| January
20, 2005
This
title, like Animal Crackers, is
based on the Marx Brothers. The Cocoanuts was their first full-length
movie, transplanted from Broadway where the brothers made their
name. While the movie suffered from the technical problems of the
sound era's early days (this was 1929, two years after sound was
introduced in the movies), there are some great gags and at least
a couple classic bits, including the "Viaduct" routine.
This
was among my most satisfying paintings from this time, and that's
largely because of the long time spent finding just the right amount
of detail. This process of multilayering, of adding paints and water
and correction fluid, can be difficult and time-consuming. You want
to find the right composition, the right balance of color and light,
and the right amount of texture, and this is a very improvisational
style of painting. You need to work very quickly before everything
turns into mud.
There
are a couple things I like on the b-side, like the sketch on the
upper-right side, and (naturally) my "Impeach Clinton"
rant. And I wrote that before the 2000 election; who thought we'd
have to remember all that bad stuff from the Nixon/Reagan/Bush days
again? Just great. We're doomed.
The
b-sides in 2000 and 2001 were very strongly influenced by graffiti
art; there's an idea in my mind of creating abstract art almost
entirely without pictures, only words. The finished painting would
then be attached to walls with hinges, so you could swivel it back
and forth like a saloon door. Not a bad idea, and a very popular
one, too. People like the idea of interacting with art, and I'm
always eager to break those needless barriers down. |
