Selling 'The Scream'

From the very first time I saw that painting depicted in a book, I knew what he meant. I can only imagine what people that have that kind of pain feel, Migraines,for example, or extreme depression, or just terror in the form of any phobia....it is what I feel kile after the fourth commercial if I can't reach the mute button.....and sometimes even the first commercial if it has been on too many times.....tmi?

AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAH, HAHa! Oooh,that feels better.

Huh?

I would rather have the earmuffs.

The Primal Scream (Janov, 1970) - a therapy for psychosis briefly popular in the 1970's, since fallen out of favour.

I do like this pastel.  Can't say I ever saw it before.  "Tis a shame that he has to sell it to fund a Munch museum.  That's a bit like selling your peanut butter to make a PB & J.

Yesterday's topic: The obscure.

Today's topic: The absurd.

Today's topic is a good addition to a favorite cocktail party or family reunion game of mine which is Name 3 Famous Things About Norway (not Scandanavia, just Norway).

Along the lines of yesterday's topic I am sure that many Americans would instantly recognize the name Munch as a tv detective rather than an artist although they have probably would recognnize it visually.

There is something so creepy about art prices. We are talking about $80million dollars for a painting while sometimes I have trouble paying for my meds. Robin Williams used to say "Cocaine is God's way of saying you have too much money" but I think it can apply to art as well.

I agree.  I love some art, but why the obscene prices??  MILLIONS of dollars?  Really?  Is it truly worth that?   What if that type of cash was put towards the homeless, or third world countries?  Would not this be a better investment than in a painting?  The national debt here in the U.S. is growing daily.  What if everyone put their resources towards that before our nation collapses. Art is wondeful.  I love standing before an authentic Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Rodin, and others, but is it worth that type of cash when so much else is wrong in the world? 

I have been to Norway twice. I remember (1) brightly painted houses and barns in hues of yellow, red or purple.  (2) Whaleburgers.  (3) The Trondheim Cathedral.  None of these are uniquely Norwegian and none are famous. There was a contingent of my business associates (customers and employees) in Norway at the time of the last theft of The Scream.  Until the crime was solved, I had my own list of suspects.  So, ChefDeb, how long can that game last? and how do you make a distiction between the munchies and the monkees?

Upscale art prices are directly related to the need of billionares to "one-up" each other. Luckily museums keep much great art out of their reach. The same phenomenon takes place in the pricey world of other collectibles. In the world of rare vintage automobiles, there comes a point when there no longer exists any rational relationship between the auction price of some vehicles and the worth of the car itself. I sometimes wonder how many lives could be saved in medicine, should the proceeds of the Pebble Beach Collector Car Auction be applied to cancer research.....

One can only hope that those who purchase these pieces for so many Millions are also giving a like amount for medical research but perhaps not so. 

PAOLOS.........................whaleburgers?????? I am doing my own silent scream..........................................................
 
CHEFD............................I'm not a big Robin Williams fan, but that is a great quote. I'm torn between making Bunny Bread french toast or BB grilled cheese. HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.............................................................
 
SPRINGR..........................the money would be gone in a hot second.............................

PAOLOS That game has lasted for 30 years. And I would like to say one would sincerely need to have the munchies to listen to the Monkees.

Anyone offended by my Norwegian game let me assure you my name ends in "en"

I applaud you all ....... Each and every one of you who has mentioned the ridiculum of Collectible/Artistic Pricing, and the better uses, ... sanely, intelligent, morally reasonable, Godly uses of such Money .......  GOOD  ON  YOU  ALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And all others who will join you in thought and Heart, later in the Day .......
 
BERT:  You are a Fine Fellow ... All the Best Be On Your Head .......
Cancer has been curable, along with other, "Incurable Diseases/Conditions" for over a century ... But Cancer, like Cocaine, is a One Hundred Billion Dollar a Year   Business ... Why in Hell would we ever want to cure it ???  Especially when it comes with amenities like, Population Control, ... being a scare tactic to help control the Rubes ... Americans have never been able to be happy without something to be afraid of ...  First it was the Hun, then it was the Yellow Horde, then it was the Hun again, and a few more little yellow people, then it was Tuberculosis, then it was Syphillis, Polio, Herpes, then Cancer, then AIDS, then Ebola then another Yellow Horde(this time w/o Fortune Cookies or Laundry) then Diabetes, then Arabs, NOW Arabs, and all other things that are Islam ...  on and on it goes ... The Adult version of whistling past the Graveyard ... Monsters under the Bed ... Zombies in the closet (In the manner of Whistling past ... we even made fun of the whole thing with Mrs. Rosepettle and the Lunatic Asylum that travelled with her ...
 
I am not saying that some of the threats perceived are not horrendously real, and deserving complete eradication, which would free up energies with which to conjure up more Boogie Men (READ  Causes )(Real or Imagined) ... Some people have a condition of the mind called, PARADOLIA , which means that they are able to see Patterns that exist in the Universe, a matter of Physics and the recognition of Energy Placement ....... Some people have a condition of the mind called, APOPHENIA , which means that they perceive patterns where none exist , like seeing "Tells" in an Electronic Poker Game or Eight Line Game (Both of which are operated by an Algorithm and have no Tells, but can only be anticipated if the Operator of the Machine knows the exact integers of the Original Algorithm, or he has the mental capability to work a known sequence backwards, to arrive at the Original ... Apophenia is a Mental Aberration that renders those who suffer it, anywhere from Criminally Stupid to Charles Manson Dangerous ... and then there are those who suffer neither mental condition, and are content to spend their lives working at Burger Doodle, watching the real world go by, and they are the easiest to Control, because Self Preservation is dulled in their psyche, by all the pablum they have been force-fed by "The Force" and the ubiquitous "THEY" .......
 
