Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Beatledämmerung



Acrylic and ink over collage on masonite, 11" x 14".

A tribute to the Beatles, who 'turned me on.' I have been working on this piece for over a year; it started first as a simple pencil drawing, which I then inked, traced, layered with paint and then with collage. Then finally, last night, I painted into this composition for 5 hours, eliminating many things. "Beatledämmerung" is the change left over.

There are many hidden references secreted into this piece.

This image of The Beatles is based on the their film "Help!", which I believe was John Lennon's signal to the world of the band's impending disintegration - thus the reference to Richard Wagner's opera, "Götterdämmerung". Here, The Beatles have abandoned their cocoon-like business suits and are now emerging into the envelope of gases surrounding the earth. They are dissolving.

They are making their bodies into soil, so they can vanish but in fact never be gone.

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