t exceptional. But certainly his work, or the labor of his work, has been appreciated by many.
- foxyv 6y agoI'm not really a huge fan of his work, but I think Bob Ross is in the Smithsonian permanent collection. Kinda impressive for "Not an artist" I think!
- cwbrandsma 6y agoAnd gate keeping. How do you become an artist? Make art and say you are an artist. How do you become a professional artist? Have someone pay you to make art. I'd say he qualifies.
- exochrono 6y agoI would say Bob Ross is more famous for being an art teacher than for being a great artist, and I think his fame is rightly deserved there. He never claimed to be a Money or something like that, he just tried to spread the joy of painting :)