Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for November 28, 2021

So who has all of their Christmas decorations up yet?? I just have my inflatables up in my yard, so far. lol

Uh… yeah.

Careful, Bernice.. you don’t want to make Jack jealous! lol

How has Nil not won the Nobel Prize yet?

¿El arte es el objeto en sí mismo, o la explicación del “artista”?

Greg has a very strange notion of art. At least for someone who has spent his entire life creating very traditional representative art. Or maybe in a double-reverse Greg is mocking Avant Gard art by making Nil a champion of Avant Gard art.

Unintentionally or Intentionally? Does it matter?

Didn’t we already have a full week of these two doing this exact thing a few months back?

These two seem to be hitting it off pretty well.

They kinda sorta make a cute little couple… In an artsy fartsy sort of way…

Based on Nil’s remarks, I see the fourth wall – and an emptied bottle of booze on the floor.

Nil’s minimalist art reflects his interest in Bernice: plain, simple, and underdeveloped.

Judging by the tiny little scribbles on big white canvas, I think it has a way to go before it becomes un-un-art.

Gee, Bern.

I’ll bet you’ll “understand” Nil’s art when it starts selling for at least 100,000 bucks each.

Nil, for God’s sake RUN for your life!

NOW, while this person is “conflicted” about her “feelings” for you.

And if you happen to pass this Gunther guy, tell him to starting Running too. ;-)

It is sometimes nice to enjoy something you don’t understand and embrace what you can’t comprehend…

In one CALVIN & HOBBES episode, Calvin built a conventional snowman and presented it as a work of daring modern art: “It’s secretly ironic!”

Is this a flash back to their date? I’m too tired to look it up. None the less, Nil is indulging in the esoteric non-sense thinking that is the right of all young people. But he seems to hope it interests Bernice. Contrary to popular opinion, I wouldn’t advise either one to run. Stick around, see where this goes. You need to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince/princess.

We have two trees completely decorated. The other two are not decorated at all except for the pre-lit one. We still want to put colored lights on it. Then there’s the outside—-

Fun with antonyms.

I really like Nil.

Yeah, this is a guy who you will work hard earning money to support his art.

With an artist name like Nil – would you expect much on the canvas? However… How long before Bernice gets tired of the sensless, nonsensical banter and walks away? Or is she made of too much of the same?

If it’s un understandable, is it derstandable?Is Derstandable a word??

Are they involved, uninvolved, or just volved?

Did someone once misspell “in love” as in volve, and it stuck?

I like that Bernice feels free to question Nil’s art – and to admit that she doesn’t “get it.”

Art is subjective. I could be wrong but i think that’s the point Nil is trying to get across.

Art is meant to be experienced, not understood.

So 10 less minutes making out. What a waste of time.

Say, didn’t this strip appear at the start of this arc a while ago??!!

The more I hear Nil talk, the more I like him! He’d have been fun in high school philosophy club!

Odd to have Bernie and Nil here on a Sunday.

Outside lights have been up for few weeks – had a nice day so put them up. I just took down all the fall indoor decorations today so will decorate for Christmas this week inside – we moved last year and our house is 1/2 the size of one we’ve lived in for 25 years so I have a lot of decorations I’m not gonna be able to put out :-( I love all my decorations, going to be hard to decide what goes up and what stays in boxes, may rotate every other year

Kurt Schwitters is credited with, “Anything an artist spits is art.” Don’t know if he said that. And, given the fact he worked in Dada it isn’t clear it should be taken.

THARTOFNIL. Sounds like one of those prescription drugs with thirty horrible side effects that you see advertised on TV.

I love to see Bernice and Nil talking about art together. They are a great couple, Bernice is very honest about what she thinks and Nil seems to be very comfortable with her. In fact, he looks really happy! One thing that’s not so usual with him. His gallery is investing in him and proposes the Art he do, the girl he likes is with him. This is probably a great moment in his life!A bit sad to see how Bernice, a college student who is supposed to be smart, doesn’t know about art concepts that now are more than 100 years old. But Nil is kind and patient, he definitely likes to discuss with her about everything, expecially about Art♡.

“The act of establishing a rule or convention in regards to art or artistic practice will necessarily result in the implicit formulation of an equal and opposite ‘anti-convention’.” —Patricia Taxxon, A Closer Look at “Objective Art Criticism”

So the painting that Bernice is looking at… Is it “Snotty-Sneeze in the Breeze” or “Boogers on the Bathroom Stall”, I can’t seems to tell..?

“The intent is intentional.” That is obviously obvious.

Art isn’t what you think, art is what you feel.

There’s a structure in Portland, OR that looks like the walls of a building fell down leaving just rusting steel posts and beams. I thought it was being demo’d. Nope, municipal art.

If only Nil’s father was president…

Now spend the next 10 minutes in the janitor’s broom closet.

Nils is a TRUE artist!

I may not know art, but I know what I like. And I don’t like this.

The exhibition is titled “THARTOFNIL”. Shouldn’t that “T” be an “S”? (It would also fit in better with the epitome of what Nil is talking about, namely Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain.)

So, that section of wall in my kitchen that I thought needed a good coat of paint is, in reality, just unintentional art. Cool. I hate painting.

