artsourced

I've heard about these "painting villages" in China where whole armies of people are put to work painting replicas of Van Goghs and other popular images for a Western public eager to snatch 'em up at bargain prices. According to this article, it's like a version of an art sweatshop. First off, this tells something about the horrid state of the art appreciating public out there (Monet reproductions? kitsch, I tell you!). And just as equally, the yuckiness of people "hand-painting" under these conditions.

Lordy! Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, indeed!