George Zimmerman in the news again.

Yep, knew that. I gave these too my daughter but she just stuffed them under clothes. I'm taking them back and hanging them up in my room.

 

Now, for me, if I wanted a Dali, I would paint one myself (or have it painted) or find something I liked similar to it that I could enjoy. Prints just do not do him justice. To me, they are flat and lifeless. Dali is such a superb technician and no print will pick up the subtle qualities of his brushwork. Since I am not talented enough to produce a good facsimile and I am too cheap to have one done by someone good, I bought what I though to be the next best thing .......

This is a painting by an obscure American artist by the name of Kermit Shafer. He was a contemporary of Dali and this was painted in 1950. He is virtually unknown in the US but had his moment of fame in the UK where he was the subject of a documentary.



I guess my point is that there are alternatives to buying mass produced prints. I think that hand produced artist signed prints are preferable to a cheap print. God knows there are enough of those out there for Dali. Obviously, the buying public does not agree and continues to spend obscene money on prints with no intrinsic value. If they were dirt cheap I could understand it better but they are not. Those that buy them on the secondary market for pennies on the dollar get a pass from me ..... LOL! (climbing off my self-righteous soapbox)

 

I would rather purchase a hand made Dali or any hand made reproduction of any well known artist faster than buying a print. If I find a print laying around for a buck or two and framed, I'll buy it. I can kick my self for not buying Rembrandts "Man with Golden Helmet" hand done reproduction, done around the late 60s. It was $125, probably could of talked the owner down a little on the price. I went back to the store about a week later, it was gone.

 

These come up regularly. Here is an older one for that price. You can get new ones from China starting at about half that. I am sure if you wait long enough, a better deal for a vintage one will come along.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ignacio-Bel...14263381?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item20e6fc8955

 

The documentary -- a film study about Kermit Shafer, referenced in the email, featured at numerous film festivals in the 1970s, can be viewed here:

 

I wonder how many people actually have a print of Mona Lisa hanging in their house. I bet a larger number have the bath towel. Which, if you think about it, brings the conversation back to Warhol.

 

Ivars,

Thanks for posting the film. I see that the maker has the same last name as yours. Your father? I had looked all over for it at one point and could not find it. I see my painting is prominently featured at the beginning. How cool is that?!

Watched the whole thing and see that Shafer quickly deviated from this surrealistic style. I did not like much of the art shown shortly after this one was shown but the art seemed to get better about the 12 minute mark. I don't know if it was shown in chronological order or not.