Poetic Comments On The Greatest Painters

[Eluard]

Just try Wikipedia or something like that — there is a lot of info in English about Ernst.

 

[FifthFlower]

White

I remember a painting I saw in a Chicago museum some years ago when I was traveling through. It was just a white canvas with a couple of white coats of paint on it. It is one I won't forget, but I did forget the painter's name. I assume he was "great" or why did I pay an admission fee: an early lesson in marketing.

At the time, I was thinking things like, "I could do better than that." Actually, I'm still thinking things like that.

Anyway, I couldn't find it on the internet, but then I didn't look that hard. So maybe he's not that great. Here is something by Kazimir Malevich which has in addition to the white background one white square inside the other white square. It is not quite as radical as the one I saw, but I would have the same reaction to it. This guy I guess is great.



Such white on white on white, and I don't really care
For white so much, so stain it with some pink in there.
Next time, he'll do it better.

That guy, I paid to paint the room, but paint it white,
So it stays pure, makes monsters rush me in the night,
That guy, he did it better.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Monet's Water Lilies, in residence at L'Orangerie

I spent months in battle with a city
That reeked of home but had no place
for a young American at large; all grey walls
and closed elaborate doors-- gates
that offered a glimpse into lives
that never asked to be shared
parcs sans any sign of life
my legs striding past en route to
whatever
tick-tocking through the days

I stepped into the little rotunda
paid my fee, made my way
along with a small crowd--
the weather had gotten cold again--
and stared, bewildered at Summer.
Big, they are, whole walls of promise
blues of sweet water, reflected skies;
and the buds, the blooms, the lilies.

There are benches, and I sat there
with those flowers blurred in my sight
My shelly armour falling away
clattering to the white marble floor.

The attendants came by each half-hour
to sweep away these shards
which were shed by most of the guests--
the young mothers, the tourists, the
lunchtime office men, the American
who would not go home.

 

[Eluard]

Monet's Water Lilies, in residence at L'Orangerie

I spent months in battle with a city
That reeked of home but had no place
for a young American at large; all grey walls
and closed elaborate doors-- gates
that offered a glimpse into lives
that never asked to be shared
parcs sans any sign of life
my legs striding past en route to
whatever
tick-tocking through the days

I stepped into the little rotunda
paid my fee, made my way
along with a small crowd--
the weather had gotten cold again--
and stared, bewildered at Summer.
Big, they are, whole walls of promise
blues of sweet water, reflected skies;
and the buds, the blooms, the lilies.

There are benches, and I sat there
with those flowers blurred in my sight
My shelly armour falling away
clattering to the white marble floor.

The attendants came by each half-hour
to sweep away these shards
which were shed by most of the guests--
the young mothers, the tourists, the
lunchtime office men, the American
who would not go home.

A nice poem — simple and effective. Here is a Monet to accompany it.

 

[TMV]

I remember a painting I saw in a Chicago museum some years ago when I was traveling through. It was just a white canvas with a couple of white coats of paint on it. It is one I won't forget, but I did forget the painter's name. I assume he was "great" or why did I pay an admission fee: an early lesson in marketing.

At the time, I was thinking things like, "I could do better than that." Actually, I'm still thinking things like that.

Anyway, I couldn't find it on the internet, but then I didn't look that hard. So maybe he's not that great. Here is something by Kazimir Malevich which has in addition to the white background one white square inside the other white square. It is not quite as radical as the one I saw, but I would have the same reaction to it. This guy I guess is great.



Such white on white on white, and I don't really care
For white so much, so stain it with some pink in there.
Next time, he'll do it better.

That guy, I paid to paint the room, but paint it white,
So it stays pure, makes monsters rush me in the night,
That guy, he did it better.

I checked on this Kazimir Malevich, and am so befuddled. How is this fellow considered a great Artist? A little bit about what I read on him and the art he makes;

They are difficult artists. Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), who founded what he called Suprematism, believed in an extreme of reduction: ``The object in itself is meaningless... the ideas of the conscious mind are worthless''. What he wanted was a non-objective representation, ``the supremacy of pure feeling.'' This can sound convincing until one asks what it actually means. Malevich, however, had no doubts as to what he meant, producing objects of iconic power such as his series of White on White paintings or Dynamic Suprematism (1916; 102 x 67 cm (40 x 26 1/2 in)), in which the geometric patterns are totally abstract.

I am perplexed..., as I have the same explanation for my poetry and work fifty times harder than he does, and yet he winds up being exalted! And "Suprematism", sounds a whole lot like Hitler's Supermen theory. Define it in the simplest terms and then give it a big name to skew the whole concept! At least Asphyrinymn is as proper a defintion of my poetry than "Iconic Objects"! There is something very supscious in this supposed new form. I remember that Hitler wanted to be a great painter like the "Master's". But he painted buildings and landscapes, leaving people as a by product. I get the same feeling here. Architecture..., not art. Under these conditions, Hitler would have realized his ambitions.

Oh, I forgot to mention. He invented this whole new form of art.


