Pictures you see in someone's house or apartment that make you say "mmhmm"

Any variation of "In this house, we _____."

Any paintings like this

Ewww, yeah, R2. They left the foreskin on.

Thomas Kincade or Bob Ross-style paintings.

I know quite a few people who have ugly paintings that their mother/father painted. We have my late MIL’s all over our apartment. They are forgiven because what can you do? It’s a mitzvah.

R3 um no

What does mhhhhh mm, mean?

I hooked with a guy who had childhood photos of himself all over his apartment. Odd.

A mitzvah would be one, R4. "All over our apartment" is hoarding by proxy.

Someone's taken a shitty thrift store painting here and added a monster to it. I deem this acceptable.

Is it possible to hang a Thomas Kinkade ironically? I don't think so. Unless, of course, it's really him, hanging. Which might not be bad.

This tired poster

I deem you taste-impaired, r9.

r11 or any of the ten billion variations of it. SO OVER.

r12 if it's ironic, it's funny, which means you can hang it as an amusing thing in the toilet or somewhere.

But if it's intended as Serious Artwork and hung in the living room, maybe not.

2 Watteaus with threadbare carpets and furnishings. I mean really. Shabby chic? Sell the one and renovate, dear.

Black and white photos where part of it has been colorized.

Any Glamour Shots photos.

Art that comes in panels.

This.

lol r19, what the hell is that even.

R9 killed me. For some reason that post was hilarious to me.

What the fuck is mmmmhmmm?

Inspirational sayings on wood blocks like "dance like no one is watching". or anything with a gold frame.

Olde European advertising like this Le Chat Noir

Old movie posters

Anything related to comic books or superheroes

Black and white “moody” photos of landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Chrysler Building, etc.

His name wasn't Peter, R7?

If not, there's more than one out there.

"live laugh love" art

My sister-n-law has a giant glamour shots picture of herself in the living room. She's wearing a big floppy hat. Its fucking hideous.

Wall covered with posters and album covers of some troubling never-was DIVA - Sylvie Vartan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Rita Pavone

You've been in a room, r28, covered with Rita Pavone posters? Do tell (us all about the occupant).

R29 a retired Italian blue-collar worker of some sort, very much in shape and formerly handsome, with a horse cock, in the attic apartment of old small apartment building in Alassio. I had no idea who she was but was lovingly informed in broken French.

New York scenes when I see them in England - especially The Chrysler Building as already noted.

Album cover art - especially Bowie or Pink Floyd.

Rock Music art in general - an electric guitar leaning against a wall etc...

50s icons...primarily Elvis, Marylin and James Dean.

1950s Americana....finned cars, diners etc..

Sylvie Vartan - tall but shapeless pale boy.-man - in his 30s? - dark hair, pale skin, mega horse cock, modern block of flats in Geneva Switzerland (subsidized?), Vartan memorabilia floor to ceiling with lots of cut crystal stones, discount furniture store brass and glass lighted etageres, white pleather and cream lacquered furniture, cat.

Generic stock photos of NYC. Usually owned by people who never lived or visited NYC

Last year in an Aldi or. Lidl in Basel Switzerland, there were NYC color wall art photos featuring the old World Trade Centers

R17, is that a youthful Nancy Grace?

r35 hee hee! She's not quite bug-eyed enough to match Nancy.

I like r19's example.

"Tuscan Wall Mural" where nothing looks Italian.

Before scenes of New York "art" became popular - it was Paris. Fancy, inky drawings, watercolors etc...

The finest hotel room art, r38!

Corny mass produced Banksy print to show everyone how edgy and urban you are.

I like those European prints like in R24

r42 yeah I had a bunch of them in my house at one point when I needed huge art to fill the walls. Not that one specifically, but the French advertising posters, like this one

“Artsy” advertising or Americana advertising like old Coca-Cola ads.

Why treat advertising as art and display it in your home? Aren’t we all bombarded by ads when we step outside?

Do you even like the product? Do you even drink Coca-Cola??

R42, there’s a huge French advertising poster in Monica’s apartment on Friends. They’re everywhere.

r44 well, some of the older advertisements are quite beautiful (such as the giant French advertising posters, although they were trendy a decade ago but have fallen out of favor for now). But I get your point otherwise. I think there's some time and distance required to make them appealing again.

That being said, the original posters that were huge (much bigger than the gold-framed reproduction above), are antiques/collector's items. New Orleans antique shops sell a lot of those for some reason.

I have an "inky" painting of St. Tropez on my wall, I inherited from my father, dated 1963.

He MUST have bought it from an artist on the quay. I quite like it. It's in a slightly "aged" gold frame.

Sort of like this - but much more muted color-wise.

I find competently done mid-Century paintings of tourist spots sold to tourists - extremely comforting.

If the colors are muted it might look decent, r47.

I had this poster for Eau Sauvage.

Dogs playing poker

lol r51 that is a tragic one.

Jesus and or Elvis on velvet

Pictures of Marilyn, Madonna, Britney or any other supposed gay icon.

