Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 15, 2021

Hah! I was right this is Nils’ exhibit.

So it is a Nil showing of nil art! Cute!

Good thing Bernice found out early, before she made too many disparaging comments.

So far in this whole “date.” No one has anything to say. Including the art.

What a way to end the week… (sigh).

Nil’s name reflects his art.

we’ll have to wait until Monday to hear Nil use layman’s terms on his art pieces to Bernice (as well as why he wanted her to come to his art show)

All Nil?

Now is the winer with her discontent made gloriously silly with her said of dork.

Despite the disrespect Tara & Nil showed toward Zebo – Nil now sounds like Zebo. BTW – where is Tara? Not still asleep on the DeGroot sofa?

Bernice’s eyebrows are saying too much in Panel 3. So is her mouth.

I love that it’s Nil’s art, and maybe we’ll even find out it’s his exhibition. I enjoy Nil and I’m glad to see him again. BUT…=someone= should have tipped Bernice off that it was Nil’s art/exhibition. Jack didn’t, Nil didn’t; was there no signage at the door or what? This kind of thing is why I could never have written this. It would never occur to me what to leave out.

The artist isn’t GREG 5-15 ?

This to funny Bernice art expression of what one person sees or feels and he or she will paint or draw something from what they saw.

That’s not art, the renaissance was art, that’s just boring and a waste of time and space, sorry, but that’s what I think!

Exactly. Bernice called him out. Good job. Also he managed asking her out to be “unsaid” also.

And being his art show, the local press shows up and immediately asks Bernice what is her relationship with Nil.

“Are you his inspiration?”

I can’t stop laughing. The title of the ART show is The UNSAID and each painting has a different part of the face and a finger.

Zebo needs to show up and discourse on the meaning of the eyebrow painting. Or the finger, that’d be great! Whee!

Maybe this is Nil’s exhibition and it’s part of a course requirement in the art curriculum.

“Yeah, you say it best, when you say NOTHING at all.”

My guess: The art is Nils way of expressing his unsaid affection. Its her eye brow, finger, and lips…

Unexpected twist ending:

Elwood buys them all.

I’d like to see Nil ask Bernice to model for him. She weirds out but then he says, “No, I must render your nostrils!” or “I dream of a larger exhibition called A Study in Toenails, and I’d include the big toes of everyone I met from May 1, 2020 to May 1, 2121. You’re the last on my list. How about it?”

I’m with Bernice on this one. If Nil has talent as an artist it is not on display here. “Art” implies something better than the ordinary. Some times art causes an emotional reaction in others. However, causing an emotional reaction does not mean the cause is “art.” A crucifix in a bucket of urine will definitely cause emotional reactions in some, but it in no way employs art to do so.

Look at Nil’s pointless scribbles, and compare them to the paintings of James Tissot, a true artist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tissot#/media/File:In_the_conservatory,_by_James_Tissot.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:In_Full_Sunlight_(En_plein_soleil)_MET_DT2628.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tissot#/media/File:James_Tissot_-Still_on_Top_-_Google_ArtProject.jpg

Oops. Open mouth, insert foot.

Open mouth, insert foot Bernice!

Poor Nil. He manages to get a museum art showing of his (What? Nihilistic existentialism?) work. But his best friend Jack has an excuse not to go see it. Then he asks same friend to third party ask a girl he might be interested in if she would come see it. But she would rather be anywhere else. Preferably with best friend. And to top it off, she neither understands, nor likes his work.

If people can’t communicate they should just shut up!

Trying to scrute the inscrutable.

Unfortunately, he’s the best student Zebo’s ever had.

Drawing eyebrows is very much the trend today. I catch my students doodling eyebrows all the time in my classroom. There are the trend of videotaping art of eyebrow trimming, dyeing and shaping. There is an obsession with eyebrows out there. Nil is just going with the flow. The millennials will love his art and talk about it.

Wait ’till they get to the one that is in a curtained off area that states “Only for viewers over 18”. Removes all the guesswork for Bernice.

