Two Kinkades, Both Alike in Dignity

Notes on Art in Society

originally published April 9, 2008

Andy Warhol can pull off repeat images, but the Wal-Mart Vision Center on the west side cannot. I sat in the waiting area there recently, confused, maybe even offended, while my wife was in one of the examination rooms. On the wall across from me, two identical Thomas Kinkade prints hung side by side in matching frames.

The vision center must have known their customers would be unable to detect a difference in the art, and that explains their laziness in choosing the current wall décor. But ignoring a person’s deficiencies is what the Americans with Disabilities Act refers to as an attitudinal barrier. Does the Miracle-Ear Center on the Atlanta Highway loop the same Kenny G song in their waiting room? I doubt it.

I can see. I don’t wear contact lenses or eyeglasses, so Wal-Mart didn’t expect me to come in and catch them in this embarrassing scandal. Even I, with perfect vision, have a hard time telling one Thomas Kinkade print from the next. Known as the painter of light, Kinkade is famous for his depictions of quaint cottages, almost always positioned beside a brook or cobblestone road. The paintings swarm with colorful pastels. Glowing agents on lampposts usually compete with the dusk light for dominance, making for very colorful compositions. Somewhat like Lisa Frank stickers for adults, Kinkade’s prints are ubiquitous, showing up on note cards, pillows, calendars. I gave my mother a Thomas Kinkade jigsaw puzzle for Christmas in 2006.

Is the Wal-Mart Vision Center making fun of America’s most collected living artist? Is Wal-Mart making a conscious statement against Kinkade, saying his pieces are obligatory squares useful only to bust up an expanse of white wall? Hanging one of his works not once, but twice, in a room where the expected viewers have limited vision is a cruel statement. It makes me feel sorry for Kinkade, whose goal it is “to touch people of all faiths, to bring peace and joy into their lives through the images he creates,” according to his website. How can he hope to accomplish this when the people at the Wal-Mart Vision Center are taking such cheap shots at him through stunts like this one?

Maybe instead of trying to be so funny, Wal-Mart should just incorporate Thomas Kinkade paintings into their eye exams. They already have two copies of “Lamplight Bridge.” If they were to spring for one more print that was different than the other two, maybe “Lamplight Lane” or “Lamplight Brook,” they could show all three to their customers and ask them which one is different.

When the patient can say, “In that one, the lampposts are a little taller and the flowers beside them are pink instead of mauve,” the doctor will know he has corrected the patient’s vision trouble.

My wife came out of the examination room. The doctor discovered that her eyes had changed and she needed to order a box of more powerful contacts. Before spending the money blindly, I decided to verify the validity of these results. Using the two identical prints, I administered the Kinkade test on her. “Look over there at that wall,” I said. “Which of those prints do you like better?”

She squinted and pointed to the one on the left. “It’s just a little bit prettier,” she said.

Her new box of contacts should arrive in the next one to two weeks. The vision center will call us when they’ve arrived.

Darrell Kinsey