It does, I think, R49.

I might take a photo and post it here.

I also inherited from my father a "sculpture painting" by this guy. He won it in a raffle in a 60s discotheque in London. It was so 60s, I always admired it, until my father just gave it to me.

Any good or really bad painting picturing a real person with Jesus.

LOL R56.

r56 yeah that is the HEIGHT of trash.

I am a huge fan of kitsch glowing pastel type religious illustrations. I have several and they change with the light and they make me happy.

Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star, Lisa Vanderpump's house.

Marilyn in pride of place.

r59 they might make you happy but they wouldn't be the thing I'd want some guy I wanted to sleep with to see first!

I disagree about the movie posters. I'm a massive fan of La Dolce Vita and I tracked down an original Italian movie poster that I had framed and is in my living room. I've seen the movie dozens of times and adore it. Very much relate to Marcello. (My other fictional hero is Bobby from Company and the La Dolce Vita poster is hanging right next to my OBC Company window card!)

r60 isn't that like having a giant painting of Kim Kardashian hanging in your living room? I'm curious if in 50 years that we'll see those.

....

r60 One of my happiest movie poster finds was "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" back in 1980, i.e., no internet. Fuck anyone who didn't like it.

I do love larger versions of hand-painted Mexican lotteria card designs. They sort of look like Tarot cards.

what's that got to do with R60?

My grandmother had lots of "little girl" paintings - probably inspired by having two daughters. There were just a few TOO many. That was the trouble.

& she had poodle stuff - paintings on plates, that sort of thing - from when she had once had a poodle.

This one

lol r69. Eeeek!

Run!

I would run for the hills if I saw this in somebody's house

Oh god, or a framed photo of themselves with Regan. Unless they are a news anchor and have photos with many political figures.

I love these from the 60s (on the right)- you see them in 60s films, but they're very hard to find now.

I eventually found one on French ebay.

I want more.

or like this.

Those are pretty cool, r77

Ahem.

Dear Lord in Heaven!

Thank you, R77 - I think so.

There just so hard to find.

oops, sorry,** they're**

One more.

I'm obsessed with them.

I PROMISE this is the last one.

"cool" New York "Art" became popular AFTER New York was cool.

I had a FB who was 45 and had pictures of himself all over his place but they were all from when he was much younger including glamour shots from his early 20s.

Male nudes still throw me off. Did he just come out? Is this his oasis from an uncaring, non-penis showing world? Are his tastes so specific that one static image/figure will do it for him? Is there a little bit of transgressive revolt going on here?

Ugh. Another "ahem" queen.

No one bats an eye if a person has artwork depicting a female nude. Why, that there is art! But a male nude?

Pppppppenis!!!! Hhhhhhhhhomo????? Whyyyyyyyy?????????

I had an eldergay acquaintance, who had masses of repro Roman male nude torsos etc...

[quote]No one bats an eye if a person has artwork depicting a female nude

I do - I think they're awful.

Any celebrity posters or photos after the age of 25 gives me pause.

Sara Moon prints. Years ago I hooked up with a guy who had about eight or nine of these littering his apartment. I immediately thought he lived with his mom or grandma but no, they were his choice. One and done, they really put me off.

they would me too, R93.

These of course.

Anything by Jonathan Adler.

ANYTHING involving mirrors.

stretchy soda bottles

R97 - Yes. Especially wavy ones from IKEA embellished with glass pebbles from the Dollar Store.

This.

When your trick has a Tom of Finland poster in EVERY room.

Hopefully everyone reading this remembers that saying, "I can't put that up because Datalounge said so!" would be more embarrassing than any of the generally corny art posted on this thread. In my opinion, "Anything involving mirrors" is way too broad to be meaningful, and, no, I wasn't planning on putting up any mirrors with decorations on them. For rather subjective reasons, I abhor mirrors.

R102 - Your post makes no sense, and adds nothing of value here.

This fucking thing, especially in precious little clothing boutiques too.

^^^sorry

[quote]One of my happiest movie poster finds was "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" back in 1980, i.e., no internet. Fuck anyone who didn't like it.

The film or the poster?

The film was a drag.

Audrey's become SO "retro-cool" it's nauseating.

JONATHAN ADLER, Part Deux

I especially go "mmhmm" when I see his new designs of old shit.

Sorry Jonathan, but if I want Cute Critters from the '60s, I'll buy the real thing at Goodwill.

The “Next Stop, Greenwich Village” movie poster is available for sale ($19) from Walmart

Count yourself lucky, R101. This sight greeted me last time I took a trick to his place.

Not fond of Japanese fart art on the wall but it's great online.

Pervy clown paintings.

Pics on a shelf. Big-ass letters. Knick-knacks.

What do we think of giant Bruce Weber/Abercrombie & Fitch art above the sofa?

R155 - Dried up leather next to young flesh? The irony is fabulous.

Next to the poster is a random old license plate and the cover of The Cars’ album “Candy O” so I assume that the Bruce Weber poster has some sort of personal resonance for the owner.

