Deck the halls with boughs of Dali
As the Holidays are just around the corner, I thought I would write a cheeky little post about Christmas...And Art....Mostly Art....
Here was my thought process:
Pick my favourite Christmas songs (this is sort of a lie because I genuinely don't even really enjoy Christmas songs...I find most of them repetitive and annoying. Go ahead. Call me Grinch)
Somehow incorporate art into the song title
BOOM this post is linked (slightly) to Christmas
Now I am no Ed Sheeran when it comes to lyricism, but I found these rather clever:
Santa baby, slip a Pollock under the tree, for me...(Okay. So maybe this is a bit of an extravagant request Santa. But I mean so is a Yacht. And a convertible too...light blue. And I've been awful.....ly good this year)
Jackson Pollock
Number One
Laying a mural sized canvas on the floor of his Long Island studio, Pollock dripped, poured and flung paint in all directions; the action being an essential part of the creative process. To me the drip process always evokes feeling, whether it be anger, pleasure, anxiety, or ecstasy. Regardless of what you see or how you interpret a Pollock, I guarantee that you will, even just for a moment, feel alive.
Walking in a Wassily Wonderland...
Wassily Kandinsky
Composition VII
To me, this piece feels a bit like Alice in Wonderland. I feel myself tumbling. Descending into some sort of fantasy world where the colours, shapes, and figures are peculiar, yet absolutely wonderful.
This work is all sorts of busy. Similar to Christmas, there is so much going on. So much to do. So much to see. Yet through all of the noise and festivities, it is somehow still comforting and warm.
All I want for Christmas is youuuu....Bacon
Francis Bacon
Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Yes we all love bacon n' eggs, pigs in blankets, and a bacon butty (for all you British folk). But I am talking about Francis Bacon. Cage-like enclosures. Space frames. Studies of the human body. Some call it grotesque. Others call it beautiful. I think it's the perfect balance between the two, creating mesmerising, unforgettable pieces. I mean throw a tormented screaming pope in a cage and it will stay with you for a while, right?!!
I'll have a blue Christmas...with Picasso
Pablo Picasso
The Old Guitarist
Similar to Picasso, Elvis 'The King' himself must have also been going through a 'blue period' when writing this Christmas tune.
During a 4 year stint following the suicide of his friend Casagemas, Picasso painted primarily monochromatic works using hues of blue and green to evoke sadness, grief, and depression. Though this style was not considered popular at the time, it is now widely recognized among others including the rose period, and cubism.
And who knows. He may have even inspired Yves Klein's monochromes???
Deck the halls with boughs of Dali...galalalala lala gala (and I thought I was being 'Oh so' clever with this one because I replaced the lala's with gala's who is of course...Dali's wife and muse)
Salvador Dali
Eggs on a Plate without the Plate
There is something about Dali and brunch foods. Eggs on a Plate without the Plate. Soft Self Portrait with Fried Bacon. Something tells me that if he had a painting featuring smashed avocado on toast, there would be a resurgence in his popularity amongst the millennials with their skinny soy lattes, converse shoes, and Fjall Raven bags...
So. Now it's your turn. What favourite Christmas jingle can you turn into a work of art !?
