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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
 Posted - 10/11/2007 : 14:46:32
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I almost titled this If you ain't rich, you're not so damn smart! But common sense, a virtue that I have very little of, prevailed. I really don't want enter a firestorm before I've filled the extinguishers. So let's just go with Money can buy almost Anything. Now naturally we have to exclude things that don't exist. Let's leave it at that, for now!
[Edited to remove code from title - Dave W.]
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 10/11/2007 : 15:39:43 [Permalink]
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Mmm-kay, so what will money not buy and so qualify the "almost?"
Well it won't buy truth from psyhics & mediums, indeed quite the contrary. Or does that qualify as non-existent? 
It won't buy me a steamy weekend of sex, drugs & crimes against nature with certain, famous, hot, white jailbait -- at least not at this point.
It won't buy a cure for symtomatic rabies.
It won't buy humor from Carrot Top nor honesty from Ann Coulter.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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furshur
SFN Regular
USA
1536 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2007 : 17:59:19 [Permalink]
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Money can't buy happiness. But if you are already happy money can buy some neat stuff, to play with.
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If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know. |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 00:21:18 [Permalink]
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Slightly Soiled.....
Good to hear your gravelly voice again. Bunch of wusses over there next door!
Mmm-kay, so what will money not buy and so qualify the "almost?"
Well it won't buy truth from psyhics & mediums, indeed quite the contrary. Or does that qualify as non-existent?
It won't buy me a steamy weekend of sex, drugs & crimes against nature with certain, famous, hot, white jailbait -- at least not at this point.
It won't buy a cure for symtomatic rabies.
It won't buy humor from Carrot Top nor honesty from Ann Coulter.
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So, let's take them one at a time. Remember, hypothetically. we have access to unlimited funds. Money, in the largest sense!
Truth from psychics and mediums.
This is neither the time or place to get into - What Is Truth? I've had my ass whupped a couple of times on that one!
However, show me one of these frauds (like Sylvia) that wouldn't accept an offer of five or ten times as much as they make in a year, (millions), to confess their chicanery on national television (Montel) and tell the truth about their phony act. Bear in mind, none of the problems you pose are going to be solved cheap! But all of those fakers are just in it for the money. They won't get it from Randi because they can't really perform. But they are crooks, and would certainly betray their persona for enough dough.
Re: your fantasy weekend.
This is gonna cost a lot! It would involve providing large amounts of money to parents (you did say jailbait, didn't you), handlers, managers, publicity agents, and cops. Also lawyers to get you out of jail, and judges to get you off the hook.
High price, but what a weekend! Osama would be envious, although I think he is preaching about the virtues (ouch) of the real product!
It would probably take a private eye to completely pre-investigate the young lady's sexual history, before you made your move. If she was typical Hollywood, and anywhere near the age of consent (12+), with your millions you would have no trouble impressing her.
Now, with respect to a "steamy weekend" and "at least not at this point", I don't know what fogs your log. I hope you're not implying a need for aphrodisiacs (cheap) or exotic surgery (not cheap). In any event, either of these would require pocket change as compared to the political expenses mentioned above.
Next, I must address the doggone question of symptomatic rabies.
You are a sly old raccoon, and you have come dangerously close to forcing me to remind you of the "almost" in my subject title. Fortunately, you have phrased your answer as "it won't buy a cure for symptomatic rabies". As you undoubtedly know from Wiki, 99% of all rabies deaths are in third world countries. As evidenced by my lead to this paragraph, rabies is practically non-existent in the US. Don't you think that, if we spent as much or more on a rabies cure as we do on cancer cures, that we could solve the problem quickly? There is no need to do that here in the USA. Unfortunately, Africa and India don't have the money!
I'm sure glad you didn't say "it won't save the life of someone with symptomatic rabies", or I might have lost this round.
With respect to Carrot Top.
He is the comedian of choice for the Republican Party. But as that percentage of the electorate sinks below 30% (thank Thor), I can hardly dispute your point by stating that he already is funny to a majority of intelligent folks, being as Republicans are neither.
