Ticky-tacky houses from "The Painter of Light"
Shel
exactly ye olde quainte village it bills itself."
http://www.salon.com/mwt/style/2002/03/18/kinkade_village/index.html
Excerpts:
"...The Village at Hiddenbrooke lies just over the hill from Vallejo,
where the city peters out into cow-dotted farmland. Hiddenbrooke is a
2-year-old development of 10 planned communities clustered together on
1,300 acres, with a golf course at the center. Thomas Kinkade's
village is its most recent, and most high-profile, addition. Its
opening in September drew a crowd of more than 2,000.
The village is, according to its marketing material, a "vision of
simpler times," a "neighborhood of extraordinary design and detail"
with "cottage-style homes that are filled with warmth and personality"
and "garden-style landscaping with meandering pathways, benches, water
features and secret places." The covers of the promotional pamphlets
feature a Thomas Kinkade painting of a charming, rain-dappled village
-- complete with church steeple, families out walking the pet
Dalmatian and thickets of flowers.
All of this -- the golfing and steak dinners, the rain-dappled
Dalmatian doggies and the happy-go-lucky hollyhocks -- sounds so
absolutely charming and idyllic that it isn't surprising that the
village doesn't quite live up to its billing. What is surprising,
though, is just how far short of the mark it falls. I arrived at
Kinkade's Village expecting to be appalled by a horror show of treacly
Cotswold kitsch; I was even more horrified by its absence.
To understand the Village, you must first understand who Thomas
Kinkade is. Thomas Kinkade, Painter of Light, bills himself as "the
nation's most collected living artist." His paintings are typically
luminous landscapes of romantic rustic villages, serene rivers, cozy
churches, darling stone cottages and flower-strewn cobblestone streets
-- or, as he categorizes them on his Web site, "Bridges," "Gazebos,"
"Seascapes," "Holidays," "Gates," "Inspirational," "Lighthouses" and
"Memories."
For every setting, Kinkade chooses a dramatic lighting scenario: neon
purple sunsets, glowing cottage windows, tumescent clouds, bright
springtime sunshine. His work is sentimental, patriotic, quaint and
spiritual, offering the kind of images you might find in
turn-of-the-century children's storybooks. Many of his works refer
directly to God, prayer and the Scriptures. (Paintings might be titled
"The Hour of Prayer" or include a brass plate engraved with a Psalm).
Thomas Kinkade has sold some 10 million works -- "paintings" isn't
exactly the right term, since most of the items are merely prints that
have been "highlighted" with a few daubs of paint by the "master
highlighters" who sit in Kinkade's 350 galleries and do their magic
right in front of the customers. These works, much like Beanie Babies,
are sold in limited editions, which spurs Kinkade's fans to pay
outrageous prices -- thousands of dollars, typically -- for them...
...The Village at Hiddenbrooke bills itself as the culmination of
Kinkade's vision: an actual manifestation of the quaint cottages,
charming gazebos and inspiring landscapes in his artwork.
Except that it isn't. What you find in the rolling hills behind
Vallejo is the exact opposite of the Kinkadeian ideal. Instead of
quaint cottages, there's generic tract housing; instead of lush
landscapes, concrete patios; instead of a cozy village, there's a
bland collection of homes with nothing -- not a church, not a cafe,
not even a town square -- to draw them together...
...There are, for example, none of the flowering bushes or graceful
trees that are characteristic of Kinkade's paintings -- according to
the planners, abundant landscaping is just too expensive to maintain.
None of the homes in the village have gardens at all, though they do
have tiny patios. In fact, the entire village is devoid of any
foliage, save for a few tired-looking pansies planted in front of the
model homes (planners promise a small amount of similar landscaping
for each home). And although those lucky enough to live adjacent to
the golf course can gaze out their windows upon Hiddenbrooke's grassy
hills and miniature lake, there isn't a tree visible for miles, let
alone a hollyhock or a daffodil, and there are no plans to plant any
significant number of them..."
--
Shel
morph
Shel wrote: quit yer bitchin borgy!
idyllic surroundings are not for everyone. some folk got to be miserable
just to get out of bed in the morning!
plus, the free trade world of construction(not that the industry is
controlled by a certain collection of families) states that...if yer a
poet, tough shit. However, athletes and media stars can have idyllism
for only a few million. Afterall, they are the important people, we all
wanna have kids who grow up to be just like them...
no, not a bad mood. just disgusted with the priorities intelligent
people have chosen. I know a scientist, wants to cure MS. he lives in a
crackhouse in LA and can't get $10,000 funding for some new microscopes
cuz the new theatre in hollywood that hosts the oscars cost 650 million,
and something, afterall, had to be cut.
morph- 650 million, for self-grandiosity by self-gratification given by
one's own industry. Fab. -.- (um, the grandiosity, we're investigating
whether it's a word)