Art o' Not – You're the Critic!

One of the most powerful emerging trends in the world of art today, is so called “visionary art,” which is often created under the influence of various controlled substances. We have done one or two posts on the subject in the past, concentrating previously on the use of the Salvia Divinorum herb while painting, performing music, and the like. Ayahuasca is an ancient “medicine” plant grown and consumed in the Amazon (if I understand correctly), which I have personally never tried, but heard real good things about from other people. It has a variety of interesting uses.

This plant is so popular, or becoming popular, rather, that it even has its own website! Check out Ayahuasca.com for more information on this.

Also, here are a few of example of artwork produced “under the influence” of Ayahuasca. The artist, and painter, is Pablo Amaringo, who passed away this past November. He will be dearly missed.

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The latest summer fad sweeping homes and neighborhoods all over the nation.

Someone thought it would be cute to spray paint the grass in front of your house and charge you money for it. I hope this stuff washes off without having to replant the front yard…

via lawngraphiks.com (Detroit area)

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Saw this story on the Daily Mail today. This one really begs the question… Art or Not? You can judge the painting below for yourself, while I go dig up the name of Alan Brown’s surgeon, you know… just in case.

Until the stroke, Alan was unable to draw or paint, and the best he could manage was a simple 2D stickman.

…

Alan, who is divorced, said: ‘I was out of the danger zone but still in intensive care and a nurse came up to me and said I looked bored and suggested I start drawing. ‘She gave me a pencil and some paper and photograph of her dog which I copied almost perfectly.

…

‘I had never even set foot in an art gallery, let alone tried creating my own art work.’

…

‘While most of the effects involve a loss of functioning, in some cases people have been known to acquire or discover new skills, although the exact reason for this is not fully understood.’

…

via Mail Online

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Just when I thought I had seen every kind of street art there is, signtologist of Denver comes up with yet another way of decorating trivial public property. It’s catchy, original, and it’s way easier on the eyes than a damn STOP SIGN (especially while driving). Only one question remains… is this truly bona fide art, or not? You be the judge.

via SteetSignArtist.com

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Got art? These people think they do. When a statue is not really a statue but a decorated human being… is that still art? Am I asking stupid questions?

A living statues contest was held in the Russian city of Sochi earlier this month. Looks pretty interesting. What amazes me most here is that I really can’t tell that these exhibits are all living, breathing people. Perhaps you could better discern their humanity if you saw the show in person… or maybe it’s just a Russian thing

Title reads: Tired Violinist

This guy is pretending to be A.S. Pushkin, the great Russian writer

Title reads: After the Rain

More pics from the show available at English Russia blog

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Ginou Choueiri’s potato portraiture has been mentioned on several art blogs already, but we thought we’d cover it here as well since the topic fits so well within our alternative arts theme. The artist’s justification for defacing (pun intended) the vegetables is as follows:

I chose the potato to portray the human face due to it’s many striking parallels.  Not only is their skin porous like ours but they also come in different colors, shapes and sizes.  Potato heads grow, sprout, age, then decay… but they refuse to go without a trace.

But what does our reader think? Is this art, or not?

via Ginou Choueiri

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Walk down the right back alley in Ann Arbor, and you WILL shit brix!

Been living in this college town for the past 4 years, and now that school is out and there are no classes to worry about, I am beginning to realize that I may have missed out on seeing the best of this tiny town during my time here. The real local bars and eateries that college kids rarely hear of, much less wander into, the best kept secrets in underground music venues, and of course, the graffiti. Just a few hours ago, on my way to the train station, I wandered down an alleyway I must have passed by dozens of times while a student. Yet the thought of exploring this tiny little enclave never crossed my mind before. Well, today I did it, and below are some of the products of my breathtaking detour.

Would you like to share some cool art (or not) from your college town or perhaps your hometown?

Drop us a line at admin-at-artonot-dot-com

Thanks!

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If you want to view and enjoy some REAL artwork (as opposed to what we talk about on this site), here is Artonot’s first TOP 10 list of the world’s best museums. These are listed in no particular order. I’ve simply chosen the ten I think are most worthy of a visit. If there are some other phenomenal art destinations that are missing from our list, let us know so we can publish another top list later.

1. Louvre, Paris

2. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

3. Prado, Madrid

4. Hermitage, St. Petersburg

5. Vatican Museums, Rome

6. Art Institute of Chicago

7. LACMA, LA

8. Tate Art Gallery, London

9. Philadelphia Museum of Art

10. Guggenheim

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After museum curators and other art connoisseurs accept a two year old’s paint doodles for a genuine artistic effort, many true “artists” should probably call it quits in their profession, or at least so I would imagine. Basically, I’m appalled. This also proves once again that abstract expressionism is nothing but the biggest scam in the history of art. I am all for boosting some kids’ self esteem, but to allocate museum space for supposed masterpieces of a two year old is taking it a bit TOO far, in my opinion. Or am I way off base here?

I especially love the first response in the reader comments section, which goes like this: “Just proves that art curators have no idea!”

Read the entire article at The Vine, if you can stomach it

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