I would pay for an x-ray of his skull, and, if an image of any contents showed up, I would proceed to pay Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to apprentice him for a year or two and then turn him loose on the New America that will exist then.
Cheney (god..Zeus forbid his tiny, black heart would still be beating) and Rumsfeld would not appreciate his humor, but the New Democrat-cy would probably laugh at him - one way or another. Only in this convoluted way could humor be wrung out of Carrot Top, and Colbert would demand a fortune!
Finally, Ann Coulter.
I think she is the prototypical political prostitute - even beyond Dennis Miller, whom Dave W. and I have discussed as being an insulting comparison to Benedict Arnold! I would wager a large sum that Miller was bought off by the neocons for not much more than a million! And Coulter? Whatever she makes as a paid christian shill for Bush and company; now, that times they are a changin' - now she would be delighted to accept the same, or even less, to instantly transmorph into a raging liberal. Granted, that would be an ethically repugnant act on her part, but she could then be paid to tell the truth. Kind of depending on who we get to replace Georgius Caesar!
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 04:53:05 [Permalink]
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Truth from psychics and mediums.
This is neither the time or place to get into - What Is Truth? I've had my ass whupped a couple of times on that one!
However, show me one of these frauds (like Sylvia) that wouldn't accept an offer of five or ten times as much as they make in a year, (millions), to confess their chicanery on national television (Montel) and tell the truth about their phony act. Bear in mind, none of the problems you pose are going to be solved cheap! But all of those fakers are just in it for the money. They won't get it from Randi because they can't really perform. But they are crooks, and would certainly betray their persona for enough dough. |
Indeed they would accept the cash; it's the nature of the beast. But once a thief, always a thief and they steal every day. They're habitual and they'd soon be using the bread to set up another scam because there's not enough money in existance to satisfy them.
Re: your fantasy weekend.
This is gonna cost a lot! It would involve providing large amounts of money to parents (you did say jailbait, didn't you), handlers, managers, publicity agents, and cops. Also lawyers to get you out of jail, and judges to get you off the hook.
High price, but what a weekend! Osama would be envious, although I think he is preaching about the virtues (ouch) of the real product!
It would probably take a private eye to completely pre-investigate the young lady's sexual history, before you made your move. If she was typical Hollywood, and anywhere near the age of consent (12+), with your millions you would have no trouble impressing her.
Now, with respect to a "steamy weekend" and "at least not at this point", I don't know what fogs your log. I hope you're not implying a need for aphrodisiacs (cheap) or exotic surgery (not cheap). In any event, either of these would require pocket change as compared to the political expenses mentioned above.
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"Not at this point," refers to the possibility of high-class prostitution sometime down the road, as her stage career ends and her money is either squanderded or ripped off.
And it wouldn't be her I'd have to convince, but her parents. If they are anything like me, it could get me shot.
Next, I must address the doggone question of symptomatic rabies.
You are a sly old raccoon, and you have come dangerously close to forcing me to remind you of the "almost" in my subject title. Fortunately, you have phrased your answer as "it won't buy a cure for symptomatic rabies". As you undoubtedly know from Wiki, 99% of all rabies deaths are in third world countries. As evidenced by my lead to this paragraph, rabies is practically non-existent in the US. Don't you think that, if we spent as much or more on a rabies cure as we do on cancer cures, that we could solve the problem quickly? There is no need to do that here in the USA. Unfortunately, Africa and India don't have the money!
I'm sure glad you didn't say "it won't save the life of someone with symptomatic rabies", or I might have lost this round.
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Rabies is very common in the US. I do wildlife rescue and rehab, and in the last five years I have euthanized three rabid animals, a raccoon and two grey foxes, much to the distress of those who called me.
The reason there are virtually no deaths in the US & Europe is that treatment is readily at hand. This is not so in third world countries, and the same holds true for snakebite.
With respect to Carrot Top.
He is the comedian of choice for the Republican Party. But as that percentage of the electorate sinks below 30% (thank Thor), I can hardly dispute your point by stating that he already is funny to a majority of intelligent folks, being as Republicans are neither.
