Visiting The Museum of Bad Art Inside a Bar

^{Recently, I visited The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), which is located inside of a bar…and for good reason.}

^{My friend was driving so she couldn’t drink. So I drank for her, in honor of, for example, original artwork misused to make, um, less than faithful copies.}

1. The Imitators

^{The Bar Mitzvah, L. Horvath, 1988, oil on canvas. Inspired by Rembrandt’s Belshazzar’s Feast. I think the first mistake was trying to copy Rembrandt.}

Belshazzar's Feast c. 1635–1638

^{Guess which one of these two is not the original 1882 painting by John Singer Sargent titled}^{The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.}^:)

^{(I took a sip of my beer.)}

^{Imitations also came in the form of religious portraits.}

2. The Sacrilege

^{Not sure why Mary’s pinky looks like it’s about to fall off, or why the Baby Jesus has a paw, or if the robe’s sleeve is also his swaddling clothes, but there you have it. :) Madonna and Child, A. Fontaine, 1999, oil on canvas.}

^{I prefer my own titles for the above and below paintings: “Christ with Cats” and “Robot Pope”, but they're respectively named Byzantine Cats (Christina, 1968, acrylic on artboard) and Ill Papa (Anonymous, 2011, acrylic and ink on canvas).}

3. I’m not voting for that

^{Just when I thought I’d seen enough, I caught sight of Obama in what seems to be a compromising position with a patriotic unicorn.}

^{President Obama and Unicorn, Dan Lacey, 2024, oil on canvas.}^|^{If the nudity and unicorn didn’t disturb you enough, you have to ask why is there a coconut drink with an umbrella by Mr. Obama’s leg? Is that a volcano up ahead? What kind of nightmare honeymoon island is this??}

^{Note what looks like rum being poured onto a hoof and a backside.}

^{Bottoms up…in more ways than one.}

^{(I took a swig of my beer.)}

^{Other politically themed portraits:}

^{The Clintons and the Gores, Jan Robby, 1993, oil on canvas.}

^{George and Jackie, Dr. Yadviga Doumont Halsey, 2017, acrylic on masonite.}

^{And still, I say, if a piece of art makes you pause and wonder and admire, then it’s doing its job.}

^{I thought a few pieces at The MOBA were actually pretty cool, which is a reminder of how what’s considered “good art” or “bad art” is subject to the tastes and beliefs of the viewer.}

^❤️

^{What doesn’t work for me (like the presidential portraits above) might speak to someone else, and if they do, then that’s some good art.}

Nice Bluish Man, Anonymous, 2008, oil on canvas. ❤️

The Musem of "Bad" Art

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