
Ask HN: What artists do you like? - jamesbritt
I've seen various topics what music people like, but couldn't find anything similar for what artists people enjoy.<p>I'm  a fan of Marcel, Duchamp,  John Singer Sargent, Jack Kirby, Patrick McDonnell, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; the list could get quite lengthy.<p>As with my preference in music, I feel there are common qualities, but I'm hard pressed to clearly define them.<p>What artists do you like?  Can you explain why?  Do have artwork in your home or office?
======
jon_dahl
I'm especially partial to three bits of classical music.

1\. 20th century classical. I really love Shostakovich, Stravinksy, Bartok,
and others who blended "classical" elements (18th and 19th centuries) with
modern ideas. At its best, their music is as rich and enjoyable as Mozart and
Beethoven, but unusual and fresh at the same time.

2\. Contemporary minimalism. (Contemporary maybe meaning 1960s and on.)
Especially Arvo Part, Gorecki, and John Adams. Beautiful, haunting, original,
and accessible. If you're looking for recommendations, try Fratres and Tabula
Rasa by Arvo Part, or Symphony #3 by Gorecki. Really unbelievable music.

3\. Bach. 300 years old, and better than anything that's come since. He rides
the tension between simplicity and complexity, beauty and the sublime. If
humans are still around in 20,000 years, when they look back to the 1000's,
they'll think of Bach and Shakespeare. Recommendations: cello suites,
cantatas, St. Matthew's Passion, and everything else.

(edit) I'm less experienced with visual art, but Kiki Smith definitely
deserves a mention. I also enjoy Gerhard Richter, Kandinsky, Chagall, and
Klee.

~~~
unalone
2\. Add to that Steve Reich and his Music For 18 Musicians.

3\. I've never been particularly fond of Bach. His music's technically
incredible, but it doesn't grab at me emotionally.

~~~
warfangle
I concur with the sentiments re: Bach. I'm much more of a fan of Mozart,
though I cannot articulate why.

~~~
unalone
Mozart's got a real sense of fun to his pieces. My reaction to him is the
opposite of mine to Bach: I've never heard a Mozart piece that didn't sweep me
away. His work is so rich and so full.

I just had Chopin recommended to me as far as Romanticism goes. Beethoven's
never quite done it for me (he's terrific, but not in the same way that Mozart
is IMHO), so I'm hoping Chopin really sparks a love.

------
m0th87
I'm a huge fan of impressionism (Van Gogh, Monet), but that's like saying you
like puppies.

A little more off the beaten path is Zdzislaw Beksinski:
[http://coilhouse.net/2007/12/the-beautiful-nightmares-of-
zdz...](http://coilhouse.net/2007/12/the-beautiful-nightmares-of-zdzislaw-
beksinski/)

His artwork haunts me, even years after being exposed to it. The fact that he
uses wood as a canvas makes it all the more fascinating.

~~~
aohtsab
This is brilliant. Also, interesting: the Web site said that the father
abhorred silence, preferring to listen to classical music. At the bottom, they
mentioned that both father and son especially liked The Legendary Pink Dots.

I've included a link to one of their songs; I can just imagine Beksinski
painting while listening to this.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv5khDimvy8>

------
edw519
I love the magic that happened when Jackson Pollock combined Hopi Indian sand
painting techniques with brush/canvas to harness the power of gravity:

[http://www.monroegallery.com/showcase/images/MH_JacksonPollo...](http://www.monroegallery.com/showcase/images/MH_JacksonPollock2.jpg)

If you ever go to MOMA in NYC, make sure you start on the 6th floor and work
your way down...