Nice conversation but my comment today is not focused on it, rather the way Greg drew Nil today. Some expression, not bad looking, kinda cute, with his hair hanging down on the one side. I can see why Bernice is attracted to him. Let’s expand this relationship; he is the simpatico type BF for her and I think that may be an “intent.”

“Everything the artist spits is art.”

-Kurt Schwitters.

“Beauty will be CONVULSIVE or it will not be at all.”

-Andre Breton.

(“La beauté sera CONVULSIVE ou ne sera pas.”)

borenice , she never thinks outside the box.its always her overanalyzing everything to a fault. She and Nancy are so alike, both ignorant and cant get over themselves .

Poor Bernice. Gray is incomprehensible when you live in a black and white world.

Prof Zébo has Nil thoroughly indoctrinated.

I think Nil is the perfect foil for Bernice, in that everything he says is obscure and arguably meaningless, thereby giving her nothing to grab onto for the complete control she’d like to exert. His mind is too slippery. . . .Jack, on the other hand, is nice to Bern because he’s a nice guy, but when he’s had enough, he gets up and leaves. Nice guy and very smart as well.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said about pornography: “I know it when I see it.” In a similar way, we know what is and isn’t art when we see it. This isn’t art.

And there you have it…Bernice and Nil.

What is Thart of Nil? Does it mean The Art Of Nil?

There is art. Then there is Nil. Then there is Nil’s art, which pretty much….. nil.

Why I don’t like modern art.

No, the role of an artist is to explore a topic to its depths and then create an interpretation of that topic that communicates the essence of that topic to others.

That’s deep.

Well said

Just the usual lights outside on the house and trees.We got the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving! Yay for good weather here! Lol

This is literally the most non-freaked-out conversation Bernice has ever had with a boy.

Isn’t the “intent” of art for it to be appreciated by someone (usually, besides the artist.) And, hopefully someone appreciates it enough to buy it.

THARTOFNIL (The Heart of Nil) or (The Art of Nil)?

Bernice art is what you make of it. It can be anything.

Nil and Bernice are narcissistic snobs. They are a perfect match.

Bern, walk away from this pretentious fool! Visiting Jack at the park would be a lot more fun!

Nowadays, any no-talent hack can be called an “artist”. Just look at Olivia Jaimes’ “Nancy” strip!!

Not all art is understandable, intentional, or good.

“Artists” are flipping wierd1

So Nil is into DaDa

“Art is anything you can get away with.” – Marshall McLuhan

Both are intelligent, but in different circles. Bern is logical, Nil is spiritual. Bern doesn’t understand his art because it isn’t logical and has no purpose. Probably out of the two, Nil is smarter than Bern.

Art… the art of convincing the gullible.

Never get into a discussion with a Zen master.

Alex (looking at a bust in an art gallery): Is it good art?

Elaine: Do you like it?

Alex: Yes.

Elaine: Then it’s good art.

— Dialog between Alex (Judd Hirsch) and Elaine (Marilu Henner), from an episode of Taxi

I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.

It’s nice to see that they’re doing things besides necking in the park; I think Nil is just looking at the back of Bern’s neck in the last panel.

There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. Art often erases that line

Is this the missing strip from his previous art show? ;-))

Treeup, outside done, kitchen and living room finished…next week: family room.

we have a tradition, tree and decorations go up on moms birthday and down on new years day

1st panel – is THEARTOFNIL the intent? Or TheartOfnIl or… was the intent to confuse? ;)

Beset by this pretentious twit/ devoid of all lightness or wit/ and longing for Jack/ to lay her on her back/ Bernice – / in a world of…misfortune.

No wonder I don’t understand ‘Art.’ I don’t even understand this discussion of it.

One of my art teachers said that if somebody calls it art, it’s art.

“Art” is what an artist does. An “artist” is anyone who proclaims himself an “artist.” From this the unavoidable excretion is that anything at all may become sacrosanct as “art”!

Gotta love the deconstruction of language and meaning: all is meaningless.

Suck on that, Nil….

Nil has got “Pretentious” down to an Art Form.

First Law of Art, Carmack’s Law, which says, ‘If I can do it, it’s not art.’

“How many years of art school did you have to go to to learn to splash paint on a canvas like that? If someone studies music for four years, they walk away with an ability to play an instrument and can do something I could never do or imitate. But you walk away with an art degree, and the best you can do is this? Something any fool can imitate? This is the best ya got? ‘If I can do it, it ain’t art!’ And the price tag! Ten thousand dollars for that? Oh, so you know so much about art, eh? Then you buy the freaking thing!”

Second Law of Art, Elantu’s Law ‘If the artist has to explain what it means, then it’s not art.’

“It’s not art, it’s a failure. Instead of universal symbolism or universal language, it’s gibberish. Or a con job!”

You can try to put up your ideas as art, derivative as they may be, but somebody has to be willing to finance you, or support you and show your work.

The guy has a gallery showing his work.

What has Bernice accomplished other than charging her friend for helping her looking for a job?

Hmm, sounds like Bernice is being a little judgmental here

If you intend your art to be unintentional, wouldn’t that make it intentional. How can you unintentionally draw art without intending to draw art unless, of course, you unintentionally draw something you didn’t intend to draw instead of what you intended to draw.