I would pay for an x-ray of his skull, and, if an image of any contents showed up, I would proceed to pay Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to apprentice him for a year or two and then turn him loose on the New America that will exist then.
Cheney (god..Zeus forbid his tiny, black heart would still be beating) and Rumsfeld would not appreciate his humor, but the New Democrat-cy would probably laugh at him - one way or another. Only in this convoluted way could humor be wrung out of Carrot Top, and Colbert would demand a fortune!
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"Funny" and humor are not necessarily the same thing. It is funny to see someone fall flat on his face in the hog sty, but not particularly humorous.
Finally, Ann Coulter.
I think she is the prototypical political prostitute - even beyond Dennis Miller, whom Dave W. and I have discussed as being an insulting comparison to Benedict Arnold! I would wager a large sum that Miller was bought off by the neocons for not much more than a million! And Coulter? Whatever she makes as a paid christian shill for Bush and company; now, that times they are a changin' - now she would be delighted to accept the same, or even less, to instantly transmorph into a raging liberal. Granted, that would be an ethically repugnant act on her part, but she could then be paid to tell the truth. Kind of depending on who we get to replace Georgius Caesar!
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Ah yes, dear Annie. In another thread, 'mooner and I briefly tossed around the idea that she might be an addict, concievably to cocaine. We came to this tentitive conclusion because more and more she looks like a poisoned corpse, and with snowbirds & other species of junkie, all bets are off.
She lies now in the service of Christians and conservative Republicans; and would continue lying even if she went to the left of the late Marx, Karl that is, not Groucho -- who, if my info is correct, was pretty much a lefty himself. In her case, money is not important; she already has more than she can spend. I think she's having fun playing the ugly, clown philospher. Again, it's the nature of the beast.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 17:57:23 [Permalink]
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Filthy.....
| Indeed they would accept the cash; it's the nature of the beast. But once a thief, always a thief and they steal every day. They're habitual and they'd soon be using the bread to set up another scam because there's not enough money in existance to satisfy them |
But you admit they could be bribed to tell the truth once. Enough money and the right contract and it would be their final public statement!
"Not at this point," refers to the possibility of high-class prostitution sometime down the road, as her stage career ends and her money is either squanderded or ripped off.
And it wouldn't be her I'd have to convince, but her parents. If they are anything like me, it could get me shot. |
Would she still be jailbait by then? And you paid for Primetime!
Yeah, I mentioned paying off a lot of Criminal Justice types. You'll probably need body armor too, but don't wear it in bed.
| Rabies is very common in the US. I do wildlife rescue and rehab, and in the last five years I have euthanized three rabid animals, a raccoon and two grey foxes, much to the distress of those who called me. |
Wiki says otherwise, but I'll take the word of a Filthy outdoorsman.
| "Funny" and humor are not necessarily the same thing. It is funny to see someone fall flat on his face in the hog sty, but not particularly humorous. |
Good point. CT is probably too stupid to recognize a $100 bill. Hard to bribe those.
| In her case, money is not important; she already has more than she can spend. |
I'm sorry, Filthy. Nobody in the history of exchange media has ever had more money than they can spend. Maybe more than they know how to spend, but not more than can be spent. This is part and parcel of my contention in the title of this thread. If a person has imagination and creativity, it would be possible to spend trillions and trillions.(sorry, Carl) Usefully. Far better than our esteemed US Government does! |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 19:05:38 [Permalink]
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But you admit they could be bribed to tell the truth once. Enough money and the right contract and it would be their final public statement!
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Ah, but is not accepting a bribe and being solely influenced by it a lie in itself?
Would she still be jailbait by then? And you paid for Primetime!
Yeah, I mentioned paying off a lot of Criminal Justice types. You'll probably need body armor too, but don't wear it in bed.
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By the time she reached the hooker stage of her show biz evolution, I'd have long since lost interest. Greener pastures, and all that.
Wiki says otherwise, but I'll take the word of a Filthy outdoorsman.
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Looked at in comparison to third world countries, Wiki is correct. We don't have nearly as much of the problem. But rabies infections in animals is still not rare and even human infections happen now & again. We have had such an infection here in NC this year. Fox bite.
