Thursday, February 22, 2007

Calendar Series: 31st Month / Singing Tool with Full Moon Rising (1988)

Try as I might, I was unable to adjust the color of the sky to anything near Payne's Gray. The full moon is rising, hidden by a cloudy Northwest sky. Below is the true sky color. The rest of the colors are fairly true. 


What was it that the tool was singing? The song was written in "code." If I looked at the letters long enough, I would probably remember. Both sides of the tool are singing the same song. The tool was loaned to me by a friend who found it in his parents' garage. It was rusty and beautiful in the way old tools can be. As I recall, it was used in connection with the car his grandfather owned in the 1920s. 

The painter, Jacob Lawrence, having observed carpenters and other builders, said, "It was beautiful to see them use tools as extensions of their hands. I've loved tools ever since. I collect them and I use them as subjects for my paintings." He also said, "Many hand tools haven't changed for centuries. They have such balance and are so functional. The human body is like a tool. Any living thing has this kind of structure." 

In the spring of 1997, there was an exhibit of Jacob Lawrence's work at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington. One of his paintings from his Builders Series, done using gouache on paper and titled "Carpenters," was used on the poster for that exhibit and is one of my favorite paintings in all of art history. 

Lori Witzel from Chatoyance, a lively blog featuring her "pictures, poems and other souvenirs and artifacts," tagged me for my ten favorite movies. Here they are: Cinema Paradiso 400 Blows Smoke Signals The Last Temptation of Christ The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini) The Last Waltz Shrek Rabbit Proof Fence Masked and Anonymous Fast Runner I'm not going to tag anyone specifically. Feel free to be tagged for this meme.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Had the pleasure to see Jacob Lawrence and his wife in Tacoma when he was about 82. One comment he made that stayed with me was that he started painting on paper sacks as a kid and never stopped. It reminded me of what Stafford always said about writers being the ones who start as kids and never stop. Enjoy your calendar series very much.

am said...

Would have loved to have heard Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence speak together. Have you ever seen the 28-minute video called "Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression"? I think I'll get that out and watch it again. A deeply inspiring couple of artists. Stafford is another inspiration.

Glad that you are enjoying the calendar series. Thanks for visiting my blog.