Art Spotting San Francisco | Apartment Therapy

Yesterday we spotted this art and wondered if you, the readers of AT, would be able to identify where we saw it. Any guesses? The answer is after the jump!

It's Starbucks. We wonder if it'd look good if we took it out of the chain coffee store and put it somewhere else. Like against an exposed brick wall in a loft. What do you think?

Comments (19)

i guessed starbucks or whole foods. shiver.

these have been up at starbucks for years

i like the concept behind some of starbucks' art but the fact that it's always a digital image somewhat cheaply printed takes away all of the texture that would make it interesting. i do think this one in particular could be cool as an original though.

I thought it looked like a Starbucks piece. That's totally their style.

Definitely not mine.

I'm sorry, but it just looks like art you might buy at a furniture store. Very generic. Even a student art show or community art fair should yield something reasonably priced and more original.

KNEW it was starbucks immediately. Boo.

Could tell you that was Starbucks from a mile away. They've been using this style for ages. I think the original would be lovely, but I wouldn't put up the reproduction in my house . I like them at Starbucks though.

There's no hiding Starbucks bad art.

That proves how many of us go there.

i knew it was starbucks right away. nothing like massproduced plastic canvas. they're up in the one on campus at fredonia. oh, and paris, and london.

great.

Of course it's Starbucks...... BUT you've gotta give a nod to the illustrator, it's tough to have your style reproduced over and over again to the point of public boredom.

i thought it was leigh wells
same lamola doodleness
then again i never go to starbucks

It's nice. But I've always liked Starbucks' style.

When I worked at starbucks and these first started appearing in stores, I originally liked them. But because they were chosen for a generic purpose, they are just that -- generic. But the generic quality is exactly why my bedroom walls are still blank, waiting for me to find something better than generic starbucks art or ikea art or anything of the like. I just want something generic that no one else has put in their bedroom. As much as I see that "keep calm, carry on" poster, it shows that everyone wants the same generic pieces.

If I see one more mixed media bird painting I'm going to hurl. That counts for deer as well...

It is nice to remember that art is subjective to everyone's tastes and experiences. That being said, the Starbucks "art" can still be valuable or useful, even if it is mass-produced (Andy Warhol soup cans and Velvet Underground album covers, anyone?). Work that is seemingly generic can also become provocative when put in another context. This brings up the original question if it would look good if taken out Starbucks and put in a rougher environment. I think to make it look "good," you would have to juxtapose it with something else (sculpture, photos, something dramatic) to bring out a witty or unexpected quality from it.