September 17, 2008

Dehumanizing paintings.

Interesting.

79 comments:

TMink said...

They really are interesting! You got me with the title. "Dehumanizing paintings? What kind of nonsense is this?" I thought.
No nonsense at all.

The new paintings are so, empty.

Quite post modernist though, to take out that which the paintings were about.

Trey

George M. Spencer said...

A good idea for the next issue of The Atlantic.

chickelit said...

The artist is a neutron bomber.

Peter V. Bella said...

Spanish artist Jose Manuel Ballester took famous paintings and cleared them of all humans and people! The result is a collection of fascinating yet disturbing empty landscapes and spaces.

Sounds like that is what Al Gore and the global warming nuts want to do.

bearbee said...

Ah, now I can BREATHE!

ricpic said...

A world full of people,
All sweaty and hot;
A world without people
Is of interest, not.

Bissage said...

The dehumanizer need not fear a fatwah.

Palladian said...

Not interesting. Boring post modern cleverness.

The "landscapes" of pre-18th century "figurative" paintings were often painted by studio assistants and therefore of a generally lower quality.

MadisonMan said...

But is it art?

Peter V. Bella said...

MadisonMan said...
But is it art?

What is art?

Brian Doyle said...

Sounds like that is what Al Gore and the global warming nuts want to do.

It's what I'd like to do... to this blog!

Anonymous said...

MadisonMan said...
But is it art?

3:14 PM


"No, darling, it's my father..."

It is an interesting idea. I think than from a technique standpoint, it shows that in order to achieve real "movement" in a painting, you have to introduce either humans and/or animals.

Now, notice the difference from the ones where human dwellings appear. The humanity is still present. One can always assume that people are inside, and imagine them moving. The movement continues, in our perception, although it can not be plainly seen.

It is different in "nature" scenes. There is a definite stillness to it, loneliness, quietness.

Hmmm...

Anonymous said...

tmink, I see them, as I said above, more still than empty. The triptic is actually quite busy, as in full.

Ciao,

E

KCFleming said...

Dehumanized paintings = Misanthrope's Paradise

chickelit said...

Peter said: What is art?

Art is (was) a window washer.

Madison Man can probably explain.

MadisonMan said...

LOL!

Art was from the Olden Days.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

chickenlittle and Madison Man: Ah, yes-- 'Feet to Art'! Does that mural still exist?

TMink said...

ernie, what you say rings true. Maybe I was thinking of the point of the painting being missing, and thinking the paintings more than looking at them. Reading what you wrote, and looking at them, I am able to see them more for what they are.

One thing I appreciate about some modern and post modern art is how it makes me think. Thanks for the posts.

Trey

Lindsey said...

All modern/abstract art is dehumanized.

Bissage said...

(1) erniecu73, it’s not me, but Palladian (and our hostess) who is/are the expert on art around here, but I know enough to say that every two-dimensional (more or less) representation of three dimensions occurs over time.

Maybe God can see everything at once . . . but I’m convinced we humans cannot.

We do our best to use that knowledge wisely.

Heh.

(Or not, what’s it to me?!?!)

(2) Bugs Bunny walks into a castle and exclaims: “Boy, it must cost plenty to heat this pile of rocks.”

(3) Doyle . . . eh, whatever . . .

(4) My hovercraft is full of eels!

(%) DM./,/.,,, SKDWEIP /… . . .. . HRHR W\\]\\- EDI Owd

(6) The most valuable undergraduate major?????

(7) ART.

(8) John Lennon understood that.

(9) He might have been on drugs.

(10) A joke: Time is God's way of making sure everything doesn't happen at once.

(10+1) Ha!

ricpic said...

What Is Art?

Art is truth,
Art is beauty,
Art is a sweety and a cutey.
But one thing art is not is my crazy uncle from Duluth...
Or is it?

vbspurs said...

Hey guys. :)

Not sure if Prof. Althouse will have a separate thread, but Palin/McCain will be holding a town hall meeting at 7:00 PM EST (right now).

And then there's the awaited H&C interview with Palin at 9 PM EST.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Damn, this place is dead today.