Wow! Nil, the professional Artist ? Luann would appreciate the irony.

Another wall has a pair of lips?

So this is Nil’s art exhibit?! That is fantastic. Whatever you think about his art, and remember this is Luannverse, the fact that he has one and has invited Bernice to be his “date” is at least as powerful, sweet, and significant as the Gunther/Bets love/who am I/we struggles, but the biggest thing for Bernice is will she see that. Nil has rocketed very high in my estimation. Bern, get with it girl!!!

I have to agree with Bernice here.

Will this continue Monday or do we switch to Brad, Toni and Shannon? I’m wondering who is doing all the work on these story lines lately. We had Nancy being hit on and left in Limbo as it seemed to be heading in a convoluted way, Gunther and Bets “Tiffany’s dinner for two” left hanging and somewhat convoluted and now this arc. Was Jack lying or not, was Nil interested in Bernice for a date or just to solicit her opinion, why did it start with Luann pushing Bernice to tell jack how she feel and then switch to Nil in mid-stream? These story lines are all over the place and not leaving anything resolved since Ann was kicked out. Is it writer’s block or meant to generate tons of reader comments?

Luann would have been a better companion for Nil at his exhibit. At least she’s been in class with him and might have a clue what he’s trying to express. If he really wanted a nonartsy person’s unvarnished opinion, he’s getting it now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—not everyone will understand your art, no matter what it might be.

This is not going well.

Using “nothing” to say “something” usually doesn’t work too well.

Awww, isn’t that sweet!

They haven’t been dating 5 minutes and they are already having their first argument and Bernice has insulted him!

I guess by the dating standards established in this Strip since 2019, these two have a “thing.”

And Bernice shouldn’t sneer at Nil’s “art.”

Some Bitcoin Billionaire is liable to pay Mr. Nil a couple of 100 grand for his “work.” ;)

oops! ( open mouth, insert foot)

The artist? Well, that does spice things up a bit.

What’s the score on the most recent arcs?

Convoluted: 3 .Hilarity: 0

He’s trying to get Borenice to understand the concept of “Nil”…tough luck!

Once again, Bernice is showing how presumptuous, full of prejudice and without empathy she is. She’s lucky that Nil is a cool person and try to explain his Art to her, even if she seems only able to do snarky comments. I know that painters can be stuck in their own world and not see how impossible it’s for others to understand what is crystal clear to them. But isn’t she tired to put her foot in her mouth so often? Can’t she just be more likable instead of being so instantly terrible?

I should have guessed.Nils was hoping for some intellectual feedback from Bernice on his work.

This might be premature, but considering how it’s going, I’m going to say it:

I told you so.

A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.

But it is a finger pointing at the moon.

Sometimes the best we can do is to point at something and say “LOOK !”

SEE !

Art is not required to mean but only to be.

Well, this went south quickly.

It still doesn’t make any sense to me that Nil would want to ask Bernice out when he knows she doesn’t share his interests. I’m still betting that we found out Jack was not telling the truth about that and he just wanted to fix them up.

Don’t quit your day job Nil, if you even know what that is..

Nil is taking credit for someone else’s work. The sign next to the “art” clearly says it’s by some guy named Greg.

I think we now know why Jack opted out of attending the show.

……….. ……… ……. ……… ………!?!?

As a psych major, Berns sure is pretentious and conceited. Art is not about implying..it is. Art is about being perceived, what the viewer/reader infers. Of course it can be something, but what it is to you is up to you. And this one’s subtle as eff. It says nothing vs it being ‘nothing’ says something. I hope Nil is able to speak up and say something.

It’s saying that life expands.

Oops.

I could see this coming yesterday. But I don’t get up early enough to read through 200 comments.

“It’s using nothing to say something.” That’s almost Zen. But only “almost.”

Metonymy

I’m starting to under why her parents kicked her out in favor of her brother.

I wonder if Prof. Zebo would approve?

I have a simple saying about art: “If I can do it, it isn’t.”

