I meant this to be a topic about who members' favorite artists or works of art are, but feel free to comment/criticize if you're in that frame of mind.

I originally thought of this looking at my souvenir book of Van Gogh's Van Goghs. I was fortunate enough to see the exhibit when it toured and came to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in 1999, but the crowds...ugh! I must say though that seeing the paintings in person makes the book have much more meaning (we're talkin' emotional breakdowns.) So, it goes without saying that Van Gogh is my favorite painter, although I'll admit that only about 5% of my teenage students would rather look at his work than this cool book I have called "The Flights of Icarus" which collects several sci-fi/fantasy pieces of art from Roger Dean, Jim Burns, David O'Connor, Peter Jones, Patrick Woodroffe, Josh Kirby, etc.

I went back to LACMA to see an Ansel Adams exhibit, but he has always been my and my wife's favorite photographer, and I feel no need to justify that either.

I'd love to go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal (Has anybody here seen it? I hope they let you inside.) I have gone to Hearst's Castle several times, and it's mind-boggling to see it and everything there, and even more mind-boggling to realize how much art he sold to pay off debts in his later life. "Citizen Kane" is pretty accurate. Oh, and if you didn't realize, if you've seen "Spartacus", you've seen one of the swimming pools at Hearst Castle, if only for seconds.

Oh well, I hope that leaves enough for you to share and get an idea of what this is about (almost anything artistic, at least, visually.) Shut up, mark!

I'm not an art expert. I tend to like things that are well-known, if only because I've seen them before.

That being said, my living room is decorated with prints of Picasso's "Girl Before a Mirror" and "Three Musicians" from the Picasso exhibit at Atlanta's High Museum in 1998. Also prominent is the Jasper Johns "Flag" which came to Atlanta in '99 or '00 as part of the Pop Art travelling exhibit.

I tend to like Pop Art a good bit...my office has a Lichtenstein and a Warhol (self-portrait) print. I tend to like bright, colorful art, but I have no real strong understanding of my own aesthetic taste.

My wife likes Van Gogh and Monet, and I, by having those around a lot, have grown to appreciate them as well. We went to see the Monet exhibit at the Bellagio in Las Vegas earlier this summer.

I also like Munch...did they ever find "The Scream"?

I'm sorry to say I can't offer much that I like that's not already fairly popular. I can't turn you onto to anything undiscovered...

Well, I am writing this at work so I hope I can think of all my favorite artists without having the luxury of staring at my books and paintings. One of my early favorite artists would be Jack Kirby, his comic book style is still the pinnacle for me. Frank Frazetta, Alan Lee, Patrick Woodroffe, and F.Von Stassen would be my tops in fantasy art. Salvador Dali, M.C.Escher, H.R.Giger, Edgar Degas, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, William Blake, Hieronymus Bosch, and the whole Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Posse-Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello, are all wonderful. I enjoy Japanese art, the only name I know being Hokusai. We have so many excellent westcoast native artists here, two I'll mention are Bill Reid and Roy Henry Vickers. Vickers does some lovely carvings and such that I actually prefer to most of his prints which are more famous. I love a lot of ancient art, Egyptian, Indian, Celtic, Chinese, South American and more, and especially Gothic Architecture. I guess I am not a fan of pop art, Warhol in particular grates on me. I also dislike Anne Geddes work, something about it turns my stomach.

Edit-oops, I forgot about Guido Crepax! His Story of O, Justine and Venus in Furs are favorite books in my collection, I thoroughly enjoy his style.
Ach, I can't believe I also forgot Rene' Magritte!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Smenkharon,

Wow! What a topic! I saw that van Gogh exhibit when it was in DC, and it was magnificent. I have always loved his paintings because you can FEEL the intensity of his emotions in the brushstrokes.

I have traveled to many places largely because of the art and architecture. Without doing an essay, I will say that my two favorite periods are the Italian Renaissance and Vienna between about 1898 and 1918. My favorite Viennese artist is Gustav Klimt. I suppose the painting of his that I like the best is Hygeia, goddess of healing (which was sadly destroyed in the 1940's). His work is very colorful and very sensual.
The amount of Renaissance art in Rome and Florence defies description, but I will say that the one thing that moved me the most (because I read The Agony and the Ecstacy when I was 14 and wanted to see his artwork since that time) was Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Church (the Vatican). The love, the sorrow, the delicacy of the figures.... you can't believe that it's just marble. I did not know much about Bernini before I went to Italy, but I came back loving his sculptures. Again, they seem more alive than you could possibly imagine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Carol02,

My taste in the visual arts is pretty wide ranging, but not overly discerning. I love to visit art museums. My grasp of art history is better than most, but I tend to be driven by gut reaction. If I like a work, I linger. If I don't, I move on.

I do, however, have a favorite artist. In the late 80s I was visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Minneapolis. That trip included my first visit to the wonderful Walker Art Center. On that day, I turned a corner and encountered Joseph Cornell for the first time. Since that day, I have sought out his work whenever possible. I can tell you much about the man's life, and why his work is important, but I find it very hard to describe why his work has such a strong impact on me emotionally or aesthetically. I only know that no other artist has ever had such a strong impact on me.

Other than Cornell, I can only speak in broad categories. I tend to prefer paintings to sculpture and the late 19th and early 20th centuries to older works. If I were to name a handful of favorites, the list would include Paul Gauguin, Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, and many more, I'm sure.

Now Playing: The Cubs 5-1 over the Marlins in the first game of the double-header

In my opinion, besides Leonardo Da Vinci, the coolest artist ever was M.C. Escher. His art is so unique and it makes you think and wonder. If you havent heard of him, youve probably seen some of his work. Here are a few of my favorites:
strange stairs

reflecting sphere

continuous waterfall

hands drawing hands

I decided to resurrect this topic. I think that krafty had a good idea using links to works of art, so here's a couple of my faves. They need a better image of the second one on the Net, but that's the best I could do.

Cafe Terrace at Night

Skull of a Skeleton With Burning Cigarette

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

I have virtually no knowledge of visual arts, although it's all too easy to list big names like Da Vinci, Van Gogh and so on.

I'm one for abstract art if anything: Picasso and Escher come to mind. As far as non-Western stuff goes, I like Japanese art, but would be hard-pressed to name even one such artist.

Overall, I guess I'm just not one of those people who "gets" visual art.