Thoughts on Palin's Town Hall performance so far:

My mother thinks she looks tense, but I'm not so sure. She's fielding the energy questions well.

But obviously having had her email hacked today, and knowing this is but the tip of the iceberg of the personal attacks on her in future, must weigh on her mind.

We'll see. I think they both look spirited.

chickelit said...

vbspurs said: having had her email hacked today,...

A criminal investigation is underway; who is behind this?

Peter V. Bella said...

vbspurs said: having had her email hacked today,...

A criminal investigation is underway; who is behind this?



Obama supporters. You really had to ask?

vbspurs said...

Chickenlittle wrote:

A criminal investigation is underway; who is behind this?

A hacker group calling themselves "Anonymous" (catchy). ;(

Listen, there are a lot of people who will think Senator Obama's team are behind this. I don't. There are LOADS of people who want to bring down this woman. Are they more sympathetic to him than to her? Sure.

But in this particular case, I just think someone wanted to hack her email to show they could.

It's similar to the Paris Hilton T-Mobile account being hacked some time ago -- and her entire email/phone list was published on the 'net. Remember?

I hope they nail these people to the wall. Fortunately, that anchor who recently pled guilty to hacking his co-anchor's email account is on a lot of people's minds. He got 5 years.

Cheers,
Victoria

Triangle Man said...

Victoria,

The hacking group "Anonymous" is perhaps best known for their efforts to undermine Scientology. That will be a challenging investigation.

The anchor just pled guilty recently, I don't think that the sentencing has happened.

blake said...

Kinda cool.

Provocative without being profane.

It's.....Mrs. Hornblower ! said...

I accidentally spilled a glass of water in his lap, and when I tried to clean it off he said: "Careful, I'm easily aroused."

But later on, when he had me in his arms, I said: "Don't kiss me so hard, it triggers things".

And then he said: "Yes, holding you so close like this---I get ideas".

But, we both put the breaks on it before we anything happened that we'd both regret later on.

vbspurs said...

First impressions:

Where was this Sarah Palin versus Gibson? This is the well-versed, fluid Palin I've come to know in her previous interviews.

She's fantastic right now.

And that look is so much better, than the updo. It makes her look much more professional. Keep the updo for the townhalls.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Thanks, Triangle Man! :)

Peter V. Bella said...

Doyle said...
Sounds like that is what Al Gore and the global warming nuts want to do.

It's what I'd like to do... to this blog!


You can always go someplace else and spout your drivel. KOS, MyDD, DU. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks for the info about the town hall meeting, which I'm reading after it's too late to watch. Hell, who knows about these things? I'm always looking for new stuff and I didn't see it.

MadisonMan said...

I have zero sympathy for a public official who has their email account hacked. That Palin's was hacked reflects very poorly on the McCain campaign and on Palin.

If anonymous can do it, so can the Iranians or especially the Russians. Why on Earth would any Governor not be using a more secure account? Jeeze.

vbspurs said...

I, for one, will take care of theset types of updates, and I'm sure others will pitch in.

I've all but changed my blog's name from Sundries to "Your Daily Sarah".

(Hope ya'll are watching FNC, because Sarah Palin is just hitting it out of the park)

vbspurs said...

I have zero sympathy for a public official who has their email account hacked. That Palin's was hacked reflects very poorly on the McCain campaign and on Palin.

Madisonman, you have zero sympathy for McCain-Palin. Why pretend it's even otherwise?

BTW, I don't wear short skirts just in case someone blames me for possibly courting to be raped.

I mean, after all, I do want sympathy from strangers.

chickelit said...

MadisonMan said: I have zero sympathy...

Somehow MM, I don't think it'll spin that way.

BTW, do have any idea about Ruth Anne's 4:26 question? You still live there.

vbspurs said...

Fox News invited an Obama surrogate to weigh in on the Palin interview (a nice touch).

She, however, was asked about what Palin said and having gotten the "stick to McCain and ignore memo" which Obama has issued after the 'lipstick on a pig' wisecracks weren't working, is simply talking of McCain.

Now, Colmes is pressing her about what Palin said in her interview.

Rep. Degette is not even addressing the interview's talking points directly, even after being pressed.

MadisonMan said...

Victoria, this just underscores one of my fears about her, that is, that she is so not ready for Prime Time.

I think it's safe to say that there are foreign nationals right now trying to hack into every Candidates' email accounts. That someone succeeded getting into hers doesn't make me feel very comfortable.

As a non-government employee but still contractor, I get to take internet security tests annually. And you know what they say? It's part of my job to keep my internet accounts secure. It's part of Sarah Palin's job to keep accounts secure as well. She has failed that.

It's not part of her job -- or anyone's -- to prevent violence from being perpetrated on their body. Your rape analogy is very weak.

MadisonMan said...

It's been so long since I've seen that mural that I suspect not. I can't even remember where it was anymore.

When did Art leave/die, anyway? Was it in the early 80s?

vbspurs said...

Somehow MM, I don't think it'll spin that way.

Chickenlittle, sure it will. To Obama supporters, and to elitists who look at Palin as being intolerably small town, and bush league? You've got to be kidding if they're not attacking her for having a Yahoo account.

I will never link to the Gawker post about this, but just check out what the commenters are saying:

Richard at 01:08 PM

I'm just amazed that they have computers in Alaska.

-
Maura Johnston at 01:09 PM

of course she uses yahoo. OF COURSE.

-

CodePink at 01:13 PM

@Richard: Heated igloo=computer lab

-
felion at 01:14 PM

The conspiracy theorist in me says that someone in the McCain campaign hacked in, posted the password so that everyone would log in and get the site shut down and the contents deleted.

-


Sure, a lot of this can be likened to our commentary here -- sometimes commets are just plain ole funny.

But don't tell me the continued scent of outright elitism, condenscension, and dismissiveness isn't present here.

These hackers are doing her a favour, if anything.

They found nothing, and we have even more ammo that they are targetting her directly, in an attempt to help out Obama.

Cheers,
Victoria

chickelit said...

How many email accounts do you maintain Madisonman? Are they all secure?

As far as I know, her yahoo account was what got hacked, and what got out was rather personal nature. No campaign talking points, no state secrets.

vbspurs said...

As a non-government employee but still contractor, I get to take internet security tests annually. And you know what they say? It's part of my job to keep my internet accounts secure. It's part of Sarah Palin's job to keep accounts secure as well. She has failed that.

This is her general Yahoo account. They found absolutely nothing that was egregious, even after no doubt downloading everything.

I doubt this is where she would keep the top-secret codes to her government. Thi is just a personal email, which everyone can use to send her gripe email as Governor, or for private email of a very generalised sort.

I didn't see your outrage when Obama had to pull the plug on his entire website for a day, as the directory was open for all to access.

Remember -- the man who prides himself on being so technologically-savvy.

chickelit said...

@Victoria:

By "spin that way" I didn't mean some wouldn't try. I was just making a prediction of the story's angular momentum at the end of the day (or week, or spin cycle).

Time for me to hit the road.

vbspurs said...

Chickenlittle, I think that's a losing argument. Most people will say, "but I'm not running for Vice-President!", and they would be right.

I'm glad they hacked her Yahoo account. She and American needed another wake-up call that there are people who want to bring this woman down.

vbspurs said...

Okay, gotcha, Chickenlittle. :)

Hey, it's nice to be on Althouse, after giving it a rest today. I usually disappear when the troll noise-to-signal ratio increases, and I was getting really down as it has increased a lot of late.

I can't wait until the first debate.

Anyway, see you around!

Simon said...

Re the hacking - two words: "enjoy prison."

My question is whether Gawker and the other sites that distributed the stolen material can be brought down in the crossfire?

Simon said...

Ann Althouse said...
"Hell, who knows about these things? I'm always looking for new stuff and I didn't see it."

Ditto. I've been kind of frustrated with the McCain campaign's almost total failure to post stuff like this on their website. Their communications department has work to do when even the folks actively seeking this information can't find it.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back, Victoria!

blake said...

I have zero sympathy for a public official who has their email account hacked. That Palin's was hacked reflects very poorly on the McCain campaign and on Palin.

I'd say it reflects poorly on Yahoo, since it was a Yahoo account. Just out of curiosity, do you blame Bristol for her cell phone being hacked?

I mean, I'm all for a "guaranteed employment for IT geeks" act that requires these guy to hire dedicated IT security experts, sysadmins, and the like.

But maybe that's a bit much for swapping recipes with ma, even if you are Governor of Alaska.

MadisonMan said...

I think some of you are making the mistake of viewing this email account hackery through the prism of the election. Imagine if Cheney or a sitting Senator had a yahoo account that was hacked into -- but by the Chinese, or the Russians, or AQ or someone who didn't publicize their abilities. Don't kid yourself into thinking they're not trying to. I find that prospect incredibly alarming. If you do not find that prospect alarming, ask yourself why.

It doesn't matter to me that state secrets aren't compromised (that we know of, anyway). Information in any email account has the potential to be used in attempts to get into other accounts. Or to learn simple things -- like the whereabouts of a candidate or their family.

[chickenlittle, I have 4 accounts that I remember (Sorry to sound all McCainy-on-houses there). The one I miss? My anon.penet.fi account!]

I will agree with Victoria on one thing: This is a nice wake-up call for her. Hopefully the Govt IT people have had a little chat with her to cure her of any ignorance she may have had on the subject of security.

MadisonMan said...

On the subject of Palin, I had to laugh at the Enquirer tonight while I was at Sentry Hilldale. There she is, headlines trumpeting about her secrets (Drugs! Kids kicked out of house!) and sharing the cover is Erik Estrada! What the heck? I wonder how hard his agent had to work to get him on the cover! Is there anyone on the cover of National Enquirer lately with less relevance?

Apologies if you're a fan of Mr. Estrada. Maybe. I mean, what is he doing? Some model had an affair with him, and I'm thinking Who Cares!?

Chip Ahoy said...

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Derived !

This is further evidence that all modern art is degenerative.

It's fun! Everyone can do it. Look at more famous images with the people removed:

Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware, dehumanized.

Sarah Moulton'sPinkie, dehumanized.

Joe Rosenthal's famous photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, dehumanized.

Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, dehumanized.

Chip Ahoy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
blake said...

I think some of you are making the mistake of viewing this email account hackery through the prism of the election. Imagine if Cheney or a sitting Senator had a yahoo account that was hacked into -- but by the Chinese, or the Russians, or AQ or someone who didn't publicize their abilities. Don't kid yourself into thinking they're not trying to. I find that prospect incredibly alarming. If you do not find that prospect alarming, ask yourself why.

Because the first rule of e-mail is: Don't send anything in e-mail that you don't want the world to read.

Information in any email account has the potential to be used in attempts to get into other accounts.

How so? I mean that from a literal, technical viewpoint. How does the compromising of an e-mail account compromise other e-mail accounts?

Or to learn simple things -- like the whereabouts of a candidate or their family.

See rule #1.

Besides, the candidates and their families are all pretty well tracked, aren't they? Is there any member of any candidate's family that isn't easily locatable at this point? With a casual Internet search?

vbspurs said...

MadMan, Ann, and any other Wisconsonian who may be interested:

McCain/Palin will be in Green Bay, tomorrow at 4 PM

I follow the events schedule on their site very closely every day, and I didn't see this yesterday -- so it's obviously a last minute thing.

(BTW, I agree with Simon that the McCain website is scatterbrained when it comes to news/events)

" Road to Victory Rally: Green Bay, WI - September 18th
What: Road to Victory Rally: Green Bay, WI - September 18th

When: September 18, 2008

Where: Resch Center
1901 S Oneida St
Green Bay, WI54304


Join John McCain & Sarah Palin at a Road to Victory Rally in Green Bay, WI on Thursday, September 18th. Doors open at 4:00pm, program begins at 5:30pm."


Not sure how close Green Bay is to Madison, but hey. :)

Cheers,
Victoria

blake said...

Let me say why it matters to me. It's not political. It's that, from what hackers say, they can get into anything. It's just a matter of whom they decide to target.

This is not my area of expertise, but since it's in my field, I consider it a huge embarrassment.

I'm somewhat consoled by the fact that most hacking is social. But then I think of Microsoft unleashing tens of millions computers to the internet that were, by default, instantly hackable.

vbspurs said...

Having hacked into Ann's Gmail account, I got her home address, and input it into Googlemaps to determine the length of drive.

;)

Driving directions to Green Bay, WI

147 mi – about 2 hours 39 mins


Might be too far away.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Hola, Erniesito!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Because the first rule of e-mail is: Don't send anything in e-mail that you don't want the world to read.

Thank God snail mail never went that route.

MadisonMan said...

blake, I'm thinking mostly of social engineering scams to trick IT people into releasing information. Break into one account and learn all you can about that individual. (Especially helpful if that person ccs themself on their various accounts). Armed with that information, it's much easier to trick IT into yielding a password.

In addition, there is a common practice of using the same password across multiple accounts. It doesn't appear from the news reports that whomever hacked in guessed the password, so they won't have a good guess of other passwords for Gov. Palin. That simplifies her life, I think, as she won't have to change her passwords now -- although as the Govt Security Quiz says, passwords are like toothbrushes! You shouldn't share them, and you should change them often!

(P.S.: The co-first rule of email is: Don't use an unsecure system)

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'm glad they hacked her Yahoo account. She and American needed another wake-up call...

I agree.

Back in May 07, when Obama was given Secret Service protection I remember thinking 'this doesn't help Hillary at all'.

You could measure the severity of the attacks on Palin by the meticulously scrupulous way Obama gets treated.
So much so that John Stewart had to give his audience permission to laugh when Obama appeared to be a target.

An Obama email hack would not be a mere political diary footnote.

The velvet gloves on Obama brings out the boxing gloves for Palin.

blake said...

blake, I'm thinking mostly of social engineering scams to trick IT people into releasing information.

Another embarrassment. It's bad enough when users do it, IT people should be invincible on that front.

Break into one account and learn all you can about that individual. (Especially helpful if that person ccs themself on their various accounts). Armed with that information, it's much easier to trick IT into yielding a password.

Ah, I see what you're saying. Once again, consult rule #1.

In addition, there is a common practice of using the same password across multiple accounts.

Yeah, tell me about it.

(P.S.: The co-first rule of email is: Don't use an unsecure system)

Nah. That's at best rule #2, because of its corrolary: No system is secure.

MadisonMan said...

If you drive to Green Bay from Madison, you want to be really careful on Hwy 41 around Oshkosh. Speedtrap City!

I will never attend another political rally. I've been to one for Kerry in '04. I'll try anything once -- I went to court for a Parking Ticket once as well, guided by the same principle. Anyway, the rally. From an anthropological study point of view it was interesting. But very embarrassing to see grown people reacting the way they did to a politician. And crowded and noisy. Never again.

And then on the bike ride back into town (this was the one at the Coliseum), I was absolutely drenched in a downpour. And I still had to work!

blake said...

But very embarrassing to see grown people reacting the way they did to a politician.

Yeah. What's up with that? It seems almost...unAmerican.

I guess somebody's gotta get excited, though, or the whole thing would be unbearably dull.

Daryl said...

The first artist to be inspired by Garfield Without Garfield. Go figure.

AlphaLiberal said...

McCain is dehumanizing himself and is mad at Salvador Dali's home country.

Here's a story about McCain and Spain that you won't find on the Drudge Report or in the annals of wingnuttia (incl Althousiana).

McCain is mad at Spain, apparently and thinks they're our enemies. (Or he has just lost it). He said so three in times in an interview in a Spanish language paper:

Namely, that John McCain didn't appear to know that Spain was in Europe, or that the leader of Spain was named Zapatero. This, after the interviewer told him, and I paraphrase, "Okay let's switch to Spain - would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero." McCain then launched into this weird discussion about how friends of America are welcome, but enemies of America are not, and then he starts talking about Mexico. The reporter, obviously sensing something weird, asks him again, and again, would you be willing to meet with our president. McCain again talks about America's enemies. Finally, she says, and again I paraphrase, "Senator, I'm talking about here in Europe, in Spain, would you be willing to talk to our leader?" And McCain AGAIN starts rambling about America's enemies.