We are well equipped to handle them, though. I don't recall hearing of a death from rabies since the '70s. That doesn't mean that there haven't been any, of course.
Good point. CT is probably too stupid to recognize a $100 bill. Hard to bribe those.
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'Deed it is, but then, really, who would want to?
| I'm sorry, Filthy. Nobody in the history of exchange media has ever had more money than they can spend. Maybe more than they know how to spend, but not more than can be spent. This is part and parcel of my contention in the title of this thread. If a person has imagination and creativity, it would be possible to spend trillions and trillions.(sorry, Carl) Usefully. Far better than our esteemed US Government does! |
Perhaps I was a bit fulsome on the spending part. And of course, if she's a long-term coke-addict as 'mooner and I speculated, then, as stated earlier, all bets are off.
Coulter has quite an active imagination, albeit seemingly stuck on a single track. I suppose she could blow the roll by buying beach-front property in Arizona on the speculation that the San Andrias Fault will give the state some, or investing in Pat Robertson's Nigerian gold mine. But it's a funny thing; for no good reason, I get the feeling that she's pretty close with the pocketbook.
I'll give you Coulter. She's dishonest enough to go along with it.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2007 : 19:36:05 [Permalink]
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Gotta 'nother'n: It won't get J.K. Rowling to write an eight Harry Potter. She's richer'n God, and good and sick of Harry after those seven long ones, and she's still involved in the movie productions. She also seems to be honest.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2007 : 11:16:32 [Permalink]
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Dave......
You damn near clobbered me out of the ballpark with that one!
Sometimes I hate it when you come around.
But, of course, Filthy has the right idea. I would only accept an astronomical price (many millions, as a few wouldn't interest me).
If you didn't offer the really high price, I would preserve what's left of my integrity and nobly refuse, with much fanfare. If you did offer a hundred million or more, I would contractually accept the deal with the devil, with stipulation that it all be kept hush-hush, vote for a Republican, and immediately donate all (well, maybe most) to the Democratic Party. As everyone knows, one vote is meaningless in a practical sense. But seventy five million dollars might buy enough votes in some backward states to clean these GOP bastards out!
So, in a personal sense, money as long as it is enough money, could buy my vote. I suspect millions could buy most peoples votea!
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2007 : 11:21:49 [Permalink]
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Furshur.....
I must go up in the hills today to view the foliage, so I'll be back at you tonight. |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2007 : 11:45:06 [Permalink]
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I did register as a republican many years ago to vote against Nixon in the republican primary election in California. That was a freebee and it didn't work.
I live in a blue state, so I'm with Bill on this. I would gladly sell my vote and use the money to mess them up in other ways. After all, I did it for free, once before. I'm a cheap date…
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
 Posted - 10/13/2007 : 12:00:06 [Permalink]
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Ooppps! My bad. I think I accidentally deleted the last post by furshur. I had a double posting and I didn't know anyone had posted above mine before I hit delete.
Sorry. If I had a way to retrieve it, I would….
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2007 : 00:40:17 [Permalink]
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Furshur.....
As promised, I return from a day of awesome autumnal awareness to take issue with your thesis that money cannot buy happiness!
Happiness, of course, is purely subjective and is an entirely different experience for each individual. But a great deal of what humans actually display as symptoms of happiness is dependent on very material achievements such as new possessions, acquisition of various forms of power, recognition of achievement in endeavors that can be greatly facilitated by large amounts of money (politics, academic degrees, etc.), corrections of health conditions which can only be achieved by large expenditures within the very expensive healthcare system, receipt of wage raises (more money!), and many more specifics that I could mention along the same lines!
Obviously, the list is not exhaustive, nor can it be. The happiness generated by a spontaneous, unexpected happy event can not be bought in advance. More frequently than not, however, the condition making such an event possible is created by a favorable financial circumstance.
The happiness attendant to Love can very probably be bought. With respect to males, it is an unfortunate fact that many (not most) females are willing to display all of the physical and personality traits misunderstood by a majority of males to be adoration, and ultimately surrender themselves in return for a high degree of financial security and access to many of the luxuries of the world. Perhaps this is not True Love. But what is? Whatever it is, it is rare. And I will wager that it has a price!
