March 12, 2006

That's not art...

... they told Peggy Hill.

Hank was looking for a piece of art to purchase to put on the highway into Arland, but of course all the modern art was wierd to this true Texan. So he asks Peggy to make something; she chooses a "Probot," a robot made out of propane tanks. The council goes to approve it and here is there conversation:

"Interesting."
"Yes, Interesting."
"Interesting, what do you think?" This continues and Snobby Lady asks the most important question of this episode, "Who is the artist?"

In comes Peggy Hill, and says it is her and all hell breaks loose. "Aren't you my daughter's substitute Spanish teacher?" "You're not a real artist!" "What a waste of our time!" "Not approved!"

So Hank's boss calls in a "real" art dealer who sees Peggy's Probot on his way into town, offers to buy it and any more she makes and offers to give her a show. She invites the snobby cow from the council and off they go, dressed all fancy. And there at the show is a sign that reads, "I ain't got no learnin' art". Yep, he passed her off as an inbred, uneducated, mountain girl, childbride (she grew up in Montana, married just after highschool and has no formal art education). People liked her art because they felt sorry for her. Snobby Lady smirks and says, "I understand now."

She gets a letter written in a huge font in simple language from the council still denying her art work and demanding it be removed from the highway. The art guy is an ass who refuses to sell her art as from a normal person because no one would buy it. Peggy takes her probot back and wants to destroy it, but Hank's tools are at Srickland Propane. They haul the bot over there and the customers are excited! They loved the Probot, it made them feel safe, etc. And could she make one doing this for their yard? And that guy wants one, too.

Real people want Peggy's Probots.

Apparently, according to King of the Hill, art is only real if it is made by some snotty, smelly true artist- you know, someone who has gone to art school and never bathes. Know what? I bet people really think like that.

F@#kers.

11 comments:

Fred said...

I wouldn't know a piece of art that cost one dollar vs. one that cost one million.

Rowan Dawn said...

King of the hill is awesome. It is funny FCQ. People are so odd. Fred, me too!

JBlue said...

I love your post. The bottom line is like what you really like. Get this: I love Van Gogh, but I read that it's now passe to have A Starry Night hanging up, like it's "so college freshman dorm room." WTF??? I love that painting! I'll hang it where I damn well please. AND I love Norman Rockwell. Once someone said to me, "Oh, he's just an illustrator." Okay. And that's bad because...? You try catching the subtle nuances of life in a painting so vividly.

Good post.

JBlue said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Oh great One said...

We just moved away from Santa Fe, they have streets and streets of art galleries. We walked through tons of them and to be honest I wasn't real impressed. I enjoyed the street vendors more. No pretense just art.

Rowan Dawn said...

Susie, are you retarded? Oh wait, you just said you were. Um, hello- you have heard of king of the hill haven't you? And when I said I bet people are really like that, I meant the people that are really like that. Don't mess with my head. I'm tired and it (my head) already hurts.

Jublu- people are just retarded. Oh great one, I know what you mean.

Anonymous said...

The art purchase grant approval process has more to do with who you know rather than the art itself, as who you know can help you get a foot in the door, help you write the grant, get slides taken by a professional, name recognition, etc. Most people who went to art school (I did and I do bathe) have a better chance at it because of who they know, er...who's ass they kissed, not because they went to art school. An "outsider" can stand just as good a chance at it if they are in the loop and have connections. It's the connections, not the school, although in some people's case, the school helps make the connections. It didn't in mine.

Personally, I would prefer grass and trees and flowers and natural flora rather than art on a highway.

Rowan Dawn said...

I know artists bathe, Ann (lol) but I thought the point of the show was very humorous. I thought it was mean to tell someone they couldn't be an artist unless they went to art school. I don't know if this has basis in fact or not, but it tv sometimes gets it right. I am sure it is much easier if one has gone to school, but Peggy just wanted to help her town put something on the highway that was relevant to Arland. The stuff at the gallery wasn't, lol!

I also think grass trees and flowers look much better on a highway (they go so much better with dead rabbits and deer guts), and personally thought the probot looked like a stack of propane tanks welded together. One's propane tank is another's art, I guess!

eyes_only4him said...

OhI havent watched that show in years..I love it though..

and art is in the eye of the beholder I guess..I think my kids finger paintings are retty swell;)

Rowan Dawn said...

Don't get me started on "farm art" please! Sorry, but shitty, rusty tractors displayed on a front lawn is NOT attractive! And what is up with mini wind mills? Bleached cow skulls? That old beat up junker from the fifties on the TOP OF THAT HILL?

Candace said...

Oh yeah, I remember that episode! Thanks for reminding me of it -- it was such a hoot. "Arland" is based on Garland, Texas, btw, which is a Dallas suburb.