Cassondra Britton
A Modern Day Socrates: Bob Ross
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. A man who was too progressive for his time, Socrates’ radical ideas, such as the rejection of materialistic society, challenged those whose wealth shielded them from the masses. This progressive man defied common beliefs, and confronted those who held those beliefs. An unexpected teacher of many, Socrates was a visionary whose ideas challenged the status quo and social structure of society. A man of principle, Socrates stood by his word even when facing death. However, this prideful unyielding arrogance led to his downfall. Though today we regard him as a progressive, his shocking contrarian …show more content…
For example, in episode 1 season 20 of The Joy of Painting he uses a knife to create his work (4:40). He is famous for his use of other household objects such as, your everyday dirty paintbrushes and wallpaper stripper, to create different painting techniques. The use of household’s objects challenges the elitism that the art community has created. Ross uses objects that everyone owns thereby, breaking through the elitist mentality that the art community has created. The art community is elitist as seen through their push to use the most expensive materials available as well as the pressure to attend the best art schools. However, since most people own the objects Bob Ross uses it insinuates that most people can do this technique at home. To further this idea, Ross regularly repeats the phrases “now anyone can do this” and “there wasn’t anything to it” throughout his episodes as seen in the example video. Also, one of Bob Ross’s famous quotes “I really believe that if you practice enough you could paint the 'Mona Lisa' with a two-inch brush” proves that Bob Ross really believed anyone could paint. These quotes reinforce the idea that the household object creates; that anyone can paint well. His teaching defies the accepted idea that schooling and expensive equipment is needed to create art. Similarly, Socrates asserts this idea in the Allegory of the Cave, when he declares …show more content…
One of Socrates progressive ideas was that he was not materialistic and did not lust after money or power. Socrates boldly claims “in my investigation of the service of the god I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, were nearly the most deficient, while those who thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable” (25). This brazen quote rejects the common notion that those of wealth and prestige who hold the power of Athens are the ones who are superior in knowledge. Socrates, in his search for truth, compares the politicians to craftsmen in this quote. For when he investigated the claim that he is the wisest, Socrates compared the lowly craftsman to the powerful politician and found that the craftsman were wiser than those who held power. This is despite the fact that it was the wealthy in society who followed Socrates around. He did not believe that their wealth made them more deserving or wise. Bob Ross also entertains this progressive idea. Ross worked for 11 years for free on public access in order to spread his ideas to the masses for, like Socrates, his goal was not to cater to the elite but rather educate the masses. Ross did not value wealth and did not sell any of his paintings for profit; most his paintings were sold for auctions at charity in order to benefit society. Even Ross’s trademark Afro was a done to save money on haircuts. In an interview with
A Modern Day Socrates: Bob Ross
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. A man who was too progressive for his time, Socrates’ radical ideas, such as the rejection of materialistic society, challenged those whose wealth shielded them from the masses. This progressive man defied common beliefs, and confronted those who held those beliefs. An unexpected teacher of many, Socrates was a visionary whose ideas challenged the status quo and social structure of society. A man of principle, Socrates stood by his word even when facing death. However, this prideful unyielding arrogance led to his downfall. Though today we regard him as a progressive, his shocking contrarian …show more content…
For example, in episode 1 season 20 of The Joy of Painting he uses a knife to create his work (4:40). He is famous for his use of other household objects such as, your everyday dirty paintbrushes and wallpaper stripper, to create different painting techniques. The use of household’s objects challenges the elitism that the art community has created. Ross uses objects that everyone owns thereby, breaking through the elitist mentality that the art community has created. The art community is elitist as seen through their push to use the most expensive materials available as well as the pressure to attend the best art schools. However, since most people own the objects Bob Ross uses it insinuates that most people can do this technique at home. To further this idea, Ross regularly repeats the phrases “now anyone can do this” and “there wasn’t anything to it” throughout his episodes as seen in the example video. Also, one of Bob Ross’s famous quotes “I really believe that if you practice enough you could paint the 'Mona Lisa' with a two-inch brush” proves that Bob Ross really believed anyone could paint. These quotes reinforce the idea that the household object creates; that anyone can paint well. His teaching defies the accepted idea that schooling and expensive equipment is needed to create art. Similarly, Socrates asserts this idea in the Allegory of the Cave, when he declares …show more content…
One of Socrates progressive ideas was that he was not materialistic and did not lust after money or power. Socrates boldly claims “in my investigation of the service of the god I found that those who had the highest reputation were nearly the most deficient, were nearly the most deficient, while those who thought to be inferior were more knowledgeable” (25). This brazen quote rejects the common notion that those of wealth and prestige who hold the power of Athens are the ones who are superior in knowledge. Socrates, in his search for truth, compares the politicians to craftsmen in this quote. For when he investigated the claim that he is the wisest, Socrates compared the lowly craftsman to the powerful politician and found that the craftsman were wiser than those who held power. This is despite the fact that it was the wealthy in society who followed Socrates around. He did not believe that their wealth made them more deserving or wise. Bob Ross also entertains this progressive idea. Ross worked for 11 years for free on public access in order to spread his ideas to the masses for, like Socrates, his goal was not to cater to the elite but rather educate the masses. Ross did not value wealth and did not sell any of his paintings for profit; most his paintings were sold for auctions at charity in order to benefit society. Even Ross’s trademark Afro was a done to save money on haircuts. In an interview with