If it was just the poster on the wall, I’d assume that the dude just liked looking at young flesh in b/w.

Agree with the ‘inspirational’ sayings, random letters etc., and sick to the teeth of paper stag heads (although I loath real animal heads too). I just wish people would take time to learn how to hang their art, no matter how bad it is. The hang ‘em high school of design needs to be shut down.

Also the scale. A couple of 6x9 frames hung above the fireplace 10” from the ceiling on an otherwise bare wall - or even worse, the wall clock more suited to an office taking pride of place. No. Just stop doing this.

Art looks so much better when it is backed by subway tiles. Not only are they oh so 'au courant', but they are so effing durable!

Anything like this

Are those half-shelf things still popular? I haven’t seen them in homes in 20 years or so.

Is this acceptable?

When I saw this thumbtack'd to some ho's wall.

Fake Taxidermy.

For those who loved R9 as much as I did:

I win!!!!!

More "gross!" than "mmhmm" but yes, I just checked out Barbra's basement treasures.

This.

Jeff Koons paintings with his Italian wife Chiccioboomboom.

I hooked up with a guy who had pictures of Bette Midler all over the place and this hanging over his bed. It didn’t do much to get me in the mood.

This particular style of animal paintings from Homesense or similat stores. Extra points if it’s a cow.

Walter Keane

This awful Biba poster many people had (in England) in the 70s.

"Babe Rainbow" - Peter Blake, 1968

I was snobby about Nagel Prints in the 80's as they seemed to grace mauve-black-laquer-and-neon asian restaurants, and "trendy" hair salons in the suburbs, but by the mid 90's I decided many of them are quite chic.

That's TERRIBLE, R129.!

I can't believe it.

Those Nagel prints remind me of these >>

R135 Sheena Easton Chic

Real Taxidermy

r139 YES. I was housemates with a guy who was a hunter and had taxidermied animals all over the house. Was so creepy and disturbing. And there was always a mysterious black trash bag wrapped SOMETHING in the freezer; I had no desire to look inside.

Love R9! In a kitschy way, it is really cool!

I once hooked up with a guy whose entire decor scheme was based on the college he attended. And it's not like the guy was a recent grad or something; he was in his mid-30s.

This was the Next Stop Greenwich Village poster. I bought it in a shop in Hollywood when I lived in Portland, OR. I hung it in my office. My next stop was, in fact, Greenwich Village.

The poster, r106. Fuck anyone who didn't like the poster. We're talking about pictures people hang on their walls.

Shit like this.

Picket fence as art. Christmas lights on anything other than a tree. Blair Witch-esque star thing-ys.

Do bad accent walls count?

All "accent walls" are bad. What does "accent" mean, even?

Poorly executed faux stained glass really gets my goat.

I think it's okay to have vintage advertising on your wall. Maybe in a family room or bedroom. If you really like a product (Coca-Cola, for example), what's wrong with a tastefully framed advertisement? And I would absolutely LOVE to have framed movie posters of all my favorite movies.

Personally, I like Erte pictures.

Some of the turn of the century French advertising posters (like the ones by Cappiello) are beautiful works of art. I think if you can get an original or two and have the wall space for them (they're huge), that'd be ideal. When it comes to reproduction prints, your mileage may vary.

R150 - My cat loves Erte!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Is Mapplethorpe back in style?

My sister-in-law used to display a large print of this in her living room.

Dear lord, r155.

r153=Sheldon Cooper

IF I let you into my home and I hear you 'mmhmm'ing something I have hanging up, you're out the door. Eye rolls get a wedgie on the way out. I'm watching you, OP.

*ahem*

*taps podium whilst visualizing R158's abode*

MMMMMMHhMMMMMMMMM!#$#$

*applause*

Like when I went back to that trick's apartment and he turned out to be Diana Vreeland?

I didn't put the Buddha facing east for your benefit, R159. Fuck ever so gently off.

Pictures of yourself.

Everywhere.

You in the pictures, looking at other pictures of yourself.

lol r162. Would there also be mirrors?

“Vintage” posters always remind me of the one on the Friends set. Some can be cool, tho.

Animals fucking.

Any of those fucking Lautrec posters, that you used to see in "French" bistros in London in the 70s.

# 2

No mirrors, r163. I guess she needed every inch of wall space for the pictures of herself. I found it amusing that she was formerly a religious sister and is still quite active in her parish.

I'd be saying "ah ha!" to this one, OP. I wonder how many people saw this and just thought they had weird taste?

Trick From Hell wall art.

THIS

stuff that looks different depending on whether you look at it from the right or the left.

Infinity mirrors.

One of these bubble wall things.

Decals.

101, even if it's a little trashy, I think it would be hot.

Not a picture, but very offensive, visually: wallpaper ceiling borders (or whatever you call these uglinesses)"

R177 - Next time give us a trigger warning. Jesus fucking christ!

Better than 200 actual cats, R155.

r179 true....

If this is hanging without irony.

"A John Currin painting at Marc Jacobs apartment, Paris."

Love the frame.

Frame the love.

