"History between a bargain and a dream (is art the answer?)" was replaced by this Quino cartoon

A famous social critic of modern life said once that yes, we write our

own history, but within conditions and constraints that we do not choose.

 

 

 

I have seen similar cows wandering the streets and parks of London, you seem to have captured the idea wonderfully well.

 

 

Eamon

Another intellectual puzzle to ponder. I will follow all of the visual clues you have left behind. I also have the sneaking suspicion that the cow is somewhat of a Picasso fan.

Christos- Your cow reminds me of our Pegasus horse's that dot the Louisville, KY landscape every May, just prior to the KY Derby. (I noted you have another one with flowers). I find the horses are a grotesque tribute to a Ky legend, the derby. However, many find them attractive? Many pay tens of thousands of dollars each year to have a particular artist(?) decorate their horse. Admittely, it does create interest and an air of excitement among the local people and many enjoy them. So, my evaluation of these groteque looking things is again, just my opinion. I say, "Let them eat cake!"

 

As far as your image, I hesitate to speculate it's meaning. I note it is well exposed, however I am neither fond of the composition nor the perspective view, he appears to be floating on air and seems too stationary for his obvious moving pose. As always, this is just my opinion, I could be wrong. Ole!

Oh my, shall we dual? I have my camera and lens ready! 20 paces.

 

As I said previously, I stated politely what I found positive and negative about the image. And if you really read and understood my analogy to the horses in my state, you would understand I actually did get your meaning. "Let them eat cake" should have been your last clue. But alas, since I have no idea from your "details" what country you are from, I should have been more specific so as not to have my comments misunderstood due to obvious language differences and cultural differences, my apologies. Sometimes tongue in cheek humor is just not that funny. Sorry.

All credit goes to 1) the artist who created the cow and 2) those who chose the location.

I honestly don't see where this is more than a record shot of someone else's installation. Record shots are OK, but you're going on and on as if the concept was yours.

Interesting discussion. i'd like to chip in. May i?.....i think that we all should relearn to be patient if we want to teach each other anything. Ideally each image should start a fresh page, but that's impossible cause our interactions on PN don't start with each image anew.

 

Christos- this image can be read on many levels and you should not be surprised that most of the viewers here will need to spent much more time studying it than they're used to. I admire your effort. Often complicated thoughts and associations are much easier to verbalize than illustrate. Keep us on our tiptoes and please be patient.

essentially . . . yes.

 

Remember we're talking about two decisions. One who made the cow, and the other who placed it. You're trying to tell me that there wasn't much thought given by either. I think you underestimate them.

Even after spending the entire afternoon, bantering back and forth with you, I understand what you were trying to say, I just don't happen to think this photo says it very well. That is my opinion and I stand by it.

I can see how many might not appreciate the intended message of the composition, which, IMHO, raises the question of whether the composition is effective or not. I also share Carl Root's opinion regarding the "composition", in toto.

merely 'saying its so' in words doesnt 'make it so' photographically

We don't choose the body with its conditions and constraints dictated to by its genetic history, accidents or 'blood.'

All that happens within the field of consciousness is relative either to the no-time we can physically never enter (past and future) or our reaction to the physical organism we didn't choose.

So the page is a blank though its dimensions are circumscribed (by physicality, intelligence, imagination, etc.) I shouldn't think it's too difficult to find as many ways as you like to map a path from the RFC comment to your image and/or your interpretation thereof.

I'm quite impressed how much depth the perspective of that poster adds to the image - and the cow is great, imagine how colourfully abstract her milk.

First, I wanna point to a detail - the "face" on the far left of the poster looks to me once as a face and next time as the lady's hand holding a glass and drinking something. Maybe, it's from the Christmas mood around. A nice touch to this funny picture I like a lot. I'd like it even if the cow and/or people on the ad were alive. :-) Somebody with a bold sense of humour (absurdity) arranged this scene for us to look at and enjoy it. But the photographer made it better including the poster. Now we have a scene of all fakes - some people, a cow, two dolls, and several not very meaningful letters to echo the enigmatic signs painted on the cow. Who said we're living in a world of substitutes ? But you saw even a history here.

 

 

And all this (Christmas, history, a fake cow) is bringing me back to a Faulkner's story about a real but insane man that fell in love with a real and sane cow in a small village where after having fun for a long time watching the man consuming his love the villagers decided to follow the priest's advice who believed that the man could be cured if eating a piece of exactly this cow, what they did, but the man was suffering, so they bought him for Christmas a wooden cow and then continue to watch him caressing it and crying. Oh, it's not easy even to imitate the Faulkner's style. :-) And don't blame the author, it's one of the most poetic love stories ever written.

 

"...and the cow is great, imagine how colourfully abstract her milk." This Seven! :-)

 

Regards. Blago

I'm sorry I just don't think you have presented an image that communicates your intellectual/psychological perception and intent. This can be done with the Cow Parade cow sculptures (anyone who takes them in and of themselves seriously or as a threat to real art is a bit of a fool) but this is like a puzzle game-- you have to find a place and a time and the right light to make the pieces fit your thoughts, and sometmes this also means changing your thoughts too to fit what is in front of you. I wish I could be less vague.

the one who believes that others do not see what he or she wants them to see because they are blind, unenlightened, inexperienced, lazy, etc., rather than because the artist failed to create an effective image.

Christos, you have submitted this image to the Photo Critique Forum. It has received a fair critique. If you are looking for more than a critique of the photo, I suggest you create a "Presentation" of this photo along with the others in the series and invite members whose opinions you respect to comment on the photo essay. The "circus" nature of this thread is a circus of your own creation.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

I wonder if you are aware that this sort of installation is very common. Here in DC, we had a large collection of elephants and donkeys all painted in various ways and placed all around the city. The crux of your argument seems to be that these sorts of things are placed arbitrarily and that only you see a serendipitous connection between each art object and the elements surrounding it.

 

I don't doubt that the large picture on the left might be replacved at some point, but it would probably be replaced by something similar that would not change the meaning of the original installation of the cow to any great extent.

 

Some people walking by will understand the installation; some won't. You did, and took a record shot of it.

 

Watch the merges with the cow's nose and with his front hoof.

What happened here!??

 

Where are all my previous comments about this photo and replies to its different "critics" and "commentators"?

 

Other people's' comments have also selectively been removed, including the few sane points, which tried to defend my work from the 'medieval logic' of looking for whitches......

 

This is now a strange surreal dia-logue!.... how representative of the site's logic and cliques!...

summum jus, summa injuria.

Several of comments here and elsewhere (see folder 'ideological conflict'), my own explanations of intentions, my responses back (when explicitly patronised and attacked by irrelevant nonsense of authoritative style!!) and other people's serious thoughts and defences of my work.. have all been deleted...

 

What this surreal and manipulated selection of remaining opinions above by the 'moderators' is trying to prove?...

 

Maybe all here is part of the illusions 'we' or better 'you' construct to support our little worlds ... What 'logic' is this, that when people are attacked and patronised by some cliques, against rational and free analysis of values and ideas, then you delete all and leave just a part of those absurdities!!???...

 

Unacceptable bullshit!

 

From today on I feel too tired to engage with comments, similiar to S.Marcus or C.Root or T.Holte style... and their disguised bullying games and loads of twisted, stretched nonsense...

 

I'm sorry for disappointing the real and inspiring critiques, (and there have been some special contributions as well)... honestly thank you, but this is a disabling place to stay and speak.

 

So let a cartoon by famous Quino speak the rest...