Cassius Marcellus Coolidge has such a great name that you might imagine he’s a character from a Quentin Tarantino film (theme music: “Fist City” by Loretta Lynn) but you would be wrong. C.M. Coolidge, also known as “Cash” or occasionally “Kash” is the painter of that famous piece, “A Friend In Need”, a.k.a. “Dogs Playing Poker”.
Cassius Marcellus Coolidge - "A Friend in Need" a.k.a. "Dogs Playing Poker" c.1910
In 1903, Coolidge contracted with the advertising firm of Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, Minnesota, to create sixteen oil paintings over several years, featuring anthropomorphized dogs engaging in various human activities. Nine of them depict dogs playing poker, a meme Coolidge is credited with inventing, and which inspired 1950s American illustrator Arthur Sarnoff who is also famous for paintings of dogs playing pool, poker and craps, along with various other later imitators. On February 15, 2005, two of these much-imitated paintings, A Bold Bluff and Waterloo, went on the auction block expecting to fetch between $30,000 and $50,000 but surprisingly sold for $590,400 at Doyle New York. The auction set an auction record for Coolidge, whose previous top (posthumous) sale was $74,000.
– Wikipedia
Yes, half a million for dogs playing poker. Coolidge is also credited with inventing the standby of fairs, carnivals & theme parks where a comic scene has the characters’ heads cut out so people can stick their own heads through and have their photo taken (known as “Comic Foregrounds” at the time), as well as the “dogs playing pool” meme. How’s that for cultural impact? Not bad for a guy whose name remains relatively lost to the mists of time.
One thing I personally find interesting about “A Friend In Need” is the fairly delicate play of colour. The dappled treatment of the mauve walls alone show a mastery of light and colour that escapes many artists whose work is taken much more seriously. The impressionistic seascape with sailboats is also pretty remarkable – remember that in 1910 that kind of work was still considered pretty avant-garde. Tucking an artistically edgy detail like that into one of the kitschiest of all kitsch paintings borders on Dadaism – if Picabia or Duchamp had made this painting, it would probably be hailed as a masterpiece. Food for thought.
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You like quirky watercolours of kitsch & pop culture ephemera? Me too.
Laura Manfre is a French illustrator working in Norwich, UK. You can check out her portfolio site or her blog, which is regularly updated with new work, photos, and general musings.
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Jenny Holzer:
“When I was in graduate school I had done some public things, but they were unsuccessful. They didn’t mean anything, they were abstract. I started writing on my paintings, but that didn’t work either. So when I came to New York the painting fell away and the writing became dominant. I then figured out how to take this writing public – I thought posters would be appropriate. It made sense as a public project.”
<3
Jenny Holzer. (1950) “When I was in graduate… | Art Listings Professional.
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I was checking out the often wonderful site booooooom today and I suddenly realized, “Holy cow! Fumi Mini Nakamura is awesome!” Nakamura works in a few different styles, all of which are excitingly cute yet unsettling, which is really a great combination. The titles she gives her pieces are also playfully profound, and really, giving your work good titles is an increasingly lost art so I salute her perseverance in that regard.
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- The Sun Has Taken Your Warmth || The Moon Has Taken Your Shadow
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- I Want To Be Your Favorite Hello And Your Hardest Goodbye
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- In Your Soul are Infinitely Precious Things That Cannot Be Taken From You
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- sketchbook - Human Totem Pole
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- sketchbook - Don't get Your Hopes Up, Only Chin Up
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- sketchbook - Maybe One Cup is Enough for Many
Nakamura was born in a small town in Japan in 1984, moved to California when she was 12, and is currently living and working in NYC. Her work has been in magazines, used in garment & textile design, and Nakamura has shown in numerous art exhibitions. Her portfolio site, miniaturemouse has a metric heckload of her work on display, so if you like what you see here do check it out – you won’t be disappointed.
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For those unfamiliar with Joseph Cornell, he is an American artist best known for his incredible assemblages, such as his parrot boxes.
He is perhaps less known for being something of a romantic …
… you have to admit, making your lover an assemblage beats the heck out of a card from the drugstore.
Kusama’s relationship with Joseph Cornell (via Tate).