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pollock31.jpg>

I also love when the worlds of mathematics and art meet, as in Pollock's
fractals:

<http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock>

or, of course, anything by Escher:

[http://www.headwaysoftware.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/chris...](http://www.headwaysoftware.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/chris.headwaysoftware.com/photos/uncategorized/hands.jpg)

~~~
warfangle
An interesting article on symmetry and fractal design exposed in Pollack's
art:
[http://phys.unsw.edu.au/phys_about/PHYSICS!/FRACTAL_EXPRESSI...](http://phys.unsw.edu.au/phys_about/PHYSICS!/FRACTAL_EXPRESSIONISM/fractal_taylor.html)

------
gbookman
Frank Lloyd Wright.

He had an unbelievable ability to create building designs that blended
perfectly with their surroundings. I've never seen any architect achieve a
better harmony between man and nature. Wright's most famous designs are
Fallingwater: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater> and the Guggenheim
Museum in New York:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_R._Guggenheim_Museum>

Many of his design ideas were beyond the technological limitations of the day,
but Wright never let that slow him down.

He was unquestionably one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.

~~~
nailer
If you're a Lego fan: <http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=21005>

------
mechanical_fish
A local museum in Salem had a Joseph Cornell exhibit a few years back.

<http://www.pem.org/sites/cornell/>

I really liked his work.

My taste in art ranges all over the place. I like a fair amount of modern
stuff. I like a fair bit of expressionist and surrealist art, although some of
it gets a bit too silly. I also tend to like 17th century Dutch and Flemish
art (Reubens, Hals, Rembrant, and of course Vermeer). Which is not to say I
can't spend hours staring at impressionist paintings, or medieval art, or
Caravaggios, or over-the-top Neoclassical blockbusters from Jacques-Louis
David. (From what I can see, the typical David is like a Cecil B. Demille film
condensed into one enormous frame.)

My favorite art moment so far was in a specific room in the Mauritshuis in The
Hague, where I was able to spend pretty much an entire hour at a time when the
museum was really quiet. I would stare at Vermeer's _View of Delft_ until I
got tired of it, then turn around to stare at _Girl With A Pearl Earring_ ,
which despite having been turned into the basis of some kind of slick
international blockbuster is still an awesome painting.

 _View of Delft_ is an astonishing work. I found it difficult to believe how
great it was. You can't really tell from the postcard-sized reproductions. It
was on that trip that I began to understand that paint is a very, very special
substance in the hands of a master.

------
marcusbooster
I enjoy the Bauhaus school - Wassily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee,
etc.

Art has obviously moved on, but their writings and work are still interesting,
especially if you're into digital art and design with it's inherent
"Modernist" grid. And the formalism appeals to the computer geek in me.

------
movix
The vast majority of preferred artists mentioned here, are from the early half
of the last century. Does this say something about HN'ers understanding and
awareness of contemporary art?

It's a curious contrast with how most people reading HN are working at the
absolute cutting edge of 21st century technology. Curiously, art has always
been driven by advances in modern technology; whether that be in metal
casting, developments in pigments and dyes and of course, the invention of the
lens.

~~~
jamesbritt
"Does this say something about HN'ers understanding and awareness of
contemporary art?"

I find it hard to keep on top of, and experience, contemporary art. Unlike
music, where it's fairly easy to get exposed to something, much contemporary
visual art requires a physical presence to appreciate.

I also don't know many good sources to follow contemporary art. There are some
printed mags I browse through at B&N or Borders, but that's pretty haphazard.
(The art galleries are one of the things I miss most about New York City.
There are occasional good showings in the Phoenix area, but hardly on par with
places like NYC or L.A.)

Are there good Web sites for keep abreast of contemporary art?

~~~
EAMiller
<http://www.vvork.com/>

I like it because it's contemporary art, but the feed is almost entirely
images - so it doesn't weigh too heavy in your feed reader...

------
gstar
I normally like individual paintings rather than artists. I do like Rothko
though - so nice and blobby.

For objects though, I especially like Le Corbusier.

I gravitate toward modernism a bit, and I kinda think it was the last
interesting art movement that captured the public's imagination. Something
about the space age, square things and stuff. Lichtenstein, Mondrian and
Pollock are interesting in that respect.

As for music, the list is just absolutely endless. I'd say I like more than
50% of the music that I've heard. Right now I have a funk & soul radio show
on, earlier I was listening to old New Order, and before that I had a Lupe
Fiasco CD on.

No art in my house or office - but one day there absolutely will be. Probably
starting with the furniture.