My old apartment manager had a gorgeous ground-floor apartment with exquisite woodwork, but she had a whole collection of this type of thing throughout the apartment.

You guys have covered everything--except maybe a print of "The Lord's Supper"

Oh yeah, R186?

r186 Like this one?

The Last Breakfast

R136. It's true. I saw them on exhibit many years ago. An entire series of him graphically fucking his wife. Google it, you can see them, too.

What do you think when you see this on the walls of a museum?

The depravity of heterosexuals never ceases to amaze.

Worse than the giant signs and the giant stars are the giant clocks

Photography in which a dead relative is photoshopped in as a ghost

*Extra points if the living person is later charged with the murder of their ghost, as in the picture below

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R193 - Fucking Restoration Hardware.

Trompe l'oeil windows

*Extra points if they're on interior walls

I want to do a designer showcase house with each room decorated with these. It would be the design equivalent of an ugly Christmas sweater contest.

L’enfant, and also that one with the skyscraper construction workers eating lunch on a beam.

Caricatures

An oldie but a goodie.

Even though I'm more of a "photography as art" person, I own a copy of this "Speechless" artwork.

I like art which evokes emotions.

My late husband had that print R202. After about a year I got very sick of looking at it. By year 5 I loathed it.

Wait, who's that tacky murderess, r194?

I wouldn't stay long if I saw this.

How do you feel about this one? Not only is it hideous, it attracts ants!

This:

R191 "Nice cock."

R94 I know Photoshop and a co-worker asked me to add their dead mother into a photo with her. I did and it was a creepy experience. She wanted it to look like her mother was really there, but because of the age, quality, and the coloring of the photo I couldn't match them up and her mom ended up looking ghostly. The woman liked it and wanted me to do even MORE. The experience was creepy, the photo of her unattractive mother was bad, and I don't like her that much anyway so I declined.

Multi-paneled art on reclaimed wood

Is that a team logo as well, r210? Blech.

The worst is when your host has their own 'artwork' on the walls, and asks you to critique it. I visited a guy who painted (poor) copies of Dali's work, and expected to be praised for it. What does one do when one wants to be cordial and polite, but isn't comfortable lying. My older brother (pushing 60) still produces 'paintings' that are copies of DVD covers, TV Guide covers, and stuff like that......without irony,

I usually say "it's so charming!" and usually there is some charm in Art Brut.

[quote]I know Photoshop

As long as you're not one of the "But it's Phoooooootoshoppppped!!!" queens, we won't hold it against you.

A swiss china company made Kennedy plates. I guess he was that big. They are in CONSTANT supply in any thrift shop as the old Swiss believed in the eternal value of crap.

paintings that are known stolen pieces from museums....

It's match is Général Guisan the Swiss General during WWII.

[quote]paintings that are known stolen pieces from museums....

Have you seen many such paintings?

I mention the swiss plates because when I was growing up many black families had MLK Jr and JFK portraits hung together on their walls.

Unless it's an AUTHENTIC Van Gogh, Monet or Suerat I DON'T wanna see it on your fucking wall!

the Keane's sadistic big eyed kids paintings....

(i got a roll of 29 large prints once off ebay for ten bux, all different....oy....they sit rotting in my attic...couldnt bear to look at them)

Maxfield Parrish prints.....

Rotting wood ,chipped paint and dirty old glass.....this kind of "shabby farmhouse chic" decor creeps the fuck out of me.

You might as well have a sign above it saying "Ed Gein Lives Here".

Fucking wine corks everywhere.

I'm exploring the reconceptualizing of poststructural nihilism formulated on the homogeneous absence of color and its ultimate effect on the contextual relationship relative to that of line and proportion.

[quote]Fucking wine corks everywhere.

And you can include fucking wine BOTTLES while you're at it.

Yeah, R225, it's a long and drawn-out way of saying, "There's nothing here. Don't sit on this dainty settee, Lard-Ass."

More of that GHASTLY New York art.

Times Square - everything black & white, except for the cabs.

Chrysler.

[quote]this kind of "shabby farmhouse chic" decor creeps the fuck out of me.

yes. We have whole shops dedicated to this style here in London, along with over-sized wall clocks and chests of drawers with a strange "aged" chalky finish.

Paintings that incorporate neon.

Jokey "ironic" 50s housewife art prints.

I love R39! It’s not great art, but it’s of an era and charming.

Not to high jack the thread, but it seems to me that a lot of ground has been covered in regards to what people subjectively deem as unacceptable art (many examples of which I agree). It would be interesting to see examples of art which people consider appropriate or "good" art. By this I mean reasonable examples. None of us here can afford to hang Rothkos on our walls. I highly recommend watching the documentary Blurred Lines on Netflix. A VERY interesting exploration of the current art market. One of the takeaways for me is that history will not be kind to much of contemporary art being produced and sold at such ridiculously inflated prices and yet the Old Masters will ALWAYS be deemed beautiful and desirable to own.

R235, your old masters are the best of what survived explosive times. The mediocre art market pre-dates Cher's Pompeii farewell tour.

