A Tale of Two James Bamas (A SanDiego ComicCon Story full of drama and intrigue)

[tth2]

So, the conclusion seems to be...if an artist is old, he cannot be trusted to validate whether a work was done by him or not?

 

We should trust others (who may have a financial stake in claiming a work was done by a more well known "name" artist) to say who painted or drew a work or not?

 

The John Romita example, while interesting, was not what happened in this case. From my example, Bama saw a work of art, saw that his name was on it, learned that someone was selling it, and said "no, its not mine".

 

John Flesk, the author of at least two books on Bama's art, studied the painting and felt that there were certain characteristics that were very un-Bama like, spoke to Bama at length about it, and Bama insisted that it was not his.

 

But, Bama is an older gentleman, so it must be his.

 

With that in mind, I think I think I am going to go on eBay and bid on some sketches by Charles Schultz, Michael Turner, and Bill Watterson...those sellers have good stories to go with the artwork. And since 2 of the 3 artists are dead...OK, not the best example, I'll go with getting some Steve Ditko and Frank Miller sketches and drawings. You know, those two can't be trusted to admit or deny whether a piece of artwork is theirs or not.

Why are you getting so defensive? If you had chosen to keep the piece and were trying to convince people that it really was a Bama despite the artist`s own avowal that it was not, then perhaps I could understand your being defensive.

 

But you made your choice not to keep it, primarily on the basis of the artist`s recollection, which you seem to be comfortable with, which is fine. But you also put the story out there, which you must have known was bound to attract comments and opinions. Yet you seem to be determined to shut down anyone who raises the possibility that no matter how sure Bama may have been, it`s POSSIBLE that his memory was less than 100% reliable. To be honest, your analysis of the different brush technique is more convincing to me than relying solely on an artist`s memory.

[Khwan-migration]

Why are you getting so defensive? If you had chosen to keep the piece and were trying to convince people that it really was a Bama despite the artist`s own avowal that it was not, then perhaps I could understand your being defensive.

 

But you made your choice not to keep it, primarily on the basis of the artist`s recollection, which you seem to be comfortable with, which is fine. But you also put the story out there, which you must have known was bound to attract comments and opinions. Yet you seem to be determined to shut down anyone who raises the possibility that no matter how sure Bama may have been, it`s POSSIBLE that his memory was less than 100% reliable. To be honest, your analysis of the different brush technique is more convincing to me than relying solely on an artist`s memory.

 

Defensive? Maybe. I see a lot of age-ism and hidden discrimination coming from people on THIS board. How many people have pointed out Mr. Bama's age? It is almost a given that older people's recollection or testimony has to be automatically tested and questioned.

 

When I point out that someone like John Flesk, who probably knows more about Bama and his work than the combined wisedom of this entire board (myself included), has an opinion regarding the work and Mr. Bama, Mr. Flesk is dismissed with a sarcastic comment that he is a "memory expert".

 

Look, I asked some questions about art and determining who an artist of a work is, rather than address those questions, most here seem to want to talk about how forgettful old people are-which on its face is desrespectful to the millions of elderly people whose mental functions are as strong as the they were at 20 years old. I work at a law firm where the principal attorney is close to 70 years old and he still takes cases to trial (multi-million dollar verdicts) and yet, due to the same prejudice I see here, has to constantly explain why he chooses not to retire, he constantly has to prove that he is good enough to litigate against people half his age. Sorry for the haters here, but I don't automatically buy into the steretype that older people are somehow "slower" or more forgetful than younger people.

 

And seriously, that type of prejudice is not a lot of help to anyone.

[Bronty]

 

c'mon Khwan, lighten up.

 

Its got nothing to do with his age. Young people forget things all the time and its not realistic to expect an artist to remember everything he did. I take Bama's word at face value given his ability to finish sentences with regards to describing the art. But there is no hiding the fact that no one can remember every detail of their working career. I am an accountant not a lawyer but I guarantee you that if you put a file from even five years ago in front of me, my memory about its contents is going to be pretty hit and miss.

[thehumantorch]

Why are you getting so defensive? If you had chosen to keep the piece and were trying to convince people that it really was a Bama despite the artist`s own avowal that it was not, then perhaps I could understand your being defensive.

 

But you made your choice not to keep it, primarily on the basis of the artist`s recollection, which you seem to be comfortable with, which is fine. But you also put the story out there, which you must have known was bound to attract comments and opinions. Yet you seem to be determined to shut down anyone who raises the possibility that no matter how sure Bama may have been, it`s POSSIBLE that his memory was less than 100% reliable. To be honest, your analysis of the different brush technique is more convincing to me than relying solely on an artist`s memory.

 

Defensive? Maybe. I see a lot of age-ism and hidden discrimination coming from people on THIS board. How many people have pointed out Mr. Bama's age? It is almost a given that older people's recollection or testimony has to be automatically tested and questioned.

 

When I point out that someone like John Flesk, who probably knows more about Bama and his work than the combined wisedom of this entire board (myself included), has an opinion regarding the work and Mr. Bama, Mr. Flesk is dismissed with a sarcastic comment that he is a "memory expert".

 

Look, I asked some questions about art and determining who an artist of a work is, rather than address those questions, most here seem to want to talk about how forgettful old people are-which on its face is desrespectful to the millions of elderly people whose mental functions are as strong as the they were at 20 years old. I work at a law firm where the principal attorney is close to 70 years old and he still takes cases to trial (multi-million dollar verdicts) and yet, due to the same prejudice I see here, has to constantly explain why he chooses not to retire, he constantly has to prove that he is good enough to litigate against people half his age. Sorry for the haters here, but I don't automatically buy into the steretype that older people are somehow "slower" or more forgetful than younger people.

 

And seriously, that type of prejudice is not a lot of help to anyone.

 

There has been no prejudice here and people have done their best to help you.

 

You've consulted an expert and none of us have the knowledge to overturn his opinion. All I could say was it looked like the same artist to me because it does.

 

It isn't an insult or prejudice to state that many people experience memory problems in their 80s because they do. Some don't and that is wonderful but many do. The artist may be as sharp as a tack, but when faced with a mystery like this it is relevant to suggest that the artist may have forgotten due to age.

 

Congrats on picking up a nice piece.

[ashrael]

Interesting story and great purchase...that is a beaut!