Consider it Bert, beFORE you Pooh Pooh the idea ... Give it the Two Prong Test .......

I think The Scream says it all. It denotes my first ride on a roller coaster or to a haunted house. Real life as art suits me fine. Like Larson's The Howl and a screaming Homer Simpson. I suppose people should spend their money any way they choose as I long as I am not supposed to be impressed. As Indy says it belongs in a museum. And as he was told you belong in a museum Dr. Jones. I prefer a jazz bar with a great sideman blowing a horn and my babe whispering not screaming something real nice as I sip a mimosa. Maybe telling me where those letters of transit are hidden? I do like a primal scream as I perform a pre-luau pee in my backyard, after dark of course. I am discrete.

TOMMY ... You crack me up !!!

Back in the land of the living! We have had a big storm today with the wind blowing trees down over the power cables. Doubtless the crews out fixing the mess were delighted - double money on Sunday! The place is just starting to get warm again. What a boring day, no power, no heat, no TV, no radio, no 'phone, foul weather. I could scream.
I first met that picture (a reproduction in an Art Magazine) when I was an angst-ridden teenager and instantly fell in love with it. Apart from anything else, it gave me hope, I aspired at the time, to be an artist and while I knew I could never draw like Leonardo Da Vici, I thought I could do a passable Munch. The price of Art, Antiques, Collectible cars !!!! Who are we to tell the very rich how to spend their money? Being 'nice' has always kept me poor in cash but rich in friends.
 
 

Haze - are you not more the richer for being poor in cash and rich in friends!!  I have always felt that it is better that way.

Ivan- you are the supreme master of the tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I am very experienced at being not poor, but being without much money...

I have always been rich, and just as often broke....what fun!

Hazel - So sorry for your weather woes! Hope all is fixed soon and the wind behaves more mannerly for you. (USA has had its share of tornadoes this year, and some hit close to us, but so far so good. However, we do lose power in little glitches several times a month...a rural coop...."mice not pedaling fast enough"......It is irritating to have to reset some clocks so often, but then, we ARE fortunate to have electricity for our conveniences.

On the SCREAM painting topic: Not impressed. Anyone who pays that kind of money for a picture is nuts in my book, or as said above, has too much wealth. I cannot relate. When people are struggling to pay ordinary bills, feed their children, and hang on to keep their homes, it seems beyond gratuitous to be buying and selling some guy's old art work ("some guy" being Picasso, Monet, or Munch!!) for such an exaggerated sum!

I am thinking of that amount $$$$$ putting in wells in Africa (insert your favorite third world country) for the people who have no clean drinking water, or providing immunizations for those children who are dying of preventable diseases!! Sorry, I went all "bleeding heart" there for a minute! To the subject, I can relate in memory as my mother had migraines, and I think I saw that grimace on her face many times. Thank God ....seriously, I do .... in my prayers daily....I did not inherit her malady and have never had more than 2-3 headaches in my life.

Scream.....when you see dogs and cats being mistreated....Scream.... when you see children being abused.....Scream....when you see families eating out and all texting or cell phoning but not talking to each other....But, not to ruin my day by having to look at a painting like that on my wall every day...and in seeing it, think about the horrors
/atrocities/injustices/terroristic acts/inhumanitities of Man. No, no thanks, they can keep The Scream by Eddy Munch. 80 cents, 80 bucks, or 80 M. No.

"Not enough candy for a nickel."

"I scream.  You scream.  We all scream for ice cream!"   And that painting was, I'm positive, inspired by an ice cream headache.  Oh! the agony of the pain from gobbling the too too cold treat.....followed by the sweet melting in and coating the mouth--inciting and urging us to consume even more and even faster.                                  Stay safe, Hazel.  I've been seeing pix and reading stories and I hope you are snuggly secure in your cottage.

There was a Dr Who episode where the baddies  looked like that scream face. It was a good story, didn't see the end coming, and I was transfixed. I don't watch TVee much, but Dr Who is worth watching, and if you see a repeat, you will see things you missed first time around.

Hey ho~ the electric went off again, plunging me into total darkness. Haappily, I knew exactly where my trusty wind up torch was, found some candles and a nice oil lamp that actually had fuel in it. Very pleasant, a quiet evening. So I was just dozing off and glare blare bleep bleep the power is back. What's the first thing I do? Reset the internet connection. Just in time to say Nos Da. x

Hazel~ that's what friends are for....if you're scared, we're here with ya....I'll whistle so you can find me in the dark....my power just flashed off,too....how funny is that?

Ivan ~ Interesting that a cure for, versus the money made from, cancer should come up in this conversation.  This is the third time this week that people, educated people, have mentioned this same thought.  Sad isn't it?  Sad to even think that a cure could be had for, but too much money is being made from the diseases(s).  Sad that we live in a society where this could be true.