Speaking of art and science...

[smokeywolf]

I have a great appreciation for art and artists. Favorite artists that come to mind are:

Charlie Russell
Frederic Remington
Da Vinci
Michael Angelo

I do not consider that which is shown in the OP to be "art" and I consider anyone who sees that as "art", to be an airhead. My second wife was an airhead with a masters degree in art. She was also a very talented artist who only did only two or three works in her life that were actually "art". Everything else she did was wasteful krap like that which we see above.

 

[freebullet]

My favorite artists-

Samuel Colt, John Browning, Henry Ford, ect.

 

[RBHarter]

The problem is the modern mindset . I had hoped that I would get to see some of the greatest works of history in my lifetime , it now appears that the world climate has stalled that dream . Instead of the Victor's Arches in Paris ,Berlin and Rome I've settled instead for London Bridge . Instead of standing perhaps in the very foot steps of Napoleon and McCarthar I touched the resting place of dead Scott's head . Graceland has become not the home of the first king of rock and roll but by the display of his once son in law anther dead junkies estate . The Cadillac Ranch is just a half buried example of the excesses of the 50s . The much lusted after Monet is just paint dots on a canvas that looks like something if you back up far enough .

Everything is just like a Bic lighter or ball point stick . Make it in bulk to last 125% of its fuel and ink so it is trouble free until it's used up and toss it . There are no more Parker 51s and nobody pays $25 for a brass cased tight sealing Zippo .

Monet, Michael Angelo , Divinchi , that guy that did Venus no doubt about it artists . Sam Colt , John Browning ,Paul Mauser certainly geniuses and in a certain way artists , who would question the flow of the 1860 Army or the mimicked near perfect shape and feel of any of the 1873-1894 Winchesters . I've never heard anything except the safety on a 93,95,96 or 98 called ugly , and since Springfield and Remington just stole it must be OK .

It seems as though art more often is now a reflection of what is in dispute and wrong with where we are rather than a celebration of the simple joy of being and seeking out a greater existence and beauty .
We've gone from Venus de Milo to Whistlers Mother . At the other extreme we no longer sit in our ya ya waiting for our uh huh nor is our boy friend back , Nikki is masturbating in a magazine and I'm gonna bust a cap in dat Nigerians donkey ( you know what that says) .
Actually while John ,Paul ,Ringo and ....... can take a fair amount of the blame , if Jonny Cash hadn't shot that man in Reno just to watch him die maybe we wouldn't be such a mess.

 

[Ian]

The mankind has always been carried forth and maintained by the three percenters, in spite of the rest. That goes for liberal arts, technology, and even philanthropy.

 

[Dick West]

Speaking of Springfields, I stumbled into a pawn shop (I brake for pawn shops) today that claims to have hundreds of Springfields stored. $1,000 to $3,000 a piece. I guess the owner bought them years ago instead of AT&T stock.

I know a lot of artists--and most of the good ones also shoot or have no problem with people who do. Artists are so out there, they don't tend to judge.

funny how the artists, themselves, including d'Vinci, etc. weren't among the 3 percent. But let's not get political, folks. It'll end badly.

 

[RBHarter]

I would venture that Divinchi was , in fact is still among the top 3% of the most creative minds on the planet . He wasn't just a painter or teacher or designer or maker , he did it all and took the time to write it all down .

 

[KeithB]

One of my best friends and fellow collaborator on several public and private projects is an artist with two MFAs, one in jewelry and the other in blacksmithing. Just like I think like an engineer, he thinks like an artist, and we've learned a lot from each other.

I have learned that art is meant to make you think. What you think is your business. It is not just a way to portray beauty and convey warm and fuzzy feelings, it is a way to stir emotions and evoke a response from the viewer. For example, paintings such as "Guernica" are not beautiful, but portray the emotions (fear, horror, helplessness, and dismay) of the event they depict.

It does not surprise me that folks into guns and shooting would view this piece of art negatively. And the artist has succeeded - your emotions have been stirred. I feel somewhat the same way about this piece, except that I remember a time when surplus military guns were gluts on the market and many were converted into fenceposts and remelted into scrap. I've seen films of planes and helicopters being pushed off ships or destroyed in scrap yards. Who among us wouldn't want to have some of those old warbirds back and flying?

