17.9.08

why talk...





Head VI (1949)


Francis Bacon











If you can talk about it, why paint it?
                                     - Bacon

10 comments:

Pris said...

ohhh....this is just the kind of art I love!

Anonymous said...

What a perfect quote to go with that painting. As soon as I clicked over and saw it I felt like I got punched in the gut. I wanted to leave a comment about how it affected me then I saw the quote! There are no words to describe and that's why it's a painting!

James Owens said...

Unspeakable ... in the best sense.

Anonymous said...

How refreshing, the Bacon quote. With so much gushing attendant on art exhibitions these days - by artist, in catalogue, on TV - the viewer is left no room just to stand back and assimilate.

sam of the ten thousand things said...

Thanks for the visit to each of you. The more I study Bacon's works, the more I find a connection between his art and, not my poetry, but my own universal notions of poetry.

esk said...

This was a very interesting painting.

If you can talk about it, why paint it? Think outside of the box or step outside of the box and paint! Art is an expression, often something that comes from deep within -- surpassing description with words -- yet people can still understand it's meaning!

sam of the ten thousand things said...

Bacon paints with such an intense fire. Thanks for the view, Erika.

M. C. Allan (Carrie, to most) said...

Oh, Sam, I totally agree with what you said here! When I read the Bacon quote, I thought, "Wow, that's exactly how poetry is, too." One of the most frustrating experiences is to have someone ask you what your poem is "about." ARGH. You can summarize a novel, if not its effect; you can summarize stories in the paper. But I find it's virtually impossible to describe poetry in the same ways -- at least if it's any good.

Love Francis Bacon, too, except (confession time) when I was a teenager I mixed him up with Francis Drake and Roger Bacon, conflating the three and not remembering who was the artist, the mariner, and the scientist. (Can you imagine what would have happened to Bacon if he'd painted his work in the eras of the other two? I'm fairly certain he would have been hanged.)

BTW, thanks for the meme tag. Sorry I didn't get to it; I've had a hellish few weeks of work and have been neglecting both blog and all other writing :(

sam of the ten thousand things said...

Interesting point about the mix up of names. Thanks for the comment, MC.

M. C. Allan (Carrie, to most) said...

ecstaticdoggerel.blogspot.com/2008/09/unspeakable-speeches.html

thanks for the provocation!