Mike Renard (whose sculptures he refers to as M-Ray) follows strict rules for his art, which rules he seems convinced other artists should follow as well:
Rule 1: Art should be aesthetic. More precisely, it should be beautiful. Even if it depicts something ugly, it should be done beautifully.
Rule 2: Art should provoke emotions. However, not all of them. The preferred ones are admiration and excitement. Disgust is forbidden. Emotion is not the main goal, but it is still one.
Rule 3: Art should make you think. It should make your brain and mind work both consciously and subconsciously. The right art is intelligent (it creates thoughts)
What the artist may lack in appreciation of other points of view, he certainly seems to make up for with the courage of his convictions. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about art over the years, it’s that it resists rules and definitions. That said, I will admit that Renard’s work certainly follows his rules beautifully.
You can see more of the M-Ray by Mike Renard artwork on his website and on Instagram.
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My OBT 
February 17, 2021 at 9:03 am
I don’t know if I like his art or not. I really like the bear. On his website, there is one that he says is almost done. I will go back and check on it now and then. I think you really need to see them in real life so the scale can be seen. Very interesting post today. Somebody would need to explain the banana on the wall to me because I just don’t understand what the artist wanted us to see or think when looking at it. Hal
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February 18, 2021 at 1:35 pm
The banana on the wall wasn’t his. His corn piece was a response to it. The banana thing was by an Italian artist who duct-taped it to a gallery wall in Miami. It sold – are you sitting down? – for $120K. There’s one born every minute.
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February 28, 2021 at 4:21 pm
What the what? I do remember this!
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February 28, 2021 at 8:51 pm
Lol
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February 17, 2021 at 9:41 am
I saw M-Ray and thought of Man Ray. The dino and rhino are pretty darn wonderful, but, like Hal, I didn’t understand the banana.
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February 18, 2021 at 1:36 pm
LOL. See my comment to Hal about what that was. I have a strong suspicion that the “artist” bought the banana piece just so people would talk about him.
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