Monday, September 09, 2019

But is it art?

Okay, it's no Picasso self-portrait. Well, actually it began as a Picasso self-portrait. I just turned it into my own self-portrait because I love messing with Photoshop. And it does capture the essence of me. Or at least my nose. I think I have a pretty big nose.

Apparently Picasso had a pretty big nose, too. But then again, after a certain age, pretty much everyone's nose becomes more prominent as the rest of them shrinks.

Just something for you Millennial readers to look forward to.

I have to say, though, I have begun to question why some artists become famous and others languish. I'm starting to think it is the luck of the draw (no pun intended). Because I think Picasso was just messing with people with many of his paintings and drawings. But at least he was a commercial success. He was even touted as one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.

Ehhh...I'm not seeing it. I'm more of a Vincent Van Gogh kind of guy myself. Ironic, that he died before his work became famous. Maybe that's why I like him. He didn't have Picasso's ego. And Picasso didn't have Van Gogh's ear.

Ha, ha, ha.

Anyway, being famous these days isn't what it used to be. Social media has made being famous a bit too easy. And it has certainly taken talent out of the equation.

Not that talent has ever been the sole requirement for being famous. Again, I think it is just being in the right place at the right time. The common element that seems to make people famous is publicity...good or bad.

When I grew up, certain names were synonymous for fame in certain areas. Einstein equated to genius. Houdini to magic and escape. Picasso for art. Hemingway for writing. Lincoln, Washington and Kennedy for great leaders. Edison for invention.

I also grew up in an era when old Hollywood still reigned. Most of the movies on television when I was a kid were from the 40s or 50s. So the Marx Brothers and Bob Hope meant comedy. Mae West, Betty Grable , Greta Garble and Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe were sex symbols. Bogart, Gable, John Wayne and Spencer Tracy were their male counterparts. Boris Karloff, Bella Lugosi and Vincent Price were famous monsters of filmland.  Elvis was rock and roll. James Cagney, George Raft and Edgar G. Robinson were gangsters. Babe Ruth was baseball.

Now we have hundreds of cable channels. We have streaming video. Hollywood releases at least 600 movies a year. And social media creates fame for tow truck drivers and Walmart clerks. And people for the most part have abandoned their real names for user names and avatars.

Being famous just doesn't mean anything anymore. So I am coming to terms with never being famous. Seems like that is more of an accomplishment these days.

No comments: