Customer Reviews

Seasons of Light (Lighted Path Collection)

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This collection of nineteen paintings, accompanied by passages from various literary pieces,is a neat little book that manages to convey an introduction to the art of Thomas Kinkaid in a compact manner. Tasteful and thorough are adequate words to describe this book. Having read several negative comment's about the author's work by art pundits and critics, I was surprised by the masterful way the paintings were done, reminiscent of the early Renaisssance palettes and early baroque chiaroscuros. I may not be an art critic (though I do have a degree in art history),but I am once again sadly confronted with how cynical and mediocre liberal academia has become. Today, if art does not shock, anger or offend you, it is summarily dismissed as inferior. But consider what makes art masterful. Michelangelo's Pieta for instance is a masterpiece, because, asides from the superb technical work done on the marble slab, it moves us to an emotional response, the pain of the mother with her dead child, the dead Christ off the cross, His death for our salvation. Art should move you, spur you to be better, to reach a higher place. That is the true value of art. Kinkaid's work, to this end excels.

This book also justifies the criticism of Kinkaid's paintings as the "McDonald's of art". But McDonald's is, after all, also very popular. If it is as bad as they say, why does anybody eat there at all? If Kinkaid's art were as bad as he is made out to be, why is it so popular?

Like McDonald's, Kinkaid is (relatively) affordable. Second, there is quality control: you never get a painting, or a picture book, which is WORSE than the others. You always know exactly what you're going to get. This book gives us art that is, well, exactly like all of Kinkaid's other art: mostly cozy homes at sunset (usually in winter or autumn), all trying to evoke a feeling of yearning for home after a long journey. Third, McDonald's at least takes care the food passes strict health standards. Kinkaid, too, certainly knows how to paint realistic pictures -- and does. If nothing else, this is an antidote to ridiculously overpriced modern "art" that is technically incompetent and evokes that curious mix of disgust and boredom created by pornography.

The problem is, the art itself -- like McDonald's -- is not offensive, but not really any good. It is repetitive, and constantly uses the same trite visual cliches. Doesn't the piling-on of such "sure signs of home" (snowy evening, autumn leaves, home lit, etc.) just diminish the effect? One chimney smoking and one lit window suggests homeliness and warmth, so -- Kinkaid apparently believes -- not only is it utterly impossible to evoke such feelings without them, but six of each (in every painting) will suggest the house is six time as homely. To me, it merely suggests arson. This "more is better" way of thinking is similar to McDonald's "supersizing". It does not work, either in the culinary or the visual arts.

If you like Kinkaid, you will enjoy this book. But there are many far better artists out there.