Art Good, Hitler Bad.Art Good, Hitler Bad.We like art. Especially the kind that's simple and direct. This is our site. We post images of crude, raw, primitive, naive art - basically things that don't reek of pretension. Come have a look. Articles
Chinese Scientology
2008-06-10 04:43:00 This is a poster I have seen numerous times over the years posted on telephone poles along San Francisco’s Clement Street and the surrounding neighborhoods. I never really spent the time to decipher it’s message and based on the Mumia Abul Jamal look-alike, always assumed it was some badly executed attempt to promote some sad ... More About: Scientology , Chinese , Signs and Wonders
Jack of All Trades
2008-05-30 05:12:00 Will’s back at it rehashing old themes and testing a few new. Not one to make an understatement, Will seems to be taking cues from Phil Spector and his infamous “wall of sound,” plastering entire blocks of street signs and lamp posts with multiple posters butted snug against one another. While his mini “best of” pet ... More About: Jack
Melvin Frank Marshall Live at Civic Center
2008-05-21 05:29:00 Compared to the satisfaction of posting wholly original finds, re-purposing and re-broadcasting youtube footage feels a little like cheating and lot like laziness, but to hell with it: Melvin Frank Marshall is a man who needs to be heard! A San Francisco violinist responsible for “over three hundred songs” and “one million chords,” Melvin scorches a ... More About: Whatever , Live , Center , Civic
Is Murder Ever Funy?
2008-05-19 22:18:00 It’s been a minute since I’ve found video compelling enough to post, but thanks to Boingboing.com it looks like that streak may finally be over. Not since the days of Wondershowzen (the short-lived, but brilliant show on MTV2) have I seen such a provocative and funny appropriation of hand puppets. Based on the story of ... More About: Murder , Asides
Honey Tree Evil Eye
2008-05-03 00:24:00 I love stories told in brief compelling episodes, each one a new clue to the titillating climax that lies ahead. However, instead of soap operas or the political circus surrounding a presidential candidate’s every misstatement, I favor the narrative of the offbeat, expressed in rants, ramblings and bizarre imagery. The continuing saga of Natalie/Carolina’s Pet ... More About: Honey , Evil , Tree
Gang of Four
2008-04-27 19:47:00 Today I learned that Ramona is small unincorporated community outside San Diego, which holds the unfortunate distinction of being the starting point of the largest fire in California history. I happened upon this unfortunate historical fact researching a group of four young toughs, referring to themselves as The 4 Ramona Rats. Sometime in the early ... More About: Gang
Treasure Island Naval History Mural
2008-04-24 04:04:00 Too bad one of the strangest murals in the area sits in a limited access building on an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, but here’s hoping a quick snap shot sparks a bit of interest. The painting stretches the length of the east wall in Treasure Island ’s Administration Building, a grand ... More About: History , Naval , Mural
Sighting
2008-04-22 16:57:00 UPDATE: New Pet Portrait Posters have been spotted on the southeast side of town! Eagerly awaiting the bounty. Share This More About: Asides
Humilidad
2008-04-21 02:11:00 Saw this little pencil drawing at the flea market. While the image on the left seemed like nothing more than a crude depiction of a stoic peasant tirelessly working the land, the accompanying image on the right was what grabbed my attention. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the rough sketch was actually a tearful ...
Self-Awareness
2008-04-03 00:49:00 Doesn’t calling yourself an outsider artist imply a self-awareness that automatically precludes you from that label? If the idea of a vast network of flashing, seizure-inducing, self-promotional web-sites devoted to the ramblings and artwork of one man sounds like your cup of tea, you may have found your nirvana. http://www.notes.outsider-artist.info/ Share This More About: Asides , Awareness
Learn German
2008-03-31 01:07:00 Ever had one of those days when you’re trapped inside you own head? Today was one of those days. I had just paid a visit to my elderly father, where in his rapidly deteriorating state he’s allowed his house and his personal affairs to unravel into a typhoon of dirty dishes, unopened bills, and various ... More About: German , Learn
Fun Facts
2008-03-28 18:48:00 Obviously the audacity of using the name Hitler in your domain ensures the “super computer” known as Google will misread the sarcasm. Not surprisingly, most searches that bring visitors to our site contain a mention of a certain German villain in one way or another. “Pretty pictures of hitler?!” Wow. Does such a thing even ... More About: Facts , Asides
AGHB 2.0
2008-03-27 21:46:00 After months of toying with the idea of reworking the layout of our site, we finally bit the proverbial bullet and updated the look and feel to reflect our growth. Rather than just a blog with posts in chronological order, we wanted to utilize more of an online magazine feel with featured articles and even ... More About: Asides
Head In The Clouds
2008-03-14 20:54:00 Last weekend I stumbled on a briefcase filled with what appears to be a collection of contest entries from the International Child Art Center, where Roman children had depicted various aviation scenes. In many of the works were the mention of Alitalia, the Italian airline operating out of Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport, Rome. While ... More About: Clouds , Head
Gold Dust
2008-02-29 20:35:00 Yet more unearthed creations from the mind of Albert Beauparlant. In the artist’s typical fashion, this newly discovered work builds on previously witnessed themes. However, while most of his work was done in standard pencil, the majority of these pieces incorporate hastily applied strokes of color that oddly detract from the stark, yet intricate beauty ... More About: Gold
Down the Rabbit Hole
2008-02-17 07:57:00 Living in a neighborhood that?s rapidly transitioning from blue-collar, single-family households to prime fix-it-and flip-it opportunities, estate sales have become a semi-regular source of entertainment in these parts. Which isn?t necessarily a bad thing. Sure they?re a heart-breaking public attempt to remedy lifelong accumulations of debt, familial strife and general clutter in the space of ... More About: Hole
The Pemp of All
2008-02-10 03:01:00 At times, we’ve been accused of featuring artwork that resembles “middle school art” (shout out to our #1 fan, Joe). In the interests of further perpetuating that opinion, we’ve pulled together a collection of pieces that in fact is exactly that. However, what separates the following work is the context and setting in which it ...
