RIP Thomas Kinkade
-
mgwashburn
- Art Connoisseur
- Posts: 365
- Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:04 am
R U Serious?
Kinkade was a class A scumbag. He bankrupted hundreds of people that got sucked into buying franchises from him.
Even worse, he leveraged his B.S. connection with Jesus and the Christian Faith to suck in hundreds of thousands of Christians into buying his art.
RIP my Ass!
Quotes from WIki
Criticism of business practices
Kinkade's company, Media Arts Group Inc., has been accused of unfair dealings with owners of Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery franchises. In 2006, an arbitration board awarded Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello $860,000 in damages and $1.2 million in fees and expenses due to Kinkade's company "[failing] to disclose material information" that would have discouraged them from investing in the gallery. The award was later increased to $2.8 million with interest and legal fees. The plaintiffs and other former gallery owners have also leveled accusations of being pressured to open additional galleries that were not financially viable, being forced to take on expensive, unsalable inventory, and being undercut by discount outlets whose prices they were not allowed to match.
Kinkade denied the accusations and Media Arts Group successfully defended itself in previous suits by other former gallery owners. Kinkade himself was not singled out in the finding of fraud by the arbitration board.
In August 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that the FBI was investigating these issues, with agents from offices across the country conducting interviews.
Former gallery dealers also charged that Kinkade uses Christianity as a tool to take advantage of people. "They really knew how to bait the hook," said one ex-dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They certainly used the Christian hook." One former dealer's lawyer stated "Most of my clients got involved with Kinkade because it was presented as a religious opportunity. Being defrauded is awful enough, but doing it in the name of God is really despicable."[26] On June 2, 2010, Pacific Metro, the artist's production company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one day after defaulting on a $1 million court imposed payment to the aforementioned Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello. A $500,000 payment had previously been disbursed.
Disturbing Personal Conduct
During the years 1997 through 2005, court documents show at least 350 independently owned Kinkade franchises at its peak. By May 2005, that number had more than halved. Kinkade received $50 million during this period. An initial cash investment of $80,000 to $150,000 is listed as a startup cost for franchisees.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that some of Kinkade's former colleagues, employees, and even collectors of his work say that he has a long history of cursing and heckling other artists and performers. The Times further reported that he openly groped a woman's breasts at a South Bend, Indiana sales event, and mentioned his proclivity for ritual territory marking through urination, once relieving himself on a Winnie the Pooh figure at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim while saying "This one's for you, Walt." In a letter to licensed gallery owners acknowledging he may have behaved badly during a stressful time when he overindulged in food and drink, Kinkade said accounts of the alcohol-related incidents included "exaggerated, and in some cases outright fabricated personal accusations." The letter did not address any incident specifically.
In 2006 John Dandois, Media Arts Group executive, recounted a story that on one occasion ("about six years ago") Kinkade became drunk at a Siegfried & Roy magic show in Las Vegas and began shouting "Codpiece! Codpiece!" at the performers. Eventually he was calmed by his mother. Dandois also said of Kinkade, "Thom would be fine, he would be drinking, and then all of a sudden, you couldn't tell where the boundary was, and then he became very incoherent, and he would start cursing and doing a lot of weird stuff like touching himself." In June 2010, Kinkade was arrested in Carmel, California for driving while under the influence of alcohol and received a DUI.
Kinkade was a class A scumbag. He bankrupted hundreds of people that got sucked into buying franchises from him.
Even worse, he leveraged his B.S. connection with Jesus and the Christian Faith to suck in hundreds of thousands of Christians into buying his art.
RIP my Ass!
Quotes from WIki
Criticism of business practices
Kinkade's company, Media Arts Group Inc., has been accused of unfair dealings with owners of Thomas Kinkade Signature Gallery franchises. In 2006, an arbitration board awarded Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello $860,000 in damages and $1.2 million in fees and expenses due to Kinkade's company "[failing] to disclose material information" that would have discouraged them from investing in the gallery. The award was later increased to $2.8 million with interest and legal fees. The plaintiffs and other former gallery owners have also leveled accusations of being pressured to open additional galleries that were not financially viable, being forced to take on expensive, unsalable inventory, and being undercut by discount outlets whose prices they were not allowed to match.
Kinkade denied the accusations and Media Arts Group successfully defended itself in previous suits by other former gallery owners. Kinkade himself was not singled out in the finding of fraud by the arbitration board.
