A little bit 'about' the MCBAG collection, a FAQ section, and down at the bottom, an invitation to contact us - or you can make comments on the MCBAG Blog page
We are so happy you have found us. Here on these pages we celebrate failure.
Like lost puppies and kittens that no one wants we seek out exceptional pieces of bad art, adopt them, bring them home and in the glow of a row of Home Depot track lights they shine forth in all their misshapen beauty. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
What began as an innocent evening out at a bad art fundraiser for an art house theatre in San Francisco grew slowly into a semi obsessive preoccupation with weekend hunting trips for new additions to our gallery. It can be imagined that most of these pieces, upon being born, stumbled around for a while receiving polite smiles and a few raised eyebrows and then were quietly stored in a dark closet or dank basement with greasy old car parts and rat urine soaked blankets. Eventually, most of these oddities ended up in a thrift or 2nd hand store. That’s where we enter the picture; with a gasp or loud guffaw, we delightedly rescue our precious fidos and take them away to start a whole new life on our gallery walls.
Some have subtly hinted that we may be “going a little overboard”, that we should begin to “taper off a bit” or that our preoccupation teeters precariously on the edge of addiction (!) To those nabobs of negativity we reply that we have not mortgaged the house to support our “habit” as the average price per piece is only $7.23! Neither has our health failed (we still have our teeth) as a result of our indulgences and thankfully no lives have been destroyed - yet - because of what we do.
FAQ
What makes you the experts on bad art?
The curators possess between them 55 years of active engagement in artistic endeavors. We have in the process committed the forgivable sin of creating god awful works of art that we were exceedingly pleased with at the time. 20/20 hindsight and lots of experience has revealed them for what they were – honest attempts that sadly and sometimes hilariously, missed the mark. Therefore, while loudly beating our own drum, we have confidently and shamelessly elevated ourselves to the lofty position of curators and critics of our growing family.
What constitutes bad art? Isn’t this a subjective decision?
The answer to these two questions can lead to long and often heated discussions by beret wearing, wine drinking intellectuals in dimly lit rooms that smell of stale tobacco and patchouli. But we don’t own berets, drink cheap wine or know any brainy types, so our answer is simple. Bad art is everywhere; you can see it in varying degrees of "badness" wherever you look. As trained critics we wield discerning and highly trained eyes as we apply our very strict standards, which have existed since time immemorial, to the pieces we encounter and - only the very best of the worst are accepted. This is not a subjective decision, because we know it when we see it!
Isn’t it cruel to laugh at other people's art?
Of course it is - if they can hear you. And that’s the beauty of an online gallery – no one gets hurt. And think about it…almost all jokes are at someone else’s expense. If you still have a problem with guilt and cruelty issues, don’t laugh at them, or don’t look - and then put on your hair shirt and kneel on sand for 3 hours a day.
Is any of this for sale?
No way! Are you kidding?
Do you ever accept donations of bad art for display in your virtual gallery?
Send us a good digital photo and we will convene the council of elders to review and pass judgment on your treasure. We might even include it in a 'viewers gallery' to be developed soon, pending funding from the EPUA -- the Endowment for the Preservation of Unappreciated Art.
Can someone make ‘bad art’ on purpose?
We believe it has to come naturally, an honest creative attempt that just went astray, or perhaps was doomed from the start. So we don’t display purposely made bad art, nor do we allow velvet paintings - nor clowns, unless it’s just so bad it’s good.
Do you have an actual physical gallery that can be visited?
Sadly, because of size limitations, we are forced to restrict visits to MCBAG as a virtual gallery only.
Although, we are presently negotiating with our local county building dept. for permission to purchase properties adjacent to our warehouse. Our plans include razing the existing structures and replacing them with an underground parking lot, and gift shop. Curiously, there has been some foot dragging on the county’s part, but this will give us ample time to increase the collection. We will keep everyone posted on the progress of this exciting cultural citadel!
We hope that you have had a pleasurable experience viewing this uniquely entertaining odd assortment of artful misfits. And that you have felt secure knowing that your laughter and snarky comments will never reach the ears of those terribly brave artists who have attempted to externalize what could have just as easily remained internal. To them, we are most grateful.
The Curators
"Acceptance, under someone else's terms, is worse than rejection." - Mary Cassatt
Contact Us:
We occasionally take a break from our relentless hunting trips to look and see what viewers are saying. You can email us below, or click on the MCBAG Blog page and comment on Bad Art, our collection, or the nature of Creativity that just misses the mark.
Our email address is mcbagcollection@gmail.com -- you can simply fill in the spaces below and your message will be sent to our 24/7 staff of comment collectors.