A lot of people on Instagram are praising this artist. Can any other fellow artist here tell me what the fuck I’m missing or is this just more money laundering ? The artist is Robert Nava

  • T_Doug [he/him]
    2·
    4 years ago

    It's supposedly intentional, from an interview with him

    In college, we learned how to draw very realistic, like photoreal. By the time I was 12 or 13 years old, I could actually draw in that style, and I like to think that I was pretty good. We also learned how to paint in the Renaissance style and all those traditional techniques. After we learned advanced painting, the teacher would give us feedback like, “Okay, now you’re artists. You don’t even have to create in these styles or what we just taught you.” I was kind of cheering that comment on because I went completely the opposite way. When I was 12 or 13, I could already draw and paint like Velasquez, but it took me a lifetime to learn how to draw like a kid again.

    I agree to a certain extent. To me hyper-realism is the most boring art style imaginable, though I'd certainly never spend 100k on this painting, even if I won the lottery.

    • Tittyskittles [none/use name]
      1·
      4 years ago

      I’m not saying stuff needs to realistic and I personally hate photo realism with a few exceptions, but this? There’s so many fake basquiat and people intentionally making “bad” paintings already on Instagram. Why’s this special?

      • T_Doug [he/him]
        1·
        4 years ago

        IDK, this guy got a MFA from Yale art school, and fulfills every stereotype imaginable for an up and coming Brooklyn 'artist'. So I think a lot of people look at those credentials and think, "hey everybody else thinks this guy's special so he must be".

    • PouncySilverkitten [none/use name]
      1·
      4 years ago

      So he’s just stealing from Picasso, then. “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

        • PouncySilverkitten [none/use name]
          2·
          4 years ago

          Well, yeah. Also Picasso was Picasso and had an astonishing eye for color, composition, everything that makes a piece succeed. I mean, the colors alone on this shark are so bad, so boring.

          I was just surprised this guy basically quoted Picasso to explain himself. Like, now I’m gonna compare you to Picasso, and it’s not looking so good for you.

          • Tittyskittles [none/use name]
            1·
            4 years ago

            This ⬆️ I have a very real emotional response when I see a Picasso, Guston, or Basquait. All artist that “paint like children” but with them there’s an interplay between the subject, composition, and color that keeps me interested. I don’t see that here

            • PouncySilverkitten [none/use name]
              1·
              4 years ago

              It’s almost like “painting like a child” isn’t literally about making art that a child would make, but about rethinking how we see and understand the world and breaking away from social inhibitions that can keep the artist from taking risks.

              I could honestly see an OK piece being developed from this shark if you built up lots of bright colors and made the focal point the mouth. Why is the mouth all the way on the left? It’s the most interesting part.

            • p_sharikov [he/him]
              1·
              4 years ago

              They're good because they're trying to see the subject like a child would, but still paint it like a world class artist.

            • ComradeMikey [he/him]
              1·
              4 years ago

              basquiat also has this ironic but sincere shit that hits me like a truck

      • Katieushka [they/them,she/her]
        3·
        4 years ago

        "oh is this guy paraphrasing picasso? oh no you're citing the actual quote, my bad. wait, the quote didnt go that way right? omg he really did steal picasso didnt he"