Not pretty. It gets worse at the link. I hope the right wing is not seeking payback against every country that didn't send troops to Iraq. That's crazy because that's, you know, most of the world.

Look, these two are not up to the job. Our country is in deep doo doo and we need to get some competent people in charge for a change.

Chip Ahoy said...

JACK !

Tzipi Livni, Israel Prime Minister. Now there's a name for you that's positively made for the crosswords.

Chip Ahoy said...

very embarrassing to see grown people reacting the way they did to a politician

How true.

WOOT!

* dances *

* somersaults *

* applauds enthusiastically *

Pardon. Got carried away there. Couldn't agree more. It would be better, and a lot more funny, if everybody would clap with the back of their hands, and bark like seals do. Trained seals. That's what it reminds me of.

Arf! Arf! Arf! clapclapclapclapclap. See, isn't that funny?

Palin uses those religious phrasings that I find irritating. "Partnering," for one. I don't care for that word used in that way. It's goofy. "If we're so blessed that blah blah blah," is another one. Nobody I know is looking for a blessing -- just an ethically and successfully run campaign. But Arf! Arf! Arf! clapclapclapclapclap on you anyway.

chickelit said...

AlphaLiberal said: McCain is mad at Spain, apparently and thinks they're our enemies.

Zapatero? He's that pussy socialist who got elected days after the Madrid train bombings, when Spaniards lost their will to fight al Qaeda. Pussies. Not at all like the Brits or the Dutch or the Poles or the rest of the coalition of the willing.
McCain was just too polite to say what I just did.

Happy?

vbspurs said...

OMG. As if Site Metre wasn't bad enough, they killed Feedback too.

I don't think it'll go back to the way it was, either...

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

/errr. Facebook.

vbspurs said...

P.S.: Hope that Althouse talks about Tzipi Livni tomorrow. She's on the verge of becoming the second female Israeli PM, and meanwhile, the US still doesn't even have a woman VP.

Gesù, che scandalo!

Tzipi Doodah

vbspurs said...

Heads up abt. the email hacking:

Malkin's got the full story of how the hacker did it

One of her readers, who was checking out the hacker forums and is tech-savvy himself, revealed it.

The guy, called Rubico, said this was his motivation:

I read though the emails… ALL OF THEM… before I posted, and what I concluded was anticlimactic, there was nothing there, nothing incriminating, nothing that would derail her campaign as I had hoped, all I saw was personal stuff, some clerical stuff from when she was governor…. And pictures of her family

He passed on the hacked password to the forum, but a "White Knight" changed the password and alerted a friend of the Palin's. He stupidly posted the new PW to the forum though -- which had everyone on earth reading it logging into her account.

The Yahoo automatic login freeze came out, and later the account was deleted by Yahoo.

I'm sure this guy will go down.

Cheers,
Victoria

bearbee said...

Bears-Stearns, Lehmann, Fannie & Freddie, AIG and the latest industry in collapse

Bissage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bissage said...

THIS sounds like a job for . . .
Nonsense Rhyme Cheerleader Man!!!
(a copyrighted feature of this broadcast):

Shower curtain, Richard Burton, birdies on a wire,
Penny whistle, Stinger missile, custom white wall tire.

Gooooooooooooo TEAM!

Simon said...

AlphaLiberal said...
"McCain is mad at Spain, apparently and thinks they're our enemies."

It's not entirely clear to some of us that he's wrong. They're not with us, ergo...

Anonymous said...

AlphaLiberal said...

Not pretty. It gets worse at the link. I hope the right wing is not seeking payback against every country that didn't send troops to Iraq. That's crazy because that's, you know, most of the world.



11:51 PM



The problem with that is...Spain did send troops to Iraq in 2003. After the Madrid bombings of 2004, and their shamefull (and illegal for reasons that are obvious to those familiar with Spanish electoral law)by the PSOE, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, Zapatero's party; which got him lected, he withdrew the troops from Iraq.

Zapatero ran a very openly anti-American, anti-Aznar, anti-Bush, anti-Iraq War and anti-Azores Pact campaign. What he did between March 11th and March 13th of 2004 was just the icing on the cake.

Ciao,

E