“Open mouth, insert foot”

Bernice is so unconscionably arrogant should address her anger and hostility towards anything she doesn’t understand.

She is in the presence of genius and hasn’t a clue!

It’s saying “time to read ‘pearls before swine’ ”.

I never liked the Nil character before and I really don’t like him now. His art is stupid. It’s the kind of stuff people with no talent create and then try to convince others they are making a social statement. Trite and insulting as far as I am concerned. I would leave this so called “art show” immediately before my eyes were polluted by its’ uselessness.

I smell something berning.

This is much bigger than the situation between Bernice and Nil. Critic and academics love to spout the take on what an artist, writer, poet is saying. They will often argue and condescend to anyone who challenges their opinion. There is a story about a professor explaining what Kurt Vonnegut was saying in one of his works. He quickly dismissed differing ideas. He quickly responded to one voice from the back of the room by asking ‘Who do you think you are to challenge me?’ The voice said, ’I’m Kurt Vonnegut.’ It was.

I love Bern. She tries so hard at life, but often fails to read the room. He might have asked her to this because it’s important to him and he was trying not be pretentious that it’s his work- whoosh

This is what I’m on about. They call that “art!” It’s a stupid idea, done with lazy execution by snobs who think they’re SO smart!

I’d love to hear him explain why he considers himself an artist! ;o]

it looks like an eyebrow

reminds me of a display i saw in a boston museum a few years ago, a bunch of frames on the wall, with the canvass in each painted black. Some art nerd tried to tell me i was being invited to fill the space myself. I rejoined “I came to see what he did, if I’m going to be asked to make my own contributions do i get credit? do i get a cut of the pay? That’s not art, that’s lazy. I want to fill the space myself i could have stayed home and done that just as easily and not paid an admission fee here!” I’m sure the nerd was wishing i had stayed here but I got support from other people in he gallery to the point it bordered on a stand up routine. in effect performance art

Try this: We communicate verbally and non verbally . The picture in question in an example of “unsaid” communication. It’s an eyebrow. We communicate “unsaid” with facial gestures.

Strangely enough, I’m somehow reminded of a joke about people laughing in hell….

So when the bell rings, all the pictures are turned over and we finally get to see the front.

Dense as a door knob, that’s Bernice.

Get out fast Bernice!

Put all those pictures together and you might be able to make a whole person

If art is supposed to communicate SOMETHING, then some “modern” art pieces are having a hard doing that to me.

Entartete Kunst

I’m an artist. I try to tell a story or convey a feeling. Other artists do hyper-realism. The Bernice’s of the world will gravitate toward those. I feel sympathy for Nil.

There’s a lot of contempt from some people here about Nil’s work. The word “art” has been used in quotes as if what he has done is either not really art, or if a work of art isn’t a literal pictorial depiction it’s meaningless, silly or incomprehensible. (That’s a reason for having a good modern art class, particularly in high school.) It’s possible that G&K feel about Nil’s work the way they feel about Zebo’s but once I realized these pieces were all part of one person’s exhibition I looked at it the way I might at a museum. My first thought was that we were seeing different parts of a person’s face and body, trying to see bit by bit whether the person was trying to communicate something to us. In real life it can be possible to read meaning in people’s facial expressions and body language. Usually we see those things as a whole but Nil has separated them out which makes the viewer have to work a bit harder to see if they can understand what the subject was trying to say.

I also found myself thinking of one of those stories of, say, seven blind people trying to figure out what an elephant looks like by touch. Nil has taken a familiar image, split it into separate parts, and caused his viewers to have to take a different approach to understanding the art of human communication.

Well, that was my take, anyway. I think he had a legitimate theme concept.

Yes please do check out the works of Tissot if you get a chance. His use of light and color to convey mood and meaning is amazing! But I love Van Gogh and Rembrandt as well.

SUNDAY: keeping to the theme, Brad and Toni expain body parts to Shannon.

=:-O

A second year student with his own show? Nil must be incredibly good… even for a community college student. At least the art faculty must think so.