Just think; during each upheaval there has to be a group of bitchy editors running about destroying bad art. It could be a vocation, you know.

JONATHAN ADLER, Part Trois

Jonathan Adler's Shelter Island Entryway.

Jesus fucking christ.

for R234

Bernard Buffet prints.

R236 And yet there are many examples of old art that would be deemed mediocre , derivative or "sub-par" at best. It just seems that the state of contemporary art is very much a case of the dog chasing his tail. Artists eschewing what could be considered, subjectively, beautiful for what could be regarded as "cool" (i.e. marketable). A quality that does not seem to bode well for longevity as evidenced by some of the examples posted here.

I have a 4X5 foot print of this in my living room. It is like an aegis over my couch. I love Warhol but, as importantly, his prints look fabulous with giclèe. They are eminently reproducible and were intended to be so, being prints themselves.

Most fine art loses its magic in the process of reproduction. For that reason, I would prefer a “starving artist” original with a little character over a poster of Klee or Picasso. And I would hang a Bob Ross in a second! They are beautiful, and they recall his wonderful PBS show.

There are galleries with affordable, interesting original art in every moderately large and larger cities. LA is packed with them, La Luz de Jesus is one. A painting may cost you $200-$500, but its striking, and you will never tire of it.

Surprised, over 200 replies and nobody's mentioned those two, very different but equally off-putting, genres sold in numerous Las Vegas casino malls -- autographed and framed sports/entertainment memorabilia and HUGE colored lacquered nature photos.

This.

For instance, you can buy an Ian Strawn original for under $1K, often for much less, and have something electrifying on your wall (electrifying to me, at least).

Anything machine made to be mass produced and mass marketed at Ikea or Target. Especially when it ends up at TJ Maxx. It's all to be avoided.

I have original art that spans a broad range of quality, but there is something I like about each of them. Four of the images were created by different friends. Three of the four are not museum quality. One is gallery worthy, as this friend is a professional. I love having these around my house.

I have other oils and water colors that I have found in antique malls, thrift stores, and even Goodwill. I've paid as much as $100 and as little as 99 cents. But there is something about each that I find pleasing. As I don't spend a lot on any one, I can move them on if the purchase turns out not to have been a good one. As I have pursued this, my eye has gotten sharper and my preferences clearer. It's a good exercise in art appreciation and discernment. I like them.

R245, your first graph looks like a story problem. I was told there would be no maths.

[quote] Anything machine made to be mass produced and mass marketed at Ikea or Target. Especially when it ends up at TJ Maxx. It's all to be avoided.

For the artist, I suppose it's a double-edged sword. For whatever (usually random) reason, their art captures the attention/mood/taste of the masses at a particular moment and as a result, they end up making truckloads of money. On the other other hand, the artist will always be associated with schlock.

I could not live with this, even 5 minutes would be too much.

The endless recycling of these Hollywood icons.

Waterfall motion pictures with sounds that make you want to get up and pee every five minutes.

I have a Victorian kitten painting. Ever seen one? I found it an estate sale. What would you think if you saw it on my wall?

It's similar to this one. I love it.

"What would you think if you saw it on my wall?"

That I was definitely in the wrong house.

It’s sweet, R251. At least a cut above the “Hang in There!” dangling kitten.

A big fan hanging on the wall over the sofa screams "Drag queen on a budget!"

A big fan hanging on the wall over the sofa screams "Rice queen on a budget!"

Dunno how popular he is State-side (or, to be classier, Canada-side) but Jack Vettriano prints are a major turn-off. They're like dodgy paint-by-numbers. Ugly.

Anything black lacquer.

Framed tickets to Broadway shows or an awards show.

Snow globes.

Signs that tell you cute things, especially about urination.

Male nudes that look as if they once hung in a gay bar in the 70s.

r251 Stupid cats can't even play poker.

R204...

With the exception of Louis Wain, bless his heart, everyone knows that cats only play mahjong.

[quote] Stupid cats can't even play poker.

Bullshit.

[quote]I hooked with a guy who had childhood photos of himself all over his apartment. Odd.

Check it out, I found the guy R7 hooked up with!

Do not do that ever again.

I have a friend who hung nude photos of herself above her sofa. Couldn't understand why everyone always declined invitations to her apartment.

R241 - too right. There is loads of interesting new art at reasonably affordable prices in small, independent galleries. Over the years I’ve picked up many different pieces, never because I hoped the artists would become huge but just because I liked the work. Still feel good seeing them on the walls now.

The stuff on my walls would probably cause you all to run screaming but each and every item has meaning to me and I love looking at them every day.

I don’t mind at all — in fact, it’s charming — when someone has “junk” on the walls that they love. If they love it, I can love it, too.

Just don’t throw something on the wall because you saw it in a Pottery Barn catalog or because you think it will impress someone. That’s lame.

There are some things I might hang - and have hung - in my bedroom or near my desk that I would never put in my living room or other public rooms.

Over the years I have found original art work and been able to afford it without spending a fortune.