P.S. For more about it and thumbnails on other's of his paintings. GOTO this link:

 http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/malevich/sup/

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Architecture..., not art.

Fuck, that's even more ignorant than your usual drivel.

 

[Stella_Omega]

A nice poem — simple and effective. Here is a Monet to accompany it.

Thank, you Eluard-- you, in fact, brought me over here to produce this poem.

I was impressed with your gang-bang poem over in AH,--
Fuckin' classy, it was.

 

[Eluard]

Thank, you Eluard-- you, in fact, brought me over here to produce this poem.

I was impressed with your gang-bang poem over in AH,--
Fuckin' classy, it was.

Thanks Stella! Any poet worth his salt should be able to come up with one good gang bang poem. It's a neglected art!

 

[TMV]

Let's up the ante........

As it seems harder than I thought, why not expand this a bit. How about some people write some short biograpies of some of the painters that they admire. As we are on the web. Couldn't be a better source of information for our subjects. In fact, why don't we submit small bio's from whomever wants to search and learn, and then we can have a wider view of those people. If this gets slow as well, maybe a little expansion into some of the other field's of great people! Just to try and inspire the group to see causes for their future poetry.

I think I'll start by checking up on Picasso. See you in a few days!

 

[Eluard]

. . .

 

[Picodiribibi]

Edit: Not a painting...MB is a painter, though. Sorry, OP, I'm breaking the rules & not writing about the artist. Hope you don't mind.

Pieta
Michelangelo, 1499


Vergine Madre

Her face, Serene, belies the weight she bears:
Hands, Sorrowful and Suppliant, each strain
To carry a burden of Stone​

 

[poppy1963]

Almond Branches in Bloom - 1890
Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh - One Understanding

A love of blossoming life
Splashed on blue skies
So Bright and filled with Light
Your salvation amid sighs and cries.

Such images evocative I grasp
A grabbing groping...gleeful
For the rising to the holy task
Living amid processes mystery-ful.

Then....the spiral down the coils
Unsure...resenting...hostile rages.
A mind beset with hot painful roils
Boils soils...passions fill the canvas pages.

Round round screaming sounds
The blues and blooms of life long lost
Released amid the turn and toss again
Peace returns to troubled souls...amen.

The almond blossoms, fleur de lys...
The trinities of regeneration
Likened to the Iris...a penetration
Of the orderly overrides the chaos.

Ah Vincent, how well I know the ways
The days, the sunlit rays and clouds
And storms, sachets, and worms...
All in the living of a day...the sways of life.

 

[FifthFlower]

Renoir's On the Terrace

Auguste Renoir's On the Terrace

The little one is unaware
How cute she seems to be.
The older one is well aware,
And watches guys enjoy her hair,
Red lips, round face, soft cheeks. She'll stare
And wait there patiently.

 

[poppy1963]

On the Terrace.....oh my! One of the most charming paintings I know! Lovely, FifthFlower! And I enjoy all the prior poems and pictures as well! I so like what we are doing here!


TMV...methinks a few of us love this thread just as it is! I don't know what sort of trouble you find/make elsewhere...but this idea has been wonderful!

I am a one who has been known to rock some boats now and then...so I have a compassionate heart for those rounds not fitting well into squares and so forth...try to be a good boy won't you?

 

[FifthFlower]

On the Terrace.....oh my! One of the most charming paintings I know! Lovely, FifthFlower! And I enjoy all the prior poems and pictures as well! I so like what we are doing here!


TMV...methinks a few of us love this thread just as it is! I don't know what sort of trouble you find/make elsewhere...but this idea has been wonderful!

I am a one who has been known to rock some boats now and then...so I have a compassionate heart for those rounds not fitting well into squares and so forth...try to be a good boy won't you?

Thanks, poppy! I liked yours as well. That bizarre one by Salvadore Dali you posted kept me thinking about this thread and wanting more.

And thanks, TMV, as well. I'm too shy to start threads, but I enjoy adding to them.

Now to find another artist.

 

[poppy1963]

Thanks, poppy! I liked yours as well. That bizarre one by Salvadore Dali you posted kept me thinking about this thread and wanting more.

And thanks, TMV, as well. I'm too shy to start threads, but I enjoy adding to them.

Now to find another artist.

Yours are so refreshing for me...simple yet effective poetic expressions...sometimes mine are so.....overwrought! But sometimes I am sooo...overwrought, too.

I need to chill out some.

But I do so love this thread!!! I know what you mean...I come here and look and read and they stay with me and soon I am on the hunt for just the right picture for the mood and my experience of the master painter in the mood I'm in...

Glad you liked the Dali, too!

 

[Eluard]

Kiefer

. . .

 

[TMV]

An unusual Discovery.

I found out this Saturday morning that one of the pioneers of abstract art, has granted my hometown the rights and possession of his massive and formerly secluded archive of his paintings. Clyfford Stills, a very reclusive and private man, who didn't share his art with very many people and even less, publicly. An amazing 2,400 pieces are slated to be shown in a permanent wing of the Denver Museum, (to be built soon). For now, 10 piantings and three sketches are being shown at the Museum for now. From what I gathe ron the web, there is very precious few of his paintings on display in the world.