So Nil has been trying to say the unsaid many times over, based on the number of canvasses up.

Hey, look at that! Bernice can be rude and insulting without even trying.

So maybe, this is his expressions of infatuation for The Bern. All of these pictures are of her. ………okay, it is a thin limb I’m out on but I will hang on until Monday.

It’s better to not say what should remain unsaid …

Aww it’s his art show!

It won’t matter to Bernice, she’s to much into herself.

aw, snap

Art is also to make you think. It is up to you to imagine the rest.

Nil should stay far away from Bernice. She is one big snob.

Ah, several folks said yesterday that it could be Nil’s artwork. Nice he has his own show and it does reflects him. Wonder if the “Unsaid” will ever be said! It’s always interesting to hear people critique your art when they don’t know it’s yours. So will Bernice try to back out of her comment or continue the said discussion! ;-D

Some things are better left unsaid

Some strings are better left undone

Some hearts are better left unbroken

Some lives are better left untouched

Some lies are better off believed

Some words are better left unspoken

(From a song by Hall & Oates.)

Considering the price of a stretched canvas panel that size, that’s a pretty expensive way to say the unsaid. But maybe he’s just using masonite. Or drywall.

At least Bernice is being her real self today instead of putting on a fake nice act like she did with Jack. IF Nil ever had any romantic feelings for Bernice he will not feel that way after this arc is over.

Nil will certainly tell Jack about his time with Bernice and what a snobbish jerk she was. Jack will feel relieved that he escaped from her flirtations.

I think Tara would appreciate Nil’s artistic expression. Bernice never will.

Strike Two Bernice.

Guess I’m gonna get a lot of folks upset again.

Clearly, this was a carefully orchestrated bait-and-switch. Still not quite sure who the mastermind is, but it is apparent that both Jack and Luann are up to their eyeballs in this plot.

I cannot imagine Jack as ever having had an interest in this art show, which we now know is the Nil Art Show. Assuming he was not in on the scheme to „pair off“ Bernice and Nil (a pretty big assumption right there), knowing that Jack knows Nil, it’s a pretty big leap to think that Bernice might be interested in a show that’s really all about Nil.

But now, it looks like going beyond an act of cruelty against Bernice and now includes hurting Nil, as well. Not known is how intentional this cruelty is, but cruelty it is, and let’s stop kidding ourselves.

What we know:

Luann knows Bernice is infatuated with Jack. Jack is clearly uninterested in Bernice. Both Luann and Jack appear to feel Bernice would be better off with a boyfriend and, apparently, Nil has nil better to do.

Hat’s off to Peter Pirate who suggested the other day that the entire „Monstro is sick“ was simply the diversion used to set this plot into action.

My bottom line is, this has been one of the most difficult arcs G&K have ever presented.

After all of the totally unacceptable behavior of Luann, and now Jack, G&K have to remind us that Bernice is the one we’re supposed to be intensely disliking – by having her never let up on her trademark snark.

Sadly, this arc looks likely to continue next week.

8

I have to admit that I think it is pretty damn cool that Nil appears to have his own SHOW! To my read here, all of the works are likely by Nil.

Unfortunately, Bernice is putting her foot in her mouth at the moment with her lines that actually reflect and model a lot of folks’ thoughts here about the modern art style of Nil. To my manner of thinking this is a bit sad. I find most all art to be at least intriguing and thought provoking…. even if it is not always “beautiful”.

Do not get me wrong…. I appreciate the beauty of the the “classics” just like everyone else (Monet, Renoir, VanGogh, and Seurat tend to be my personal favorites in terms of style)… but most art in its day had considerable detractors as well.

People still have a tendency to roundly disparage even some “now classic” artists (think Picasso, or Pollock). I think it is and will always just be part of the way in which art can affect different people differently.

I am hoping that when Bernice realizes that this is a gallery of Nil’s work, that she steps back a bit, and is more willing to observe and see what Nil’s art has to offer. It will likely reveal to Bernice a lot more depth and significance to Nil than she currently realizes.

