Blog
Pontormo, Mannerism and the Origin of Spandex
Jul 28, 2008
This is Jacopo Pontormo’s famous Deposition, in Santa Felicita, one of the oldest churches in Florence. It was painted in 1528, and if you look carefully, you will see that it marks the first recorded appearance of brightly colored spandex clothing.
Pontormo was a Mannerist painter, which basically means that to him Michelangelo was a Godlike figure, and the only type of worthwhile art is a sort of subsequent generation homage to his work. So you’ve got the emphasis on the contorted, muscular bodies all jigsawed together, with an added stylization that basically ignores physics (try to get in the same position as the kneeling figure in pink in the foreground. Then have someone put something really heavy on your shoulders and see what happens). But Michelangelo painted/sculpted everyone nude, and he got a lot of crap from the rich people hiring him because of the hideous and unholy human body. Since he was the Man, he could do whatever he wanted. Pontormo didn’t have the same power. End result: spandex. The grotesque human bodies are covered, but the manner-of-Michelangelo is retained. Every 80’s band should be worshipping Pontormo.
Having said that, I love this painting. This church was about two blocks from where I lived in Florence, so I have seen it in person multiple times (in spite of the fact that it’s basically always closed). It’s strange because it’s a very large painting, but it’s sort of hidden in a corner, trapped behind a wrought iron gate which really obstructs the view (see below; I didn’t take either one of those pictures). You can put in a few Euro to turn on the spotlights, but (like basically every painting) the colors look much more impressive in the somewhat sparse natural lighting of the church. Next time you’re in Florence stop by and personally witness a great moment in history.
click here to see a goat in a lycra unitard. Fantastic.
Angel
Jul 15, 2008 — 5 comments
The Angel is finally finished, I’ve added it to the 2D section, here. This thing ended up taking a little longer than I had initially planned, for multiple reasons, but I think it turned out pretty well. The person who commissioned it seems to like it, and that is the only thing that matters. Working on something this large, trying to find a result that satisfies my own standards as well as those of the person on whose wall it will hang was challenging, but definitely a good experience. Let me know what you think.
We're Moving On Now
Jul 09, 2008
With the commissioned piece finally finished, I’ve started another painting. As you can see from the embryonic image below, I’m switching subject matter pretty drastically, which I like to do after I finish something that took a long time. Feel free to post your best guess as to what this will be when it’s finished:
This is a photo I took yesterday as a storm was rolling in:
Also, I’m about halfway through The Joke’s Over, by Ralph Steadman, (click to check out his site, it’s out of control) who is one of my favorite artists, and longtime friend of Hunter S Thompson. It’s pretty awesome. If you haven’t read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you and I probably shouldn’t speak until you do. The movie is cool and all, but the book is a thing of truly bizarre genius. If you have read it or any of Hunter S Thompson’s other work, then this book is for you. It gives another (still demented) perspective of the paranoid schizophrenic insanity that was the life of HST. Read it. Note that I just hung this poster in the basement bedroom of my house:
