In 1964, Life Magazine ran with Lichtenstein on the cover and the text read “Is He the Worst Artist in the U.S.?” Lichtenstein responded to criticism of his work saying “I think my paintings are critically transformed, but it would be difficult to prove it by any rational line of argument." Seems like kind of a weak defense. Basically, ‘I think my work is good, but there’s really no rational argument in favor of it.’ I mean its a bold move. I’ll give him that.
He painted Look Mickey after his son taunted him saying he couldn’t paint something that good. There is something I really love about the idea that basically his entire career was the ultimate “so there” to a child. I mean doing your work out of spite is one thing, but doing it to spite your child, that’s some next level pettiness.
My guest this week was The Real Michael Lee, a musician, graphic designer and comic artist based out of Iowa. You can find him at www.therealmichaellee.com and or go to his links page to check out all the different spaces he occupies online.
In this episode, we dropped a lot of names. Take a minute to look through my back catalog to learn more about Jack Kirby, Pablo Picasso's Guernica, Diego Rivera, Ernie Barnes and Andy Warhol.
As I said in the show, feel free to leave a comment on the message boards at Goodpods, the platform with the good sense to feature Who ARTed on their recommendations list and where I am frequently ranked number 1 for visual arts.
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