She really walked into that rake, didn’t she?

I hope the three exams went/will go okay!

Hang in there, Nil!

So each artwork going to be a piece of Bernice? If so then plenty of story and emotions to explore

Nil did a self portrait in panel 2. His whole character is minimalist!

“But that’s not art, meh-meh-meh!” I’ll let Patricia Taxxon take this:

https://youtu.be/9M5RUoNfSyI

Bern needs to find a new major, she will never make it as a psychologist. Bern needs to learn to listen and not speak.

So far this “relationship” set-up has been a bust. I wait with bated breath for a return to the Bets-Gunther cliffhanger! Through the whole life of the Gunther character unrequited love has been his lot. Luann, Bernice, Tiffany, Rosa; all have trifled with Gunther’s emotions and ALL have relegated him to the friend zone or have abandoned him to their own shifting desires.

Yet Luann has described Gunther as (2/1/19) “100% pure gentleman. Respectful, decent, kind, honorable,” and on (2/16/16) “charming, fascinating and handsome.” Tiffany has said (3/16/16) “the kindest, funniest, sweetest guy she’s ever known.”

We know Gunther is an “awesome kisser” (Luann, 6/3/96) and an “amazing kisser” (Bernice, 6/26/03). Yet I can’t remember a strip that showed Bets and Gunther kissing. (Help me out here.)

What will it all boil down to? Will Gunther’s lot in life continue? Will Bets be another Rosa? Dragging him around by the proverbial ring in his nose only to abandon him when he shows a little backbone. Or like the Big Three? Enamored with this modern Renaissance Man but he’s never good enough; always seeking the illusive perfection of a Prince Charming.

What say you *GnK?

I don’t there is going to be a single poster who will cite an example from their own life in which a) they were treated the way Bernice is being treated, and they came away with positive feelings; or b) they treated someone else the way Bernice is being treated, and they came away with a positive outcome.

Endearingly goofy, but nihilism is necessarily limited. In an S.J. Perelman piece, the narrator is a stripper-slash-exotic dancer, and the story has to do with some promoters putting on an old-time sort of vaudeville in Boston. Her strip-tease was wildly successful, and the narratrix says that as she ran off the stage the groundlings were stomping and whistling and calling for an encore, “but” (she noted), “in my dodge, you have nowhere to go”.

His artwork, like his personality, is nil.

I’d like to see a closeup of Nils’s painting.

Oh my Gawd….can this be over, already? I’m so bored I’m growing cobwebs on my brain. Nil and Bernice have exactly zero chemistry. I’d rather see what’s happening with Gunther. Or Brad and Toni. Or Tara. Or even Shannon. But geez, this is just awful. (But, no, NOT Ann Awful, NEVER Ann Awful. I’m not desperate enough for that.)

Is it saying we should say the unsaid, or is that saying too much?

You’ve stepped in it Bernice, try to keep the other foot out.

Oops.

“We Are Not Wordy! We Are Not Wordy!”

“Right Unsaid, Fred”

“And Now, No Words From Our Sponsor”

“What We Have Here Is Artistic Failure To Communicate”

“Making Something Out Of Nothing”

Not for nothing, but it seems to me that Bernice could get a clue from reading the labels beside each painting.

Please extricate your foot from your mouth…

She needs to shut up and just take it in.

Poor starving artist failing to impress the one he cares for.

OOPS.

Perhaps he should have Said that He is the Artist?

Bern is immensely unlikable.

Flip Bernie is short-selling Nil the Artist. She will come to regret her thoughtless babbling….

The placard clearly says that the artist is someone who goes by “gREg 5-15”

As I said, this is painful for Nil. Dang it, Bernice.

Was Bernice always this unlikable? I never realized before I guess.

Open mouth, prop open with 2×4, jump in with both feet.

So “The Unsaid” is pretentious twaddle.

Is that Bernice’s eyebrow he painted?