EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Sorry, I thought I was entitled to my artistic preferences just like everyone else.
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News Tiana's Bayou Adventure - latest details and construction progress
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
_caleb
Well-Known Member
You are! I’m always pleased when people appreciate art of any kind.
I was making a joke because French Impressionism was initially derided as being “not real art” compared to traditional styles. But that was in the 1860s. Since then, a great many people have come to love Monet, Manet, Renroir, etc.
Parker in NYC
Well-Known Member
Better have that shoe ready.
EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Thank you. I didn't know you were making a joke. People are generally so sensitive of any criticism of this layover of Splash Mountain, I thought you were offended. My apologies.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
12 month marination might just do it
_caleb
Well-Known Member
No, my fault for not making it clearer. I agree many are sensitive about this one.
Disgruntled Walt
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Ok sure, then it was about the intentional painting of the mural! My point is, TheCoasterNerd's policing of the thread being on topic is unnecessary.
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
Doing a press release about bringing the artist in that they found in New Orleans, having her design some concept art and murals, I would say this detail does matter... they obviously thought it was important enough for us to know her name and where she was from... My beef is not with the artist...she was hired to create this mural... but why was money ( and we are always reminded about the dwindling budgets for almost every new thing they do) spent on this detail that really does not fit stylistically to the time period, and does nothing to advance the storyline?
and odd they would hire an known artist to create a mural that would look like it was painted by amateur workers in the Foods Factory...
and odd they would hire an known artist to create a mural that would look like it was painted by amateur workers in the Foods Factory...
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
Because they want you to know this ride represents New Orleans and that they doing their homework to bring in New Orleans artists, blacksmith workers, and musicians to create this ride. Everything they have told us about this ride so far is about their painstaking steps to celebrate New Orleans culture. Modern Disney is less concerned with “we are building a fun ride” and more focused on “are we being truthful in our art while also being sensitive to various cultures, ethnicities, and communities”.
I want details as much as the next person. I also want this ride to be fun. But I have always respected Disney’s attempt at realism in their art.
Bocabear
Well-Known Member
but they are also representing a story set in a particular time... If they were doing a ride based on the Dutch settlers in 18th century New York, going to modern day Manhattan and choosing a contemporary urban artist to do a graffiti mural would not be place-setting for an attraction taking place several hundred years ago...
Hiring an artist from New Orleans with a very specific current-day style does not mean that it helps tell the story set a hundred years ago in that location...
Hiring an artist from New Orleans with a very specific current-day style does not mean that it helps tell the story set a hundred years ago in that location...
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
I ask this in sincerity- can anyone provide examples of period-appropriate artwork that might have inspired this mural? The criticism that the painting is completely anachronistic seems strong - it doesn’t FEEL appropriate, which in theme park terms is the most important thing - but I’m not an art historian.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure how much (if at all) it will address your question, but I posted this upthread:
It seems to me that the murals are trying to evoke the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance:
THE VISUAL MUSIC OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE - Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.artsandculture.google.com
It feels off by a decade or so but is not, as some have suggested, locating us in the contemporary moment. The bigger issue than whether it belongs to the 1920s or a slightly later moment in art history is that it doesn't really jibe with the aesthetics of The Princess and Frog itself. That said, perhaps the finished product will look appealing enough that this won't matter.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
The Harlem Renaissance would make some sense (although not entirely), but the mural really doesn’t evoke any of the relevant artwork I can find or with which I was familiar. The mural feels very 60s/70s to me.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
The mural seems very consistent with the usual style of the artist, Malaika Favorite, and I don't think she herself is trying to evoke any specific historical moment. If there is any attempted evocation of the Harlem Renaissance at play (and I'm less convinced by the idea than when I first posted about it), it is coming from the Imagineers' decision to select her as the artist.
My sense now is that the mural isn't really meant to be rooted in, or conjure up, the period in which the ride is set. Rather, it is meant to encapsulate the feel of the attraction, much as Splash Mountain's equally anachronistic sign used to:
The mural, of course, is much more extensive than the sign, and so presents a bigger disturbance to the theming. I'm OK with it based on what we've seen so far, but I can see why it's a controversial move.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
The sign was consistent with broader Magic Kingdom sign conventions even if it was incongruous if we took Splash as literal (and not “theme park”) reality. The issue with the mural is that it doesn’t really fit from any particular perspective.The mural seems very consistent with the usual style of the artist, Malaika Favorite, and I don't think she herself is trying to evoke any specific historical moment. If there is any attempted evocation of the Harlem Renaissance at play (and I'm less convinced by the idea than when I first posted about it), it is coming from the Imagineers' decision to select her as the artist.
My sense now is that the mural isn't really meant to be rooted in, or conjure up, the period in which the ride is set. Rather, it is meant to encapsulate the feel of the attraction, much as Splash Mountain's equally anachronistic sign used to:
The mural, of course, is much more extensive than the sign, and so presents a bigger disturbance to the theming. I'm OK with it based on what we've seen so far, but I can see why it's a controversial move.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I agree with your first sentence; I'm less sure of my position as regards the second. I feel I need to experience the attraction first before deciding whether the mural is an appropriate visual announcement of it. It's tucked away enough (from my perspective) that I don't think it'll introduce any real visual/stylistic discord into Frontierland as a whole.
Ayla
Well-Known Member
It all depends on how confident they are in the timeline of finishing by a certain date.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
I did do some digging into this as I was curious. There was the New Orleans Renaissance going on in the 1920s and then more broadly in the first half of the 20th century there was the Southern Modern movement which did create art that feels similar to that - though I will say most examples I found that seemed similar were more from the 1930s and 40s
For example, this is from 1941
So it feels more inspired by what was starting to go on in that time, but not yet typical (which feels similar to the rest of the cenpts for the ride which are a bit ahead of their time/not common but also not totally outlandish)