Forcing the Hand, pt. 1
2008-02-01 04:42:00 Will?s not much of a people person. I?ve come to this conclusion after the latest in a series of menacing phone messages in which Will has implicated me as a key figure in a city-wide conspiracy to bury his burgeoning dog walking business by collaborating with the Department of Public Works and rival walking services ... More About: Signs and Wonders , Hand
Forcing the Hand, pt. 2
2008-02-01 04:40:00 The following Sunday, Charles (who?s always game for crazy) and I show up to Gordon?s pet store with photos of our cats jammed in a manila envelope. As promised, Gordon, the last hippie in the Haight, mans the register in loose tie-dye, his thin ponytail crawling over one shoulder like something expecting to be fed. ... More About: Signs and Wonders , Hand
Forcing the Hand, pt. 3
2008-02-01 04:36:00 Several days later another voice mail from Will is waiting on my machine. Clearly unhinged by my bout of self-sabotaging phone calls, he is making it clear that I?ve pressed too hard. ?Listen man,? he cautions, ?tell your lady friend to stop tearing down my signs all over the place, because that shit?s not cool!? ... More About: Signs and Wonders , Hand
Forcing the Hand, pt. 2
2008-01-15 05:29:00 The following Sunday Charles (always game for crazy) and I showed up to Gordon?s pet store with photos of our cats jammed in a manila envelope. As promised, Gordon, the last hippie in the Haight, stood behind the register in loose tie-dye, his thin ponytail crawling over one shoulder like something expecting to be fed. ... More About: Signs and Wonders , Hand
Forcing the Hand, pt. 1
2008-01-10 06:11:00 I?m beginning to think that Will?s not much of a people person. I?ve come to this conclusion after the latest in a series of menacing phone messages in which Will has implicated me as a key figure in a city-wide conspiracy to bury his burgeoning dog walking business by collaborating with the Department of Public ... More About: Whatever , Signs and Wonders , Hand
Fleet Week, 1919
2007-12-12 01:06:00 My last ground-level experience with Fleet Week in SF occurred a few years ago in a Chinatown dive that happened to be crawling with Navy that night. A friend of mine, fried to the hat and hell-bent on initiating the most ill conceived social experiment I?ve ever witnessed lurched unprovoked from our corner booth and ... More About: Whatever , Leet
Fleet Week, 1919
2007-12-12 01:06:00 My last ground-level experience with Fleet Week in SF occurred a few years ago in a Chinatown dive that happened to be crawling with Navy that night. A friend of mine, fried to the hat and hell-bent on initiating the most ill conceived social experiment I?ve ever witnessed lurched unprovoked from our corner booth and ...
39th Yearly Game
2007-12-04 01:12:00 I don’t know much about Mark Keller Barnes except when he died he left a portfolio of paintings that I appreciate. Unlike the scores of urban hipsters consumed with replicating the naive hand, Barnes’ work contains a sense of honesty that allows the colors, texture and blunt simplicity of his images to stand out above ... More About: Game
Dixie
2007-11-20 23:49:00 My uncle snapped this marker a few weeks back while visiting family in Mississippi. Blunt, positively artless and shadowed by a snarl of poison ivy, this is about the saddest goddamn thing I?ve ever seen. Share This More About: Signs and Wonders
Cursive: A Lost Art
2007-11-13 22:40:00 I have always been fascinated with the art and aesthetics of handwriting. Whether simple printed text or gracefully sloping cursive manuscripts, the style and manor of a person’s handwriting conveys almost as much about the idea presented as the words. Below are two drastically differing examples of this concept. The first is the dense and almost ... More About: Lost
Sears Portraits
2007-11-09 23:26:00 Vanity has always been a key element of photography. Probably as much as the desire to document and capture the world around us, photography is fueled in part by our desire to project an idealized vision of how we see ourselves. Prior to the advent of photography, historical figures have always sought to immortalize themselves in opulent painted portraits, often portraying themselves in a flattering, often exaggerated light. If Napoleon was alive today, his myspace page would be littered with coy self-portraits sporting arched eyebrows, puckered lips, and a caption reading, “Hot to trot! LOL ;)” One of the more iconic forms of portrait photography is the family portrait. Just as every year millions of families force their reluctant children into snowflake sweaters, pile into their station wagons, and head down to the local mall to pose in feigned smiles before Holiday-themed backdrops, so too did our forefathers. This strange, beautifully-framed photograph, which measure... More About: Sears , Portraits , TRAI
A Girl Named Muriel
2007-10-23 00:32:00 Art can often be an outlet for our preoccupations and obsessions. Once upon a time there was a young girl named Muriel whose fascination with the spirit of the “new woman” in 1920’s America cultivated in a series of sweet and crudely drawn images of what it means to be woman. Starting in 1920 with ... More About: Girl
Book Nook
More articles from this author:2007-10-22 06:32:00 When you spend as much time as we do elbow-deep in other people?s castoffs you?re bound to end up with some interesting by-catch. For Charles it?s leather jackets and ugly belt buckles. For me, it?s books. Here?s a few finds from the last couple of months. Bernard Averbuch, Crab is King (San Francisco: Mabuhay Publishing, ... More About: Whatever , Book , Nook 1, 2, 3 |
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