------
swannodette
Sol Lewitt, <http://images.google.com/images?q=sol+lewitt> for the illogical
followed to a logical end

Vittore Carpaccio,
[http://images.google.com/images?q=painting+vittore+carpaccio...](http://images.google.com/images?q=painting+vittore+carpaccio&spell=1&start=0)
...

Agnes Martin, <http://images.google.com/images?q=agnes+martin> for the pursuit
of perfection

Emma Kunz, <http://images.google.com/images?q=emma+kunz> for the combination
of abstraction and spirituality

Unica Zürn, <http://images.google.com/images?q=unica+zurn> for it's pure
subjectivity

Stan Vanderbeek, <http://images.google.com/images?q=stan+vanderbeek> for his
films and seeing the artistic potential of the computer

and many others...

------
steveplace
My father-in-law does photography of New Orleans, and he's got a gallery on
Royal Street, so I surprisingly know a lot about contemporary art, due to the
discounts I get in NoLa.

I am a big fan of Ricker, Erte, and Deyber. Most especially Deyber, it's
smartass art, see it here: <http://martinlawrence.com/deyber.html> \-- I own
Party Animal, it's a giraffe with a lampshade.

I also own a Brennan, they're small paintings, quite simple but devastatingly
intricate: <http://martinlawrence.com/brennan.html>

We've also been collecting rinards: <http://www.galleryrinard.com/>

I don't own him, but I'm a huge fan of Todd White: artofwhite.com

As a shameless plug for my inlaw's site: <http://www.joedunnarts.com> and the
pw is gr8noart

Oh, and warhol sucks. hard. it's like being a fan of mozart to sound
sophisticated.

------
EAMiller
I'm surprised there hasn't been any software based artists mentioned yet.

How about (I'll add examples of specific work so you won't have to search it
out):

Cory Arcangel
[http://www.beigerecords.com/cory/Things_I_Made/SuperMarioMov...](http://www.beigerecords.com/cory/Things_I_Made/SuperMarioMovie)

Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin
<http://www.earstudio.com/projects/listeningpost.html> (see video gallery)

RSG <http://r-s-g.org/carnivore/>

GRL <http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76>

There's many more. If you're interested in this kind of art there are
festivals too:

Bay area: <http://01sj.org/>

Europe : <http://www.aec.at/index_en.php>

Various location : <http://www.isea-web.org/eng/index.html>

------
petercooper
Damien Hirst and Hugh McLeod (a.k.a. gapingvoid). They both cut through a lot
of the bullshit behind the "art world" and, specifically, the _business_ of
art.

For most people, art's about looking at some "pretty pictures" but as an
entrepreneur I find the business revelations to be as much an appreciation of
art as the visual.

~~~
nvn1
Could you elaborate about the 'business revelations'? I'm really intrigued.

~~~
petercooper
I only have a minute but.. in McLeod's case, he took it from being a mere
hobby of scribbling on the back of business cards, through to refining the
concept of the "social object" and, more recently, the "cube grenade." Going
into what this is all about is a bit much here but this might help:
[http://gapingvoid.com/2007/10/24/more-thoughts-on-social-
obj...](http://gapingvoid.com/2007/10/24/more-thoughts-on-social-objects/) \-
Crucially, though, his art is specifically focused on business and is
primarily sold within a business context - no galleries, often used for
offices, etc.

Hirst.. you could talk about for hours and go round in circles, but if you
follow him for a bit you'll see a very savvy business mind at work. Not many
artists have a couple hundred million dollars in their bank accounts. It's not
a cynical money grab though; he's got some great ideas going on.

~~~
nvn1
Thanks. I also found this whilst hunting around, which I found utterly
fascinating:
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/sep/22/featuresre...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2002/sep/22/featuresreview.review)

------
detcader
Graffiti in general is underrated.

~~~
auston
I love graffiti (artists)!