No doubt a lot of art is crap, but then again 98% of everything is crap anyway. And time goes on. I'm not going to argue the merits or faults of old Springfields or any other gun, just to say that there are lots of bolt guns available on the market today, so while you might not be able to get a 100 year old classic rifle, you can get a safe and perfectly satisfactory bolter that is one year old and is equally reliable and accurate made of modern materials and at a lower cost to boot.

As Mick said, you can't always get what you want, but you can find some way to get what you need... ( I think that's the wording)

 

[fiver]

but you'll find, sometimes,, you get what you need.

I can't believe RB dropped a Prince reference. [and it's with, not in]

 

[Brad]

Fiver, go easy on him. He probably doesn't realize he just made doves cry.

I can appreciate much art. Having a wife who has a BA in Art probably causes that. Keith was right, art is about bringing about an emotion or discussion on something.

I'm a renaissance man myself but don't want to give the impression I'm stuck there.

 

[Ian]

Aaaannnnd.....Brad drops a pun. It almost got that disgusting image of Nikki's G-string out of my head, almost.

 

[fiver]

I'm still trying to figure out what a razzberryberet is.
I know you can't eat it.

 

[Brad]

I'm still trying to figure out what a razzberryberet is.
I know you can't eat it.

you can get them at the second hand store

 

[Brad]

My wife says when it's warm you shouldn't wear much more

 

[fiver]

mine just said we're idiots and went in the other room.

 

[Brad]

No little red corvette for her

 

[RBHarter]

I had no idea there were so many fans of " The Artist " formerly known as Prince ....... You guys must have been in college trying to woo freshmen

I grew up in a strange place , the early 80s were a strange time . Musically anyway .
I ran with the Goody 2 shoes girls . Enduring Prince ,Adamm Ant , Cyndi Lauper and Madonna when I really wanted to see Billy Joel, Billy Idol , Foreigner and the Beach boys again , which I did after suffering through 3 dog night and America . I had the pleasure of seeing the Coasters and Ricky Nelson and later Tommy James doing Mony Mony .
Life's been good to me so far .
All the Darling Nikki's turned out to be nice girls.
I've the angel in the morning now .

To see the scream in first person provides considerably more depth than pictures , Picasso was not so much disturbed as I believe dislexic and love sick or similarly emotionally damaged .

Taking the rifle art in context of raw art ,from an American point Mosins would have been a better choice , the display may be a warrior tribute and a single piece outside of that context is not what it is in the whole . The Cadillac Ranch out of context without any knowledge of the cars ,they're era ,America or some related symbolism are just 50s vintage cars buried nose first in a field of corn or cotton in Texas being vandalized over and over probably 24 hrs a day 365.25 days a yr , mostly by foreigners .

 

[fiver]

no college for this guy.
but there sure was a lot of radio/headphone/tape-cd player time. time.
I have often said when I'm dead the thing I will miss the most is music.
I have something on constantly, and it could be almost anything.
Daft punk, pink, hank Williams, Rodriguez, Fleetwood Mac, deadmau5, Combichrist, Neil diamond, tom jones, the cardigans, the guess who, the pixies, Luscious Jackson.
just don't play no country, or thrash metal scream-o the devil is gonna get ya type stuff. [okay,, maybe some Celtic thrash]

 

[Ian]

I had to cheat on the Prince references, all I can say is I saw Purple Rain in the theater when I was a kid and remember the grocery store tabloids raving about how Prince was Michael Jackson's worst nightmare coming to take away all the fans (like that was ever gonna happen). I was too busy listening to the Doobies, Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Zepplin, and any other rock/blues I could get my hands on to notice.

 

[gman]

What?............no Van Halen? SRV?

 

[RicinYakima]

I find it truly amazing what we remember and enjoyed. Myself it was Doo-Wop and MoTown until I discovered Californian surfing music and Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. Moved through the Rock and Roll pop stuff until I ended up in Ft Polk, LA. There Southern Rock and Outlaw Rock was just getting started. When I got back from Viet Nam, I didn't listen to the radio for at least ten years and didn't own a TV. Wife and I would go to the clubs and dance in what then was called "popular music" the 1950's Sinatra, et. al. When I moved West, the records I bought were classical and didn't listen to "modern music" until my kids were teenagers in the '90's.

Now in retirement, I'm listening to more music than I have in 40 years, and from Blue Grass to Broadway. Just not hippy hoppy and that chanting spitting vocal sound effect stuff.