My experience is primarily with the military, but this extends to the civilian world as well. Guys in high powered careers will often have "the wall of Me," a chronicle of their illustrious career in photos and other mementos. Pay attention to the contents. If he has pictures of his ship, tokens of overseas service like Japanese wood block prints, photos of duty stations, unit flags/shields, command coins, pictures of himself with guys in his unit or other group photos, he's probably all right. A majority of solo pictures--him in front of his plane, Diamondhead, etc, or photos of him shaking hands with various senior officers and dignitaries, he's an egomaniac and brown-noser. If the Wall of Me is in the living room instead of the office where it belongs, he has no life outside of his job.

He absolutely has civilian counterparts. I know a lawyer whose whole house is full of pics of him with state politicians, Bill Gates, etc. Sad.

"I was the 8th man on the moon!"

My husband sells real estate and every once in a while I'll find some nook in our house that he's "staged." It's kind of adorable but I try to shut it down quick.

Ok, if you were on the moon, you're excused from the above, R269

Does he set out bowls of green apples and little potted cactus, R270?

Does he bake chocolate chip cookies? Yum!

r270, your bloke sounds adorable!

r262, the dad is hot, then and now. The son remains deeply suspicious.

Dreck like this makes me happy I was raised by ex-Amish. Nothing on the walls. Except maybe hooks. And a clock. And a calendar.

Poor R270 lives in a house filled with karate-chopped pillows.

r276 and the large oil painting of JESUS, r276!

I have a full size reproduction of Howard Pyle's "The Flying Dutchman" that hangs on my staircase landing.

I've had house guests who refuse to be alone in the house with it at night.

Should I get a nice landscape instead?

251 I think its lovely.

Great posts!

Anyone around in the 1970s will remember this one:

Escher and Magritte also belong in the hall of fame.

This is quite tasteful.

This.

THIS

The OP asks about pictures. So why are you posting toilet seat covers and so forth?

Anything with angels or cherubs.

I really like talented illustrators. And there are many working today. This man is a terrific scientist, but also a fantastic illustrator, and you can buy prints of his work. I've purchased prints directly from people who are talented at depicting different types of wildlife. You get to support someone with talent, and you're unlikely to ever find a duplicate of any of the work you purchase.

I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but it’s a red flag for me when someone hangs his college diplomas on the wall at home. Equally horrendous are plaques from work (“Employee of the Month” or “Million Dollar Seller!”).

R286 you missed the photo of the toilet directly above the toilet

R289 diplomas in home offices are fine

Why is it a red flag if you see a college diploma? What else are you supposed to do with it? Aren’t you proud of your education? I don’t get it.

A $35 lordship

r291 = Proud graduate of Trump University

Those spray paintings that street artists create in front of you in a couple of minutes (the motif is usually outer space or Egyptian pyramids or both). Sure, it's fun watching them make these but I'd rather contract gonorrhea than hang it in my home. When I was vacationing with my parents around the Mediterranean in the 90's the resorts were full of these.

R293 proud graduate of nothing. Dumb and damn proud of it!

Both of you dumb cunts should just hang your prestigious diplomas above the toilet and STFU.

This.

R278, the Amish would never have a picture of Jesus on the wall. That would be considered a clear violation of the 2nd Commandment.

I’ve had a framed 8x10 copy of this picture hanging beside the guest toilet in each of my left five apartments.

Paint by numbers shit lets me know there's a caftan hidden somewhere.

Totally agree, r289.

So gauche.

R292 or those "Star Registry" certificate things.

Anything Anne Geddes

Having your degree framed in, say, your office, is one thing. It's part of the profession for some people.

But on your living room wall? Um, no.

Self-portraits (alone, not with family or friends): Too many or too large and prominent. I presume narcissism.

Meaningless slogans posing as "Art."

When my father died I inherited of me - a chalk framed drawing done of me at Disneyland as a kiddie. Like a cartoon. A framed 10/8 professional smiley photograph taken when I was six and one of those cut-out things of me - you know all black and stuck on a white background. Very small.

So I have them in different rooms. They're so charming. Sorry if it seems odd to some people.

Childhood mementos are different from self-aggrandizing glamour portraits, imo.

Any "starving artist" paintings that someone has bought in the lobby of a hotel.

What OCD mother-from-hell would do this?

I hate going to gay guys' home as seeing large male nude photos. I see that alot and it's ichy

With autopsy photos, it's all about the frames.

r306 I'd like to kill whoever painted that confusing slogan.

How popular are Georgia O' Keefe prints in Lesbian domiciles?

A photograph of the owner shaking hands with Trump.

[quotes] one of those cut-out things of me - you know all black and stuck on a white background

Those are called silhouettes. They've been around for centuries.

Our neighbors (rich Philistine and his parasitic perma-student leech boyfriend) went to Paris, and Young Leech painted the names of all the Paris subway stations he could remember in a band across the top of their dining room wall. You know, because they had been to Paris.

"Mmhmm."

[quote]A photograph of the owner shaking hands with Trump.

Thankfully, I have never had occasion to visit one of these en situ.

