Posted on: January 5, 2009
The Stone Breakers, by Gustave Courbet. 1849
One of my favorite painters is Gustave Courbet. And not just for his art. His bold, courageous personality, his refusal to accept the status quo, his ability to sometimes lead his fellow artists into greater versions of themselves, make this man from Ornans important beyond his work. He was, in some ways, an existentialist before the word was in use, and that clicks for me. That sings my own song.
“I am fifty years old and I have always lived in freedom; let me end my life free; when I am dead let this be said of me: ‘He belonged to no school, to no church, to no institution, to no academy, least of all to any régime except the régime of liberty.”
The work above (The Stone Breakers) depicts something that all too many critics thought (at the time) was beneath the…
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Posted on: December 30, 2008
House of the Rising Sun 45
Caught an archived addition of On Point today. Fascinating. A discussion of the roots of an American classic, The House of the Rising Sun. Far more to it than I had previously ever thought about. And our old friend, Alan Lomax, plays a major part in the story. It wasn’t just The Animals involved. In fact, far from it. They just made the most famous version in 1964. But so many others covered the tune and it originated, most likely, in the Kentucky hills. Though it’s possible that it goes back even further, well into the 18th century. At least part of the song.
Sung by men and women, the song takes on completely different meaning. With the former, it sounds like a young man who has fallen into dissolution, and can’t escape from it. Perhaps he’s killed someone, and has to go…
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Posted on: December 29, 2008
We have a new essay on Zamyatin, and new poetry on tap as well. Robert Mueller and Tony Jones return with more lyrical and creative writing.
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Paul Henreid and Ingrid Bergman, in Casablanca.
My own writing and reading has slowed a bit as we move to the end of 2008. The holidays have seen me sinking into movies primarily. Nothing of stunning note, though I did enjoy watching the classic, Casablanca, again. My guess is, however, that my own thoughts would not add anything new to the libraries of critical assessments regarding that great story of Rick and Ilsa and the madness in Morocco.
On an entirely personal note, Ingrid Bergman always reminds me of a former girlfriend. Their faces and voices connect for me. Though my ex was originally from Puerto Rico, far, far from Sweden, and generally of a much sunnier disposition than the star of Gaslight,…
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