 _disclosure: linking to my own site_

KAWS - [http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/09/interview-with-
kaws-a-...](http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/09/interview-with-kaws-a-
special-sneak-peak-at-saturated/)

Neckface - [http://www.limitemagazine.com/2009/10/neckface-the-devils-
di...](http://www.limitemagazine.com/2009/10/neckface-the-devils-disciple/)

Chivitz - [http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/10/limite-introduces-
chiv...](http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/10/limite-introduces-chivitz/)

Banksy -
[http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/10/banksy%E2%80%99s-busin...](http://www.limitemagazine.com/2008/10/banksy%E2%80%99s-business-
rat/)

~~~
brandonkm
Awesome site! Enjoyed the kaws interview, he's one of my favorites.

~~~
auston
Thanks!

He's coming back to Miami soon (Dec 2-6), so I am going to be getting more
shots of his artwork.

------
stuartjmoore
Dieter Rams.

~~~
unalone
This needs to be voted up to the top. Possibly the best industrial designer
that's ever been. Definitely top three in my book, along with Fukasawa and
Ive.

~~~
stuartjmoore
Fukasawa! I've seen his stuff, never caught the name; thanks. Now to waste
time searching "Fukasawa" on Flickr.

------
anigbrowl
Istvan Sandorfi. <http://www.fosaw.com/> Autechre. <http://www.autechre.info/>
Peter Greenaway. <http://www.petergreenaway.info/> Edit: like the OP I could
list many more; I could also ruminate for a long time on what common factors
combine to create a particular artistic sensibility...but I won't. I believe
all art is an attempt to impose order on one small corner of a chaotic
universe, and is thus fundamentally an acknowledgement of entropy.

------
aristus
Rodin, Noguchi, Sargent, and Muchas. Diego Rivera for his colors. I suppose
this makes me backward, but I enjoy pictures of recognizable human beings
engaging in recognizable activities. Also, pretty females.

------
kingkawn
Kandinsky, Casper David Friedrich, Robert Bordo, and Beyonce Knowles.

~~~
ABrandt
Upvoted for Friedrich. I find his commentary on civilization and religion
strangely beautiful. You lost me with the Beyonce reference though...

~~~
kingkawn
Go to Berlin. See the room of his paintings. No reproductions do them any
justice, no matter how well done.

------
mdakin
Paul Klee. I believe his name is pronounced "clay." Check out "Twittering
Machine" and "Ancient Sound" in particular. Without thinking too much about it
I'd say I like his work because it tends to feel childlike and joyful to me.

And obviously "Twittering Machine" has a new relevance today given the recent
emergence and mass acceptance of a particular social communication technology.

Another guy I really like is Alexander Calder. In particular I admire and
enjoy climbing his stabiles.

------
unalone
I'm not much of an art person, but I love Duchamp. Just saw his exhibit at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art a few weeks ago. I'm also an enormous Pollock fan.

Smaller artists include Leonid Afremov, Rob Gonsalves, and David Lanham. With
the exception of Gonsalves it's nothing particularly brilliant, but I enjoy it
visually. I also love the artwork of certain comic artists. Bill Watterson, of
course, and Berke Breathed, and David Hellman of A Lesson is Learned.

~~~
hyperbovine
Ahh, Pollock. For me painting stopped at Pollock. There are many artists I
like who came before Pollock, and none who came after. Pollock himself I find
to be one of the most difficult painters. Most days I think he is a hack, but
on occasion his work speaks to me.

~~~
unalone
There's still a lot of good stuff today. I really doubt we'll see any painters
that revolutionize the form as much, at least not without significantly
changing the tools of the medium. He turned painting into a pure creation of
content, where what mattered was the canvas rather than the depiction. When
you see his work in person it's incredibly powerful.

------
fnid
Magritte:
[http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=magritte&FORM=IGRE](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=magritte&FORM=IGRE)

------
tjr
I seem to be rather particular about visual art; there's not a lot that I
really like. Jacob Lawrence's paintings strike me as interesting.

In my home/office I have mostly photographs, and of those mostly photographs
that I've taken. Also a rather large portrait of Einstein, some artwork of the
Brooklyn Bridge, and some original ink drawings by Duane Bibby.

------
rabidgnat
I'm a big fan of Knuth. I haven't purchased any of his Art yet, but I do have
an Amazon gift certificate in reserve...

