Friday, February 21, 2014

Dance, monkey.

So I picked up the latest issue of Indianapolis magazine and one of the features was a piece on Robert Indiana, what with an exhibition of his work being at the IMA and all.

I don't know why I was surprised to find this out in the interview, but the man is a colossal douchebag. Having shaken the Hoosier dust from his sandals in the late '40s, he apparently just changed his name to "Indiana" from "Clark" to give him some exotic heartland cred with his Manhattan hipster artiste pals. Sort of a more egotistical, visual arts version of John Mellencamp, née Cougar, née Mellencamp.

Dig this gem:
I still think of what you did to the [old county courthouse]—destroyed,” he says. “No respect for the old architecture. And I believe you have a Republican governor; is that right? That’s not good. I’m not proud to come from a Republican state.
And, just in case you were wondering who is our state's "most major artist", just listen; he'll tell you:
"In fact, I don’t have paintings in almost any house in the state, which doesn’t seem interested in collecting its most major artist."
Buncha Visigoths, here. Hey, Bob, did you ever stop to think that maybe Hoosiers, with their legendary Midwestern low-key modesty, are a little embarrassed that you're running around using their home state as your nom de douche, but are just too polite to ask for it back?

31 comments:

Scott J said...

Look on the bright side. You could call Alabama home.

I'm a Christian, have actually preached sermons from the pulpit and am open about my faith but this still gives me a Picard grade facepalm.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/02/things_i_learned_during_the_al.html#incart_graystrip

Joel said...

More egotistical than John Mellencamp? Shouldn't that involve things collapsing into black holes?

Noah D said...

*looks at Robert Indiana's work*

*looks at T.C. Steele's work*

That's very nice, Bobby. Let's hang it on the fridge next to the other ones.

Joel said...

Oh crap, he's that guy.

And I do mean crap. Why would anybody exhibit his "art?"

Erich505 said...

Just for the record (since it's gun-related), when I was in college back in the mid-'80s, Mellencamp loaned a friend and me shotguns for our IU Trap and Skeet class (hey, it was my last semester and I already met graduation requirements), and he couldn't have been nicer or more of a regular guy. (In fact, now that I think about it, my friend had borrowed a _car_ from him for that whole semester - it's how we got to the trap range.) Anyways . . .

Anonymous said...

He shall be for ever known as Bob GaryIndiana!

Gerry

Anonymous said...

If he is speaking of the old Marion County Courthouse, that was razed under Gov. Matthew Welsh, a Democrat.

Being a douche gives you street cred in New York City. They are welcome to Robert Indiana.

Shootin' Buddy

Anonymous said...

I suppose it is a good thing to be a legend in your own mind, Bob.

The Jack said...

I guess having his oh so creative "Love" print in stature form in front of the IMA isn't enough for his ego.

What do the little proles need to have prints of his in their houses right next to those of Dear Leader?

Look, I can grok having disdain for where you grew up.

But then again I didn't change *my* name to Jack Jersey.

Mike said...

His brother Gary is a violent drunk.

Anonymous said...

He's never heard of the Hoosier Group then. Or if we need decently good artists who also tick the PC boxes, Janet Scudder and John Wesley Hardrick are quite respectable.

CarlosT said...

"Indiana was the dog's name!"

Henry Jones, Sr.

Weer'd Beard said...

WOW, it says on wiki that he currently lives on Vinalhaven Island!

I bet he keeps his opinions to himself there, as its the lobster fishing capital off the world, and the sea going residents aren't ones to suffer fools.

Met some rough customers from that little island!

Steve C said...

Wow, we've been dissed by a greeting card artist.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Indiana is so much the world's greatest artist that I've never heard of him before.

Scott J: that is--priceless. Like the fact that they tabled John 3:16

Kishnevi

bluesun said...

I can truthfully say that I have never, ever in my entire life heard of this "Robert Indiana" guy. That probably pisses him off.

Joe in PNG said...

Second on the "now who are you, again?"

Critter said...

oh my. a lefty artiste has leftist pretensions. shocked, shocked i am.

Joel said...

But I liked that dog.

Anonymous said...

Bob who?

I think a better term is needed to describe pretentious jackholes like him. Douchebags are useful devices that benefit women and men, while pretentious artistes are useless wastes of oxygen.

Al_in_Ottawa

kx59 said...

For a Narcissist, his grammar is terrible.

Buzz said...

Wow.
That guy defines every stereotype for aged hipster leftist, yet takes the name of a (gasp!) state that leans away from his political bent.

Bite me, asswipe, you and your overplayed poopart.

Jennifer said...

Oh I see! He's the pretentious douchebag flavor of "artist". and by "artist", I mean guy who stacks letters. His mother must be so proud

Sigivald said...

People don't have his paintings, because they're crap.

Chalkie said...

This other guy also seems more important than this Bobby fella.

Michael Z. Williamson said...

IIRC, Mellencamp changed his name while a DJ, because no one could spell it. He wanted to change it back, and had to convolute it to retain name recognition.

Lokidude said...

Would've been a he'll of a pornstar name. Or a crusty PI/bounty hunter.

Anonymous said...

The story I heard regarding Mellencamp's name evolution: his record company didn't think he'd sell as "Mellencamp" & changed his name for him...being inclined to eat & pay bills, he went with their advice. Once he got big enough that it seemed people would buy his records even if he *did* use his real name (ie, he had bargaining power with the execs) he got to use his actual name again. Slowly, with that whole Cougar-Mellencamp nonsense (which i appreciate more now that i'm older).

Rob K said...

It was Mellencamp's manager/record company that made him use a pseudonym. He didn't like it but it was either use the name or they wouldn't put out his first record (which was a flop anyway).

Unlike Robert "Indiana", Mellencamp likes Indiana and likes living here. He's one of us.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

TC Steele was a artist. Robert Indiana, not so much.

Stephen North Dakota said...

Robert Who?