For women, it is probably more difficult to buy Love. They (as a class), if self-sufficient; tend to have higher standards than men. Eliminating the class of security-seeking ladies referred to above, women are really looking for more than it appears that money can buy in a man. Intelligence, humor, honesty, character, kindness, etc. etc. But their status as self sufficient (something beyond mere survival) increasingly puts them in a social position that provides exposure to this class of male that they wish as a mate. Again, money can provide circumstances much more favorable to a desired (happy) outcome than those that can be easily obtained without such wealth.
I have, by default, seemingly stated in the above paragraph that money cannot buy intelligence, humor, honesty, character, kindness, etc., etc. This would appear to be flatly contradictive to my premise. The point here is that the fortunate male who is attractive to the self-sufficient female, has already by one method or another purchased many or most of these qualities.
Each has to be argued on its' own merits. I am reasonably certain that someone in the forum will throw down the gauntlet on one or more of these sterling qualities asking for substantiation as to their being for sale. I think I am ready. There is a great deal more to be said about this topic.
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2007 : 07:06:50 [Permalink]
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While money can certainly help an artist achieve short-term fame by providing any kind of needed supplies, training, time for creating, exhibits at important galleries in NYC with crooked dealers willing to accept bribes, ads in big-name art magazines, and brochures. But, if one lacks the natural talent to engage with the art world dialogs (if one is aiming to fit their work into the context of conventional art history) and/or persistence to master a craft (if one desires to paint like Vermeer or DaVinci) no amount of money will solve their problem.
In the matter of being part of art history, rather than briefly achieving art world fame, the closest example I can think of of someone who bought their recognition is Jeff Koons:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons
Jeff Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania; as a teenager he revered Salvador Dalí, to the extent of visiting him at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. Koons attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Maryland Institute College of Art, and studied painting. After college he worked as a Wall Street commodities broker, whilst establishing himself as an artist. He gained recognition in the 1980s, and subsequently set up a factory-like studio in a SoHo loft on the corner of Houston and Broadway in New York. This had over 30 staff, each assigned to a different aspect of producing his work—in a similar mode to both Andy Warhol's Factory and many Renaissance artists.
Koons' early work was in the form of conceptual sculpture, one of the best-known being Three Ball 50/50 Tank, 1985, consisting of three basket balls floating in water, which half-fills a glass tank.
Koons carefully cultivated his public persona by employing an image consultant— something that at the time was unheard of for a contemporary artist. As an artwork in their own right Koons placed full page advertisements in the main international art magazine featuring photographs of himself surrounded by the trappings of success. During personal appearances and interviews Koons began to refer to himself in the third person. |
But we see that even in Koons case, the man was talented enough to attend school at the Chicago Institute of Art (top rated for decades), he was absorbed with art and art making his whole life, and a good deal of his success has been due to his creative marketing and charisma that comes from his own mind and personality, not just his wallet. Money can't buy charisma, creativity, and intelligence. Money can hire consultants to help with that, but it can't make the buyer smart enough to realize if their consultant is doing a good job.
(Edited to add: It should be noted that many critics today severely question the quality and significance of Koons's work. He has been considered a hack and a Warhole copycat. He's also been in litigation and lost for copyright infringement, and he no longer makes his own work, which many people don't respect. It is unclear how history will judge Koons, but I doubt he'll achieve the esteem of his idols, Warhol or Dali.)
In the matter of craft, money doesn't even matter much. If all one wants is to paint like a master, even someone who works a day job can find the time to spend working at it. The necessary components there are natural talent and then years of putting ones nose to the grindstone to learn techniques. Without natural talent, there is no hope, and that's that. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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| Edited by - marfknox on 10/14/2007 07:11:12 |
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2007 : 07:13:02 [Permalink]
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| Ooo - I got another one. Money can't cure incurable diseases, including insanity. I'd rather be among the working poor and healthy than rich and severely mentally ill. |
"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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Money can buy (almost) Anything!