------
moorej
Marcel Duchamp for his consideration that "art" is something socially
constructed i.e. not immanent within the thing itself.

Raphael, seeing his paintings in person renewed my love of art.

Many others.

As far as composed music is concerned there are many as well but at this
moment I'll say Webern for mystery and Xenakis for energy. Also Helmut
Lachenmann is good.

------
corey
Bryan Larsen: <http://www.cordair.com/larsen/>

~~~
garnet7
Damn!

------
Keyframe
I like too many to list them all (my username might indicate I view a lot of
art). However, I can single out Carl Spitzweg as my endless source of
inspiration, serenity and just pure awesome since his art correlates to my
taste almost exactly.

------
jackchristopher
Peter Paul Rubens. He showed with paintings how things are supposed to be
done. His painting are an avalanche of skill:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens>

------
bayareaguy
I've always been fascinated by the art and architecture of Eugene Tsui.

<http://images.google.com/images?q=Eugene+Tsui>

<http://www.tdrinc.com/>

------
splat
I've always been a fan of the works of Joan Miro and El Greco.

I also have a painting by J. Stancin that I like a lot. He's not a very well-
known artist, though, so I haven't seen too many of his other paintings.

------
warfangle
Big fan of Geiger and, more recently, Paul Booth. Historical preferences tend
towards the dada and surreal - Dali, of course, is a favorite.

------
brianmckenzie
I like Gerhard Richter, and well-done graffiti. Also some of the stuff coming
out of the Leipzig school, Mattias Weischer et al.

------
coconutrandom
Jeff Soto is in my top 5

<http://images.google.com/images?q=jeff+soto>

------
madh
Edward Hopper <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks>

------
fuzzmeister
Edward Hopper - seeing his paintings in person at the MFA (including, of
course, Nighthawks) was quite an experience.

------
rayb0t
James B. Hunt <http://jamesbhunt.com/>

------
hop
Banksy is pretty rad - <http://j.mp/YTWIu>

~~~
unalone
Banksy's not bad, for what he is. In a lot of ways he's the cultural opposite
of the Damien Hirst sort—everything Hirst likes Banksy hates and vice versa.
But he's not particularly interesting stylistically, and a lot of his work is
derivative, if pleasant to look at. His anti-consumerist screeds are similarly
fun to listen to, but not particularly bright.

~~~
jamesbritt
Major points for being the Anti-Hirst, and I do really like Banksy, but he's
got a limited range.

I'm glad he's around, and hopefully encouraging others to stir things up.

~~~
unalone
Hirst isn't as bad as people say he is. It's an instance where people don't
understand something and take it out by claiming hatred.

~~~
jamesbritt
Hirst's copyright lawsuits are pure bullshit and enough to make him a very
person in my eyes.

~~~
unalone
What exactly is a very person?

Unlike you, I don't pretend I know enough about the circumstances of Hirst's
cases to lay down judgment. I know next to nothing about the art he produces,
just enough to understand that perhaps he's doing something more impressive
than I think he is. With that as context, there's a possibility that there's
more to the lawsuits than the media is showing, and so I give him the benefit
of the doubt.

~~~
jamesbritt
Sorry, omitted a word. A very bad person. Shutting down soneone's elses art
because it includes, among several other things, a picture of one of your own,
clearly used to make a social commentary about art, is shitty. Especailly
since that particular Hirst piece is itself derivative if not an outright
copy. No pretending.

------
nahumfarchi
francis bacon WARNING: not for the faint of heart.
<http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bacon/painting.jpg>

------
hackworth
self link, but i keep a tumblelog of new artists i find around the internets:
<http://lowart.unstoppable.org>.

------
modoc
Michael Parkes pieces in a few rooms of my house.

------
mbeihoffer
Klee, Kandinsky, Escher, Kahlo, Riviera, Ethan Heidelbaugh, Steve Hemingway,
Marcel Duchamp, Georgia O'Keefe, and whatshisname that I'm totally spacing out
on right now but I'll remember later probably.

Also Margaret Atwood and Ani DiFranco.