In August 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that the FBI was investigating these issues, with agents from offices across the country conducting interviews.
Former gallery dealers also charged that Kinkade uses Christianity as a tool to take advantage of people. "They really knew how to bait the hook," said one ex-dealer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They certainly used the Christian hook." One former dealer's lawyer stated "Most of my clients got involved with Kinkade because it was presented as a religious opportunity. Being defrauded is awful enough, but doing it in the name of God is really despicable."[26] On June 2, 2010, Pacific Metro, the artist's production company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one day after defaulting on a $1 million court imposed payment to the aforementioned Karen Hazlewood and Jeffrey Spinello. A $500,000 payment had previously been disbursed.
Disturbing Personal Conduct
During the years 1997 through 2005, court documents show at least 350 independently owned Kinkade franchises at its peak. By May 2005, that number had more than halved. Kinkade received $50 million during this period. An initial cash investment of $80,000 to $150,000 is listed as a startup cost for franchisees.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that some of Kinkade's former colleagues, employees, and even collectors of his work say that he has a long history of cursing and heckling other artists and performers. The Times further reported that he openly groped a woman's breasts at a South Bend, Indiana sales event, and mentioned his proclivity for ritual territory marking through urination, once relieving himself on a Winnie the Pooh figure at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim while saying "This one's for you, Walt." In a letter to licensed gallery owners acknowledging he may have behaved badly during a stressful time when he overindulged in food and drink, Kinkade said accounts of the alcohol-related incidents included "exaggerated, and in some cases outright fabricated personal accusations." The letter did not address any incident specifically.
In 2006 John Dandois, Media Arts Group executive, recounted a story that on one occasion ("about six years ago") Kinkade became drunk at a Siegfried & Roy magic show in Las Vegas and began shouting "Codpiece! Codpiece!" at the performers. Eventually he was calmed by his mother. Dandois also said of Kinkade, "Thom would be fine, he would be drinking, and then all of a sudden, you couldn't tell where the boundary was, and then he became very incoherent, and he would start cursing and doing a lot of weird stuff like touching himself." In June 2010, Kinkade was arrested in Carmel, California for driving while under the influence of alcohol and received a DUI.
-
misterwhisper
- Art Expert
- Posts: 2196
- Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 2:56 am
Author/journalist Susan Orlean's New Yorker article on Kinkade from about a decade ago is below. My favorite quote from it, in regards to the unanimous condemnation of his work by museums, galleries, and critics:
"He is so self-assured that he predicts it's just a matter of time before the art world comes around to appreciating him. In fact, he bet me a million dollars that a major museum will hold a Thomas Kinkade retrospective in his lifetime."
Sounds like someone owes Susan Orleans a million bucks.
http://www.susanorlean.com/articles/art ... ybody.html
"He is so self-assured that he predicts it's just a matter of time before the art world comes around to appreciating him. In fact, he bet me a million dollars that a major museum will hold a Thomas Kinkade retrospective in his lifetime."
Sounds like someone owes Susan Orleans a million bucks.
http://www.susanorlean.com/articles/art ... ybody.html
He will be missed.
no comment ®
I felt like one of the fratelli brothers listening to Chunk tell all the bad things he did while I read that article.
I'm starting to like this kid.
I'm starting to like this kid.
X5 Hodor 
-
vtswordfish
- Art Expert
- Posts: 1449
- Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 10:36 am
Ehhhh...don't most artists sell-out at some point? Just saying. His stuff didn't work for me, but my parents have at least a couple of his pieces in the house, and they are pretty cool, I don't see him as a 'museum' kind of artist by any means though. As far as his business practices, sounds pretty scummy, but business is business.
-
mgwashburn
- Art Connoisseur
- Posts: 365
- Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:04 am
If you miss him so much, go to Ebay, there are now over 10,000 of his reproductions available...many bought by lemmings that thought they could flip a giclee for $2,000 or more...itsdug wrote:He will be missed.
problem is, many of his limited editions were limited to 10,000 prints and more aren't even signed by the artist.
He was a hack and a joke in the art community. IMHO, he was a great marketer and should be honored for that and not his crappy paintings.
I own around 25 pieces of his work. Pure genius if you ask me.
no comment ®
Oh
no comment ®
-
mgwashburn
- Art Connoisseur
- Posts: 365
- Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 9:04 am
My Apologies, I really don't know what to say here... 
God Bless
no comment ®