I wouldn't even be able to cope. No matter how hot he was. Buh BYE!

[quote]A photograph of the owner shaking hands with Trump.

Shaking Trump's hand, no; holding Trump's arms, YES!

I love maps and geography. I'm going to purchase a download of this map of the river basins of the US once I figure out how to get it printed.

LeRoy Neiman, anyone? He's not big now, thank God, but his Renoir-ish paintings of athletes were huge during the '70s. He's the only "serious" artist I know of who had a limited-edition print set available at Burger King. He also had his own entry in my favorite pop-culture book, [italic]The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste.[/italic]

My babygay self had this BK print over my bed as a kid because I was obsessed with all things gymnastic at the 1976 Olympics.

Not every politician photo can be taken at face value. An old friend of mine was photographed standing next to Reagan, big smiles all around. It was some charity event, golf or maybe tennis. This friend was as gay as Christmas and definitely NOT a Reagan supporter. But he kept the photo because if you looked closely, you could see the tip of doobie peeking out of the pocket of his golf shirt. This was in the Just Say No era, and that photograph gave a little joy to all who knew its secret. RIP Harlan!

Look at me!

Oh how I miss Regretsy.

[quote]With autopsy photos, it's all about the frames. —Mrs Patsy Ramsey, formerly of Boulder, CO

With fanciful ransom notes, too.

r324 I WANT IT

I know a lawyer whose whole house is full of pics of him with state politicians, Bill Gates, etc. Sad.

Totally disagree. If he's met a lot of famous people he probably has great stories to tell. Those pics are great conversation starters.

^Forgot the quote:

[quote]I know a lawyer whose whole house is full of pics of him with state politicians, Bill Gates, etc. Sad.

Totally disagree. If he's met a lot of famous people he probably has great stories to tell. Those pics are great conversation starters.

—You sound provincial, dull....and envious

Anything that says "Make America Great Again"

Pregnancy photos

A guy I know has a bunch of framed party photos in his doorway. Girls holding up shot glasses, etc. When you enter the apartment, your eye goes immediately to the photo in the center—the guy’s sneaky snapshot of Miss Tyra Banks, taken when she wasn’t looking!

Oh you know her? No? But you were at a party that she was at that one time a few years ago? Oh, OK, that’s so kewl, you must be so kewl, too!

Shot glasses. Oh dear.

Walls of beer cans

R334 that can’t be hygenic.

OCD and an alcoholic. Nice.

R9 that fucker gets shows in GALLERIES. Bullshit.

R334 - Oh no. I kind of like that. : )

r316 I have one of my ancestor that was done in the early 1800s, and I'll be damned if I'm taking it down.

And its multiple identical everyday beer cans.

Hilarious thread, thanks for the giggles throughout especially the Gacy clown painting. Horrifying.

Oddly enough, what I found to be an even bigger dealbreaker: I was interested in dating a guy until I went to his home and there was NOTHING on the white walls. Nor in frames on tables. Nor anywhere. Nothing about him, past present or future. It looked like a squatter's paradise but it also looked like someone who cared about absolutely nothing. I lost interest immediately.

"A life without obsession is no life at all." - John Waters

[quote]Totally disagree. If he's met a lot of famous people he probably has great stories to tell. Those pics are great conversation starters.—You sound provincial, dull....and envious

I've heard the stories, R329, and they're all about fundraisers or other work-related events involving a banquet, a speeches, and a meet and greet where the bigwig of honor goes through a receiving line and shakes hands as a photographer records the event for posterity. The lawyer in question is a division-level gladhander himself with an eye on statewide office, and the photos are props.

As for being provincial, no doubt you're right, but it doesn't bother me as my field isn't what's thought of as creative, at least not in the conventional sense, and I have no interest in fame or any other kind of acclaim outside of it, so I don't envy him. I've met my share of movers and shakers in the broadest sense (see above, meet and greet), senior military types I doubt you've heard of, except for maybe one:

Long before he he became Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, then Major Mattis, was the Commndant of the USMC Recruiting Station in Portland, OR, where I spent a couple summers working construction for a friend of my dads. One of his workers went to sign his enlistment contract and I drove him and waited outside in the lobby reading. It wasn't long before one of the recruiters spied me and came over to give me the sales pitch. Long story short, I have a picture of myself at seventeen making my Enlistment Oath before the future Secretary of Defense.

He's short, by the way. Not Tom Cruise short, but half a head shorter than me. That's surprising to most people.

Homemade ink jet prints of historic and art photos, passed off as photographs. Etchings torn out of old books.

It’s one thing to hang out at a backyard barbecue with Obama and another thing entirely to be one of a thousand people at a fundraiser meet and greet.

In one scenario, you met Obama and in the other scenario, you didn’t.

I like “vintage objects” so the bulk of the decor in my studio apt are 2 slightly weathered sheet metal & enamel signs - a 9’ x 5’ Mobil Pegasus - the raised cut-out type that were once on the wall of the gas stations, and a 6’ x 4’ oval ESSO sign. I’ve got 12 foot ceilings & exposed brick - Pegasus is over the fireplace & Esso is against the opposite wall hung from the ceiling. Most guests say nice things, to my face anyway.

