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Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)

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casi nadie
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
You know what really drives me crazy? The fact that the sensationalized story is what people remember. I'll mention to a friend that a Van Gogh of irises is one of my favorite paintings, and they'll respond "Oh, wasn't he that crazy guy who cut off his ear and mailed it to a prostitute?"

Same goes for other artists - Frida Kahlo, for instance. Or (not in popular culture, but certainly in the history books) Artemisia Gentilesci. Etc, etc. Seriously, what happened to caring about the art?
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penny_lane
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Scholars have suggested in the past the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two men; this hypothesis is certainly based on, at the very least, a strong attachment on Van Gogh's part.

I love conjecture about the ghey sex between artists. Anyone else looking forward to Pattinson playing Dali and feigning the ghey sex with Javier Beltran in Little Ashes?
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Samanthrax
05/05/09

@penny_lane: I beg of you to just say 'gay'.
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Sputnik_Sweetheart
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
I love it when life imitates soap operas. This could be Showtime's follow-up to the Tudors.
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chinaplate
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Is it really true that Americans say 'vaaan Go'? Like a van that's going?

I never understood that scene in Manhattan.
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saintbernadette
05/05/09

@chinaplate: That's always how I've heard it pronounced. Like a van that's going!
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Ultraprison!
05/05/09

@chinaplate: Yep. Even worse in Chicago, where I'm from. Vyaaaan Go.
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haguenite
05/05/09

@chinaplate: Yes. And really, unless you're Dutch, you'll ALWAYS get the pronunciation wrong.

Case in point:
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YourScreenplaySucks
05/05/09

@chinaplate: Americans pronounce it, "That crazy painter, you know, the one who cut off his ear". But now that it's been debunked, how oh how will they remember him now?
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Tartan_Tart
05/05/09

@chinaplate: I know how to pronounce it, but I feel awkward doing so because I don't sound...Dutch.
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chinaplate
05/05/09

@haguenite:

Ha that's hilarious! Fortunately I was raised with Afrikaans which is almost the same so I am possessed of the rarefied skillz! But I think something like 'fahn goch' ('ch' as in 'ich', and soft g) would suffice. But I don't have any problem with people pronouncing things differently, life would be boring without variation.
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haguenite
05/05/09

@chinaplate: Oh no, I like variation. I also just find it hilarious when I encounter people who tell me "no, I know how to pronounce it. [Some person] taught me once. It goes like [so]" and out comes this mangled, horrible excuse for a pronunciation.

And I get to be all 'honey, I know you're trying, but that ain't right.'

It's just a horrible name for native speakers of English. Devoiced initial v (aaaaah), an a that's much too close, and then a couple of phonemes that are really only mastered by speakers who also speak Scots or Hebrew. Or people who are serious about learning Dutch pronunciation, obviously.
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Laulau
05/05/09

@scarletbegonia: So true! It's like Sartre - I even speak French, but I feel pretentious saying it in the right way, so I usually just settle for Sart. On the other hand, I think vawn Gawg (or however you'd put that phonetically) sounds so much prettier than van Go.
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Kajj
05/05/09

@haguenite: I assume you take special care to correctly pronounce all American names in a regionally-appropriate American accent, then?
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haguenite
05/06/09

@Kajj: Because American names are tied to region?

Yes, I do take care to pronounce names correctly. Why on earth wouldn't I?
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Whiskey and Popcorn
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Let's Ear it for justice! What a Sound decision. The man just marched to the beat of his own earDrum. I could earWax on about his art forever but then you might think I wasn't Sound of mind. I Lobelieve whatever this article has to say.
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morninggloria
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
What's lobe got to do, got to do with it?
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Kivrin
05/05/09

@morninggloria: A pun! Well, pinna rose on your nose. :)
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Hamsterpants
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Wait, Gauguin CUT OFF Vinnie's ear? What the hell is this "Still Life with Reservoir Dogs"?
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Kivrin
05/05/09

@Hamsterpants: HA! Ha ha ha...

Okay, now that I'm done laughing, I have to go off and curl up in a fetal position and try to erase that scene from my mind...again.
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ihateyourescalade
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Either way, it was pretty f---ed up.
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Samanthrax
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
Whaaaaaaaat? I can't believe this. Next you'll tell me Andy Warhol didn't make all of his own art.
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prestocaro fears the culling
05/05/09

@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAaaaaa...aaah..heeheheheheeee.
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Diziet_Sma
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
"The theory undermines the popular image of the tortured genius, whose painting "Starry Night" inspired a song by Don McLean."

Ha ha ha ha…

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is an example of the cultural sophistication of the average Daily Mail reader, perfectly encapsulated.
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heykoukla
05/05/09

@Diziet_Sma: I look forward to their story on the Mona Lisa, a little painting which famously inspired both a film with Bob Hoskins and a song by Nat King Cole.
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Diziet_Sma
05/05/09

@heykoukla: Ha! Or maybe The Last Supper, which inspired Dan Brown's masterpiece The Da Vinci Code?
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
I, for one, am all ears for any theory. Was it an armed Gaughuin? More leg work is needed to form a handy conclusion.
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sarah0220 (please don't take my star)
05/05/09

@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Maybe we should brainstorm first as a rule of thumb to get a foot in the door.
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Don't Get It Twisted (don't take mah starhhh!)
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
uh no. I wrote a 20 page paper in undergrad on self-injurious behaviors and used him as my subject. Don't prove me false science!
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sarah0220 (please don't take my star)
05/05/09

In reply to Van Gogh Vindicated! (Maybe!)
I like the first theory better. Good effort thought!
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slowpoke.r
05/05/09

@sarah0220: What about the epilepsy theory? (That he had a fit while shaving and accidentally lopped it off, then decided to send it to a lady friend just for kicks.) That's always been my fave.
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