Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

What does Objectivism say about the painting of Bob Ross?

Rate this topic


happiness

Recommended Posts

I enjoy watching YouTube videos of him paining on his show, and while his paintings are "good," they are all of natural scenery and devoid of humans or anything more man-made than an occasional cabin in the woods or mountains. Is there anything contra-Objectivism about this kind of artiwork?

Edited by happiness
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't recognize the name. I have seen videos of individuals painting landscapes that commands a respect for their skill with mixing colors and applying them to the canvas. Rand was a romanticist at heart, and would classify the paintings as naturalist in scope or kind.

As to the contra-Objectivism inquiry, consider what she writes toward the end of chapter 12 in The Romantic Manifesto;

"That which is not worth contemplating in life," she writes, leading up to the model-building function of art, is not worth re-creating in art.

One of the things I'm looking forward to is a nice road trip mid-October. While the trip is not exclusively for seeing the fall colors, I know they will be out and I do enjoy the sight of them. I would think that she means a deeper sense of reflecting, but I would enjoy a fall landscape painting far more than some of the stuff that is difficult to differentiate from a child simply scribbling with a crayon on a piece of paper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of Bob Ross's subject matter is naturalistic but what is most interesting is that his better paintings which project a more idealistic world does show his skill with a better technical ability (close-up, still too painterly for me). His semi-idealistic paintings do show his view of an idyllic serene non- threatening world - he is definitely making an effort to project an ideal world in his eyes. Even though it is not exactly my taste, his choice of subject matter and his technical ability is far better than most contemporary artworks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, RomanticRealism said:

Most of Bob Ross's subject matter is naturalistic but what is most interesting is that his better paintings which project a more idealistic world does show his skill with a better technical ability (close-up, still too painterly for me). His semi-idealistic paintings do show his view of an idyllic serene non- threatening world - he is definitely making an effort to project an ideal world in his eyes. Even though it is not exactly my taste, his choice of subject matter and his technical ability is far better than most contemporary artworks.

I agree with your assessment.  The works do not aim to nonselectively reproduce, as a random photograph would, the natural world.  The scene, composition, style, "texture" are selective and integrate into something specific and purposeful.

 

As an Aside:

Welcome to the forum!

Your avatar and handle lead me to believe you are either interested in art or an artist.  Would you like to share some info re. your background/vocation/ or hobby in that regard?  Do you have any artwork you would like to share?  [Perhaps posting in the introductions forum or some other forum would be more appropriate]

In any case, I thought you might this interesting/inspiring:

https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-spring/friedrich-visual-romanticism/

 

 

 

Edited by StrictlyLogical
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Objectivism doesn't say anything about Bob Ross. Strange question... if you enjoy Bob Ross, then what's the problem?

 

I personally enjoy his videos. He's like a happy bumblebee and seems to love what he's doing. I also think his approach is good for beginners.

As for his paintings I find them to be full of empty calories and reminding me of religious kitsch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...