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He is objectively a very popular artist - as he mentions in the article he has made > $1million/yr at least one year (and I imagine more often that once). I do own one of his honey bears and I remember in the online "drop", based a price of $500/bear, he made ~$300k in that single drop which sold out in approximately 20 minutes.

I think the people you hear expressing dislike is probably due to his popularity and how often you see the honey bears around SF. He's also a Stanford economics grad, and some people in SF really dislike the stereotypical Stanford alums who think they're superior beings.

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Oh, it’s the plastic bear honey jar artist
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Seems like a case of snobbery on behalf of these people. These are nice images but not "high art" which I guess prompts some people to scoff at them
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Being critical of generic-looking murals doesn’t make someone a snob.
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I searched for some pictures. The first couple I came across looked like the result of a prompt to an AI: "generate images of plastic honey bears with various outfits and/or accessories":

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQajHzw...

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRpoQbV...

There's AI slop, and then there's human slop.

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Yeah I mean, they are cute little graphics and a fun character/brand, but I don’t exactly see how people consider this some masterful piece of artwork. I don’t live in SF, but I can imagine it gets old to see it everywhere.
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It kinda does, friend.
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The idea that someone is a snob because they dislike generic looking artworks is a hilarious indicator of how far aesthetic discussion and standards have fallen. The word used to mean someone that looks down upon the popular arts in favor of more traditional/expensive/sophisticated art.

Now apparently it means having any standards or metrics of evaluation, period. Either you think everything is equal aesthetically, or you’re a snob.

Thankfully this kind of empty opinion isn’t convincing many people these days.

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You might not be a snob, but you sure as hell sound like one. It's okay when other people like simple things that you don't like.
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Where did I say it’s not okay for people to like simple things I don’t like?

I just said having aesthetic opinions doesn’t make someone a snob.

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[flagged]
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I really don’t know how to reply to this.

I’m not “shaming someone’s work,” I said 1) they look like generic graphics, and 2) I primarily said someone isn’t a snob for disliking them, which is what the OP comment claimed.

Even then, analyzing a piece of art work is called art criticism. It’s not exactly a new thing, nor is it some kind of personal attack.

But as I said above, the quality of aesthetic discussion has fallen so much that expressing any critical opinion, no matter how minor, is some kind of shaming attack that indicates I have a personal problem or I’m a snob. Which is a totally insane way to view the world.

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Friend. Friend....

Snobbery is a spectrum. You might not perceive your words as snobbery, but I do. We just have a different opinion of where you fall on that snobbery line.

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I'm a snob for good hn threads with substance, but this thread stinks.
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Glad you could stop by to contribute! :)
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