And now..., 2,400 brand pieces of his art are going to be shown to the public, sometime in the next few years. Apparently, he was a man who didn't like to publicly show his work. But there is no question that he was major mover for Abstract painting in the 40's and 50's.

Before now, I had never even heard of him. And to have this sprung on me at this point in time is monumental! Below I have pasted a painting of his that was on the front page of the "Spotlight" section of the paper. I plan on reading more about this fellow and finding out how this talent slipped through the cracks of history.

Leonardo DaVinci's, long lost studio finally discovered. And Clyfford Stills massive assortment of hidden work, suddenly coming to light. I can't help but think that things are setting up for a major change, in the way the world operates and views things. Maybe the time has come for a balance..., once again.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

See? This is exactly the sort of thing that I was talking about in your other thread. I have never heard of a Clyfford Stills either. I have heard, however of a Clyfford Still that was a massively famous artist who worked both the San Francisco and the New York art circles for over 20 years before retiring and who was one of the leading abstract expressionists in America. Funny enough, his estate also decided to display his works in Denver, but that was in 2004.

Going out on a limb here and saying they are one and the same, don't you think that the fact that you had never heard of him should tell you something about yourself? Perhaps "his talent [didn't slip] through the cracks of history", since history seems to be very aware of him, but only through your cracks?

Food for thought. Take advantage of it, please! For your own good.

 

[Liar]

I have a coffe table-ish book of Still's work. It's from 1972, and I've seen other. And I'm as ignorant of the American abstract art scene as you can get w/o living in a closet. Pollock, Rothko, Basqiuat and Still I thought were kinda household names though.

 

[Eluard]

I have a coffe table-ish book of Still's work. It's from 1972, and I've seen other. And I'm as ignorant of the American abstract art scene as you can get w/o living in a closet. Pollock, Rothko, Basqiuat and Still I thought were kinda household names though.

Yes, Clyfford Still is pretty famous: there are even a couple of his paintings in Australian galleries — the mark of true fame .

 

[poppy1963]

Perhaps this is where TMV got his info....

I just did this small bit of research...but this is what I found that sounds like his report.

Museum plans show of Clyfford Still's art

Mary Voelz Chandler
Rocky Mountain News

May 21, 2007

The Clyfford Still Museum isn’t projected to open until 2010, but officials are ready to give viewers a sneak peak this summer. The museum today announced it will show 13 works by the artist during the special exhibition "Clyfford Still Unveiled: Selections From the Estate," running from July 14 through Sept. 30 in the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building.

"This exhibition will give the public a first glimpse of the incredible paintings and drawings in the Still estate, which the artist has so generously bequeathed to the city of Denver and the Clyfford Still Museum," Still museum director Dean Sobel said in a statement. ""As the museum moves forward with architectural designs for its new home, we know that this exhibition will begin to illustrate the significance of this exceptional gift to our community."

Museum officials say this exhibition will be the only such preview before a projected 2010 opening. The works come from Still’s estate, most of which have not been shown publicly since since before the artist’s death in 1980.

Among works to go on view are:

• Some of Stills little-known early figurative works, depicting his interpretation of "American Scene" painting and demonstrating themes evident in his later works.

• A 1940 self-portrait of the artist.

• Works on paper dating from 1935-1952, and never before shown.

• Work from the late 1940s through mid- 1950s, that show the evolution of Still’s mature, purely abstract style.

The city of Denver acquired the artist's estate in 2004, and his archives and more work later — in all, about 2,400 pieces by the early master of Abstract Expressionism who withdrew from the art world. Sobel will present a talk on "Who Is Clyfford Still and Why Does He Matter?" at 6 p.m. July 11 in the Denver Art Musem’s new Sharp Auditorium.

 

[TMV]

Luaren Hynde, barbarian

See? This is exactly the sort of thing that I was talking about in your other thread. I have never heard of a Clyfford Stills either. I have heard, however of a Clyfford Still that was a massively famous artist who worked both the San Francisco and the New York art circles for over 20 years before retiring and who was one of the leading abstract expressionists in America. Funny enough, his estate also decided to display his works in Denver, but that was in 2004.

Going out on a limb here and saying they are one and the same, don't you think that the fact that you had never heard of him should tell you something about yourself? Perhaps "his talent [didn't slip] through the cracks of history", since history seems to be very aware of him, but only through your cracks?

Food for thought. Take advantage of it, please! For your own good.

This is your olive branch? I read that he was famous through 1945 through to the early sixties. But you had to come here make me out a fool? Sorry, But I think you went and fooled yourself. You just went and tore through a very peaceful thread. Loss of rep. And made these people avoid an advantageous piece of culture Smooth move Clyde. Proud now demon?

 

[Picodiribibi]

TVM Survival Haiku

Be less bilious
and more sanguine. Be modest.
Bury the fasces.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Proud now demon?

Forgot a comma, there. I am, thanks. The thread moved along quite smoothly during your absence, with a lot of excellent well-informed poems. Perhaps even you became better informed.