L.S. Lowry overrated?

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 Slackboot 18 Dec 2019

Does anyone else think that Lowry is overrated? I know its interesting social commentary. And he does definitely evoke a feeling of the common man being oppressed and depressed but his stuff in my humble opinion  just isn't that good. Its like ' Emperors New Clothes'. No one wants to admit that it looks like it's been done by a beginner.

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 Duncan Bourne 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Lowry was an accomplished artist who studied at the Manchester School of art.

His early work was very different to his later style as this self-portrait shows

https://img.kingandmcgaw.com/imagecache/4/3/si-431361.jpg_maxdim-1000_resiz...

 Fruitbat 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

The skill and talent is in being able to make a technique that looks basic and simple - even naive - into a picture that captures people's imagination and causes them to look at it in more depth and more often and still stand up to the scrutiny of critics and the general public. 

Whether Lowry's style is to your (or anyone else's) taste is a slightly different thing, you don't have to like it.

OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Fruitbat:

I understand all that. And accept what you say. His work just doesn 't ring true with me. Yesterday I framed ' The Arrest' for a customer. I can't get over how poorly painted the faces are. And the figures are so stiff and always straight on or at ninety degrees to the viewer. Its as if he doesn't want to capture movement. I guess I must be in the minority but to me they are not great works of art. 

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 Tom Valentine 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

You don't have to go far to find examples of much more "beginnerish" work in painting and sculpture as you probably know if you're involved in the trade.

Post edited at 18:42
OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Valentine:

> You don't have to go far to find examples of much more "beginnerish" work in painting and sculpture. 

Probably worth a fortune also. I think the art establishment are having a laugh. All the way to the bank.

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 john arran 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Matt the cartoonist had a good take on a Lowry piece right after the election:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ELw47YEXUAA4mig?format=png&name=small

 john arran 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

> I understand all that. And accept what you say. His work just doesn 't ring true with me. Yesterday I framed ' The Arrest' for a customer. I can't get over how poorly painted the faces are. And the figures are so stiff and always straight on or at ninety degrees to the viewer. Its as if he doesn't want to capture movement. I guess I must be in the minority but to me they are not great works of art. 

And Picasso sometimes painted faces with both eyes on the same side - how amateurish is that!

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 Tom Valentine 18 Dec 2019
In reply to john arran:

I prefer matchstick men and boggle eyed cubist faces to monotonous panels of blue which look like something from a B&Q sample sheet.

OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to john arran:

> And Picasso sometimes painted faces with both eyes on the same side - how amateurish is that!

Again it depends on your point of view. People who make big money from Art decide what is good. The public don't. In the end you just like what you like. And thats it.

 Fruitbat 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

> Yesterday I framed ' The Arrest' 

It'll never stand up in court...

> Again it depends on your point of view. People who make big money from Art decide what is good. The public don't. In the end you just like what you like. And thats it.

You've said it all there: it's each person's point of view, it only has to matter and mean something to that person. If someone is making big money from art then it's in their interest to talk it up, they may not actually like it as a work of art, though. 

 Tom Valentine 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

>  People who make big money from Art decide what is good. 

I wouldn't apply that principle to literature or music and I don't see that art is much different.

OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Valentine:

> I wouldn't apply that principle to literature or music and I don't see that art is much different.

I still think the paying public are manipulated into liking certain books or music. Take music played on popular radio. A DJ's playlist is a powerful tool in creating something the public will want to buy.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

> I prefer matchstick men and boggle eyed cubist faces to monotonous panels of blue which look like something from a B&Q sample sheet.

Give me a Rothko over a Pollock any day

 Jon Stewart 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

> Does anyone else think that Lowry is overrated? I know its interesting social commentary. And he does definitely evoke a feeling of the common man being oppressed and depressed but his stuff in my humble opinion  just isn't that good. Its like ' Emperors New Clothes'. No one wants to admit that it looks like it's been done by a beginner.

It's stylish to the point of iconic and captures social history in a way so clear and compelling that a child can understand it. Sounds like good art to me!

 bouldery bits 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

I love Lowry.

 Jon Stewart 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

> I still think the paying public are manipulated into liking certain books or music.

If you haven't seen Exit Through The Giftshop, you must!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

Post edited at 21:07
OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to bouldery bits:

☺ It is most definitely a good thing to love art. It doesnt matter if others dont. Its what you think that counts.

OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

> If you haven't seen Exit Through The Giftshop, you must!

Thanks it looks good. I will definitely watch it☺

Post edited at 21:10
OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

My dad worked down the pit. He painted all his life. A number of his contemporaries who were also miners formed a group. They are now known as the Ashington Group. Or Pitmen Painters. You might know of them. If you like paintings which depict social history its worth taking a look. The stage play about them is really good too. ☺

 Jon Stewart 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

> My dad worked down the pit. He painted all his life. A number of his contemporaries who were also miners formed a group. They are now known as the Ashington Group. Or Pitmen Painters. You might know of them. If you like paintings which depict social history its worth taking a look. The stage play about them is really good too. ☺

Interesting stuff. Maybe that's part of your objection to Lowry - that he became the icon while others who were just as good or better aren't so well known?

OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

> Interesting stuff. Maybe that's part of your objection to Lowry - that he became the icon while others who were just as good or better aren't so well known?