Shadow boxes that appear to house a serial killer's trophy collection

R346 That comment is horribly disrespectful of someone's deceased relative. You've definitely triggered my inner Frau. I wish I had something that "tacky" on my walls from my dead Mother.

R341 tells a story about how he, a toxic narcissist tranny, was unable to relate to a person who is not all about superficial images and showing off. A trifling, fake-ass biddy who was unable to ask questions rather than make condemning assumptions based on a bunch of stylized graven images gathering dust around the house. A fake-ass tranny who is pathologically incapable of relating to others on their own terms but requires photos to project its own nonsense onto.

I have no need for photos. I have a need for sincerity, for warmth, for the ability to connect through conversation, meals and merciless poundings. Pictures are nice to have but those other things are essential.

R345 Do you have an affinity for the Exxon Mobil corporation? Is there a reason why you choose to display its advertising in your home? Are you loyal to that brand and proud of it? Just curious.

R345, That sounds like fun.

My dad restores old cars and has some old gas station signs and an actual gas station pump in his garage, including a Mobil sign and a Route 66 sign. I love all of that vintage stuff. Much like the old Coca-cola advertisements, they're worth a lot of money and are neat collector's items. I don't think he really feels any particular affinity for the brands, they're just part of "Americana" culture.

r348 I'm guessing from your over-the-top response that you have blank walls too. You seem triggered, in other words.

Agreed, R352. Though there's something mildly hilarious about being called "a narcissistic tranny". He got so close! (not).

Actually to me, it looks like a serial killer who drifts from town to town. Unless one has just moved in. Sorry, it's weird, weird, weird. And, yeah, I ask a lot of questions too but it's still weird to have zero personality in your home.

R349 - R345 here. Absolutely no affinity to the brands at all - I dont even own a car. I really don’t associate them with the current companies - I just think both are very beautiful from a graphics design standpoint - the Pegasus especially has a wonderful shape & detail - much cooler than the more simplified version Mobil now uses. I like the Esso because it is graphically so simple. I do also like the Americana aspect - but relate to them more as aesthetic objects to be honest

I’d always wanted a big Pegasus since I was a teen and started collecting stuff. I understand the question though. Most of the other things in my apartment do also come from a broader category interest. I love NYC & NYC history - so I also have 2 large enamel subway station signs - one from the early 1910s and a 70s Canal Street with the name also in Chinese - Woody Allen has one over his bed in Annie Hall or Manhattan. I’ve got a segment of an old Automat and a 60’s bus fare box I also have several vintage posters from both NY Worlds Fairs - so pretty much everthing I decorate with is “Advertising” but none are reproductions.

I forgot to ad that a good friend once described my place as “like a Bennigan’s. But cooler”. Lol

Add. Jesus I’m a terrible speller.

R352, (who is none other than Poo Shoes), I'm not triggered, just sick of your verbal diarrhea.

Everybody, if you were doubtful of the volume of Poo's posts, just see this example. In this thread alone, over 30 posts. Just one of her insane user IDs. It's so vile.

You are insane r357.

30 posts in a thread they started? The nerve!

R357 thank you. And that’s just the tip of the shitberg the insipid cunt posts here...

Guessing r360 is also r357 who suspiciously has no posting history.

I love when you get caught out R361

Sure, crazy.

I went to a trick's apartment once and she turned on the lights and EVERYTHING - I MEAN EVERYTHING - WAS SILVER!!!!!!!! What used to be a different colour, was spray-painted SILVER. I busted and got the Hell out of there!

I sometimes watch that Pickers show where the two guys travel around the country in search of good finds---mostly Americana. It always amazes me when they get excited about rusty old signs because they're in such high demand. Who the fuck puts that shit in their house?

Regressives nostalgic for the days before civil rights

Three more... (fyi, NSFW)

Angel stickers

Fans

Gold Chinese ornaments with red tassels

Worse still? All three on the same wall.

R367 Those curtains look like they were passed on for four generations, and probably never cleaned since he's had his lubed hands all over them.

Vanity wall painting

r369 see r283.

A portrait with animated eyes

Kiss by Tanya Chalkin was everywhere during the 2000s.

Naked photos esp. of themselves

It depends on the era. Let's say... 1986-ish.

Those glazed white ceramic mask wall hangings of harlequins or asian geisha faces (or clowns) that often had ribbons streaming down from the sides. Usually next to a a neon sign, which was next to an inflatable pink flamingo (or better yet, a neon sign of a pink flamingo), and shelves with a framed Bruce Webber photo or two. I won't even mention Nagel.

Whenever I went over to a fellow gay's apartment back then and saw these, I'd think, "Oh, you're thaaaat kind of queen."

R374 And the Bruce Weber photo would be this one

R374 80's queens like this often worked at hair salons, had nasty attitudes, and liked Absolut vodka too much.

Whenever I see framed stock photos.