Art for our sake: Three

We have just seen some fabulous stories honored in the Painted Prose Challenge and let's hope the momentum will continue. Congratulations to the deserving winners of the challenge and well done, again, to Vocal for launching the Art community. I really enjoyed writing and submitting my own art-inspired entries and have included some links at the end of this article if anyone would like to take a look.

There are so many more great stories to tell about art and so many creators are doing just that. I have listed just a few that I have had the opportunity to read and know that there are many more to find. Please feel free to shout out any that you have read and I will look forward to reading many more.

First mention is for D. Alexandra Porter, who discovered this gorgeous 1929 photograph of four children (above), captured in their best outfits, the image colorized on a monochrome print. She then went on to write a captivating story behind the story told by the old photo. So many stories go untold but can often be found locked away in family photographs. These are the real stories of history and large-scale family photography goes as far back as the civil war era, when soldiers away from their families would send home formal portraits of themselves in their uniforms, as a way of keeping in touch. If ever I see an old photograph, I wonder about the story behind the story of the people in the prints.

Read the story D. Alexandra Porter: A Stormy Night's Dream

Whispers of Fate: The Girls on the Bridge by Jazmin Fernandez presents a very different approach to understanding a work of art, combining as it does a factual, visual interpretation with an imaginative fictional story. Isn't that what art is all about: capturing the imagination and drawing a reader into the hidden world portrayed in the painting? Jazmin speaks of "the delicate balance between yearning for change and clinging to the familiar" which perfectly captures one aspect of Munch, Girls on the Bridge. I have never seen this painting so thanks to Jazmin for bringing it to the Art community. Hopefully one day I will be able to see a Munch exhibition that includes this wonderful, colorful painting.

I don't generally go for obits of famous people but I have to say that Donna Fulton's celebration of Tony Bennett's Life and Music really did tell a tale of triumph and emotion. Having recently started my own musical education (at age 63) I have started to think more about artists like Bennett, whose song about a misplaced heart is one of the most unforgettable vocal renditions of any time. Until I saw the news of Bennett's death the other night (July 21, 2023) I didn't know he had sung alongside Amy Winehouse (who I once met in London). I had a listen during my quiet time last night. Great duet but nothing on the Bennett and Lady Gaga rendition of The Lady is a Tramp. Thanks to Donna for the inspiration.

Ever wondered why the Mona Lisa is the world's most famous painting (not to mention one of Nat King Cole's best ballads)? I did. Now I know, having read Amaozodi Timothy's historical account of the painting's history. I have every sympathy with Napoleon and the 1911 would-be thief of the famous lady: Vincenzo Peruggia. For hours I have stood in the Tate Modern in London, looking up up at Picasso, Weeping Woman, wondering how I might spirit it off the wall and into my home, if only for a week or two. I would of course return it... honest!

I haven't seen many reviews of the new Barbie movie so glad to have just spotted Shiran Pallewatta's Barbie: A Whimsical Adventure in 2023. Easy to criticise a film about an icon of marketing that has often been seen as presenting the wrong kind of role-model to growing girls. Fair point but, at the same time, dolls have always been a major part of many girls' growing up and should also be toys that boys can play with without shame. I recall a conversation I had with a (female) teacher when I was around 10 years old (in the 1960s), in which she insisted that Action Man was also a doll. Though I dismissed this view at the time (Action Man being one of my favorite toys), I think she was right and I think that, gender stereo-typing aside, dolls like Barbie can help girls and boys to explore interpersonal skills, growing up, gender roles (including fluidity and non-binary interpretations) and other aspects of the real world in a safe, intimate and private way. Shiran picks up on these kind of themes and also some of the more adult themes of the film. I am looking forward to seeing Barbie and thanks for the taster, Shiran.

At this point I would like to say another big CONGRATULATIONS! to all the winners in the Painted Prose challenge. Paintings and other works of art are stories in themselves, and tell their own history. Whether Da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Edvard Munch's Girls on the Bridge, becoming absorbed in art must be one of the best ways to draw inspiration as a writer. Which is one reason why I enjoyed this challenge more than most others I have so far entered. I have therefore taken the liberty of including a link to each of my xentries at the end of this article. I hope I can tempt you to read at least one of them. Many thanks if you do.

Finally, I make no apology for again mentioning Naomi Gold's first-prize winning entry in the Painted Prose Challenge, Thru the eyes of Ruby. This entry, as mentioned in Art for our sake, really captures the heart and soul of Rockwell's slice of shameful history painting The problem we all live with, 1963.

Congratulations to Naomi and all the other winners.

For lots more great art stories you can still read:

• Art for our sake
• Art for our sake: Two

Here are my Painted Prose submissions, for those who might be interested:

• The picture of Elizabeth Moody
• Looking up at art two: Francis Bacon
• Barbara Helpworth: The Hands
• Looking up at art one: Constable
• Losing my Cezanne
• A very messy bed

Thanks for reading!

Ray Taylor, July 23 2023