I wonder. I just know how I feel. His seascapes are better.

 marsbar 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

I've heard of them.  I think I first heard of them from Bill Bryson.  I do like Lowry though.  I remember a sing from childhood about him.  I don't think any other artist has painted my home town, warts and all.  

Post edited at 21:46
OP Slackboot 18 Dec 2019
In reply to marsbar:

> I've heard of them.  I think I first heard of them from Bill Bryson.  I do like Lowry though.  I remember a sing from childhood about him.  

The song is Matchstalk Men I guess. I do like some Lowry's. At least they have atmosphere. Which is a great thing. I was a bit harsh in the OP but it creates interesting discussion if you voice a strong opinion. Maybe I should start one about Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Now they really are having a laugh! 😊

 wbo2 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot: but then you're extrapolating your taste and assuming everyone likes the same.  For a while I had the fortune to work in a location in central London where I could see a lot of art.  Some stuff really worked for me.. pollock as an example.  Other things did not... notably Turner, Constable.  Lowry didn't either, but David Hockney does.  Taste is a funny thing

 chris_r 18 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

My great grandfather agreed with you. He was a mate of Lowry's, and turned down the offer of a free painting as he didn't rate them.

I'm not bitter. Honest. 

 Sean Kelly 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

I learned how to really draw by looking at his early pencil drawings when he was attending night school at All Saints in Manchester. Then I too used his methods in my own teaching. We learn so much from looking at the work of others. As for 'Going to the match' it captures exactly what is was like on a Saturday afternoon when the whole town seemed to empty onto the streets. Happy memories from a 50's childhood!

 malk 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

same could be said of Banksy? do you rate his work?

 Tom Valentine 19 Dec 2019
In reply to malk:

I rate Banksy as lower then Lowry but more eminent than Emin.

OP Slackboot 19 Dec 2019
In reply to malk:

> same could be said of Banksy? do you rate his work?

Its interesting as a different kind of social commentary but its repetitive. I'm not sure how he can grow from it. Again its not worth the money.

 petemeads 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Just inherited "Landscape with Farm Buildings" as a signed print. Not quite my cup of tea but I must make an effort to appreciate it...

OP Slackboot 19 Dec 2019
In reply to petemeads:

If its a genuine signed limited edition print it will be worth a few grand I would think.

 alan moore 19 Dec 2019
In reply to john arran:

> Matt the cartoonist had a good take on a Lowry piece right after the election:

Ouch. That hurts!

 Jon Stewart 19 Dec 2019
In reply to malk:

> same could be said of Banksy? do you rate his work?

I find Banksy witty and entertaining, but don't rate him as "great art". That said, I'm not particularly "tuned in" to visual arts and don't really know what I do consider "great" paintings, sculptures etc to be. I have never been moved by visual art the way I have been by music and film.

 Tom Last 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

Hey, thanks for the heads up on this one, what a fantastic documentary. 

I just watched it and can’t stop laughing.

Banksy: “... then Thierry really made it meaningless...”

Haaahahahahaha

 Andy Lagan 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Was LS Lowry influenced by Pieter Bruegel? (Serious question)

And was Richard Scarry influenced by LS Lowry?

 Jon Stewart 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Tom Last:

It's awesome isn't it. 

What a fantastic documentary

Edit: Have a google to see what MBW is doing now. The story continues after the film, and it makes absolutely no sense. It's a mad world.

Post edited at 21:28
 Tom Last 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

A quick Google reveals current prices of around £2k - £20k per print, so he’s still milking it ten years later 😂

OP Slackboot 19 Dec 2019
In reply to Andy Lagan:

> Was LS Lowry influenced by Pieter Bruegel? (Serious question)

> And was Richard Scarry influenced by LS Lowry?

I dont think Lowry could have been influenced by Bruegel. Although I understand why you might think that. Lowry never travelled to Europe where most of Bruegel' s work was to be found at that time. It is possible he had access to one of the few books depicting Bruegel' s work but its unlikely as they were in german and very expensive. As to his influence on Richard Scarry I couldn't say.

OP Slackboot 20 Dec 2019
In reply to the OP

> Does anyone else think that Lowry is overrated? I know its interesting social commentary. And he does definitely evoke a feeling of the common man being oppressed and depressed but his stuff in my humble opinion  just isn't that good. Its like ' Emperors New Clothes'. No one wants to admit that it looks like it's been done by a beginner.

In fairness to Lowry and those who champion him I have to admit that he was a very complex man. Although the above post is a gut reaction, I accept his work is better appreciated once you study his life and  read some of the critical analysis available. There are strong feelings on both sides. The truth will no doubt lie in the middle.

 neilh 20 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Out of interest have you lived in the Manchester/Salford area?

His paintings have always felt very much live to me having lived there.

OP Slackboot 20 Dec 2019
In reply to neilh:

> Out of interest have you lived in the Manchester/Salford area?

> His paintings have always felt very much live to me having lived there.

Well you have me there. ☺

 bouldery bits 20 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

The seascapes are good too. 

 birdie num num 20 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

Many years before Tracey Emin was nominated for the Turner Prize me and Mrs Num Num never made our bed and it was always surrounded by the litter of discarded sanitary towels and condoms and fag ash and stuff

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 neilh 21 Dec 2019
In reply to Slackboot:

My grandpa who was brought up in Salford just loved them as to him it recreated in art what it was like.

For all that I enjoy my Rathko’s etc. I find modern art thought provoking although not a big fan of video installations. 


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