Infinite Art Tournament

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Third-Round Elimination: Gabo v. Fragonard!

What do Gabo and Fragonard have in common? Resentment of Caspar David Friedrich, that's what. He gave both of them their first loss in the Tournament; now, one of them will inflict a second loss on the other. Who will live to see the Fourth Round?

Gabo got here by knocking Jacques-Louis David out of the Tournament with a strange 2-2-3 record; the guy just couldn't stop tying. Meanwhile, David Hockney fell out after losing to Fragonard. Hockney's final record with 3-2-1.

Naum Gabo
1890 - 1977
American

Thumped on 15th century French guy Nicolas Froment in Round 1.
Took a drubbing from Caspar David Friedrich in Round 2.
Crushed Sam Francis in the Left Bracket Second Round.
Beat up on Dame Elisabeth Frink in Left Bracket Second Round Elimination.
Snuck by Jacques-Louis David by a two-vote swing in the Left Bracket Third Round. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

Jean-Honoré Fragonard
1732 - 1806
French

Beat American Sam Francis without too much trouble in Round 1.
Won a close one against Helen Frankenthaler in Round 2.
Crushed by Caspar David Friedrich in Round 3.
Beat David Hockney in the Left Bracket Third Round by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: van Schorel v. Sebastiano del Piombo!

Jan van Scorel
1495 - 1562
Dutch

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Sebastiano del Piombo
1485ish - 1547
Italian

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Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination: Redon v. Modigliani!

Odilon Redon's two wins are against Rauschenberg and Moholy-Nagy, whereas Amedeo Modigliani's two wins are against Moholy-Nagy and Rauschenberg. It's almost like they're peers coming into this match, except that Redon is 2-1 and Modigliani had a tie that makes him 2-1-1. Only one of them, of course, will make it to three wins. Which one will it be?

Rauschenberg and Moholy-Nagy, since they each have two losses, must of course leave the Tournament at this point.

Odilon Redon
1840 - 1916
France

Beat Robert Rauschenberg decisively in Round 1.
Lost to Paula Rego in Round 2.
Beat László Moholy-Nagy in the Left Bracket Second Round.

Amedeo Modigliani
1884 - 1920
Italian; worked in France

Tied with Paula Modersohn-Becker in his first try at Round One.
Beat László Moholy-Nagy soundly in a second go at Round 1.
Lost a competitive match against Raphael in the Second Round Elimination.
Made it past Robert Rauschenberg in the Left Bracket Second Round by a safe margin.

Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting, but likely much longer.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination: Raeburn v. Popova!

Sir Henry Raeburn and Ljubov Popova teamed up against both Jacobo Della Quercia and Jacapo Pontormo, giving both of them the two losses that forced them out of the Tournament. But what happens now, when Raeburn and Popova meet each other? Only one of them will survive!

Della Quercia and Pontormo both leave us this week with records of 1-2 apiece.

Sir Henry Raeburn
1756 - 1823
British

Walloped Jacopo Della Quercia in Round 1.
Lost to Pierre-Paul Prud'hon in Round 2.
Beat Jacopo Pontormo in the Left Bracket Second Round.

Ljubov Popova
1889 - 1924
Russian

Beat Jacopo Pontormo in in Round 1.
Lost to Poussin in Round 2 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Zipped past Jacopo Della Quercia in the Left Bracket Second Round by a safe margin.

Monday, September 5, 2016

The End of the Summer with the New Monday Quiz

Last week's Summer Quiz answers were like this, based mostly on DrSchnell's perfect slate of answers:

1. Anna Karenina
2. This question was deeply flawed: the quote I gave was the beginning of the plot summary, not the plot summary as a whole. But on consideration, there's enough there to point the careful quiz-taker toward There's Something About Mary.
3. Pieter Bruegel
4. William Faulkner
5. Ecuador
6. Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night. Not Starry Starry Night; that's not the title of the painting, it's just a phrase that people reasonably but incorrectly assume is the title of the song Vincent.
7. Bangkok, Thailand.
8. The Beatles' last live show, except for that one on Apple Records rooftop.

Which means that the good doctor wins not just the final 2016 Summer Quiz, but also the series as a whole! A proud moment, one which he will of course treasure among his various other accomplishments, achievements, and laurels.

And with that, we will cease publication of non-Tournament content for the time-being. This has to do with various bricks-and-mortar issues regarding things like "work" and "responsibilities" and "loved ones" that really shouldn't be your problem, but which will nevertheless briefly, or perhaps for an extended or permanent period, get in the way of your ability to enjoy quizzes and glib articles about saints and movies and elements and what-not. I just wanted to call your attention to this so you would notice.

Happy Labor Day (U.S.) (Ltd.)!!
M5K

Saturday, September 3, 2016

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: Schongauer v. Schwitters!

Martin Schongauer
c.1435 - 1491
German

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Kurt Schwitters
1887 - 1948
German

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Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.