Sorry, I Just Don't Get It.

[seacaptain]

There are pipes that I'm not a fan of, like most freehands, but I get it. And, not everyone is a fan of the stuff I like, that's ok, I get it.
However, I just don't get this pipe at all. It's a $650 pipe for crying out loud, that looks like children's blocks glued together. How much skill could this have possibly taken to make?
Is there anyone on the forum who actually likes this pipe and could see someone paying $650 for it?

 

[catyrpelius]

As a conversation peice it's pretty interesting. Being a relativly young man this pipe reminds me a lot of Legos and I'm pretty sure thats what draws me to it.
Where you see a hodge podge of things, I see a delightful nod to happy childhood memories.
For a few hundred I'm probably pick it up, but not at its listed price.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Looks like one of Werner Mummert's pieces. He does do some pretty out there stuff, though he does make a reverse calabash barrel that I would love to have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1W6irNkqGc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I do, but I wouldn't give more than two thousand for it. Now, if the bit was more like a pacifier, then...

 

[xrundog]

I understand there is a certain level of artistry. But the amount of skill required in making it is really low. If I wanted a pipe like that, I'd make it myself.
So no, I don't get it.

 

[huntertrw]

Hummm...it looks like a kindergarten art-class project.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

See this thread:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/mummerts-lego-pipe

 

[fmgee]

Some art, like some pipes, can be difficult to appreciate. However, not all things are done to be appreciated.
Would I buy this pipe? No. I like a little crazy in a pipe but not a lot.
Would you spend between $20 million and $100 million on this? It is 2x5 metres.

 

[dmcmtk]

Would you spend between $20 million and $100 million on this? It is 2x5 metres.

I will never have that kind of money, but I do like Jackson Pollack's work, and do understand his place, and Abstact Expression's in art history.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Good points. If it's "art" value can be anything. I'd rather have the above pipe for a few thou rather than a Jackson Pollack for a few mill. However, neither are within my actual druthers.

 

[aldecaker]

I do not care for the looks of that pipe at all, and paying $650 for any pipe is a bit out of my comfort zone. I think the highest I could justify would be $500, tops. And for me, that's a lot of birthday money to save up.

 

[warren]

Nothing wrong with a bit of whimsy in one's life. I wouldn't buy it. My wife would. Then I'd smoke it. I do miss her whimsy.

 

[edgreen]

It'd be a good pipe for this guy.

 

[mephistopheles]

+1 Catyrpelius
I agree. I'm not 100% on the color scheme or price but it is interesting at the very least. I like it in the same way that I like Mummert's Lego Pipe, although not nearly as much. Sometimes the unconventional can be a reflection of something special.

 

[huntertrw]

"It'd be a good pipe for this guy."
Or his horse!

 

[huntertrw]

"Cubist" art?

 

[daimyo]

Judging Werner by the fact you don't like how he channels his talent is a bit absurd. It is not glued together but carved that way. Werner is capable of creating any pipe shape he wants. He uses these skills in interesting ways and his fans purchase the pipes. If you think you can do better, feel free to try but don't be surprised when "making it look easy" isn't the same as it actually being easy or when pipe collectors do not place your attempts on par with his. Could you have brought cubist inspiration into a pipe? Perhaps but you did not and Werner did, successfully. I like Werner's cubist pipes and obviously they sell because I have seen dozens of them sell. They are not for everyone but what a boring world it would be if Werner and other artists only made standard pipe shapes and finishes. I'd buy one except I am saving for one of his brightly colored Rhodesians.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

...and if you look at the delicate textures on those flat sides... there's more to this pipe that we are giving it credit for...

 

[huntertrw]

"Judging Werner by the fact you don't like how he channels his talent is a bit absurd."
What was that which Lucretius said? "One man's meat is another man's poison."

 

[lightmyfire]

I find his work very interesting, it's good to see good carvers going off the beaten track, look at this strange rubic pipe : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHQmk9f8nA&feature=youtu.be