[lit-ideas] Re: Counter-Terrorist Coma Painting
- From: David Ritchie <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2004 16:35:55 -0700
May I call your attention to an article that appeared in the august pages of
the "Wall Street Journal" on 4/2/04, and in the Oregonian today? Alas,
neither version is available to the web hoi polloi.
The starting point for the article is that Bob Ross' t.v. show is shown
abroad and is now more popular than ever. You'll perhaps remember Ross, the
fellow with big hair who painted "happy, happy trees." He's a bit of a cult
figure among art students.
Anyway here's the bit I wanted you to see, copied for scholarly use:
Kowalski estimates that just 3 percent of viewers actually paint along with
Ross. The rest have slipped into what some viewers describe as a "Bob Ross
coma," mesmerized by his soft stream-of-consciousness voice, describing
"happy little clouds that live up in the sky and float around and have fun
all day." With terrorism appearing regularly on TV these days, Ross offers
an escape, says Erik van Zwam, editor in chief of Amsterdam Television 5,
which runs the show for Dutch viewers at midnight several times a week.
[snip]
Ross also presents a very different image of America, at a time when U.S.
foreign policy remains unpopular in many countries. "On the one side, there
is war," says Muhammet Koymen, who in January began organizing Bob Ross
painting courses in five cities in Turkey. "And on the other side, there is
this sweet man who plays with nature."
Ross spent twenty years in the U.S. air force, began painting Alaskan
landscapes on gold-panning tins for tourists, did the T.V. shows, died at
age 52 in 1995.
David Ritchie
Portland, Oregon
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