Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Back by Popular Demand ~ The Two Roys and Kris

A number of people have asked about what's happening to Fifty Two Pieces, now that our original commitment of 52 pieces has been met. Reviewing the stats from our accumulator, Stat Counter, we've noticed that even the most loyal haven't seen all of our posts. Without further ado, we're reprising some of our own favorite posts, not on a regular basis but probably once a week, more or less. So check back in occasionally and you'll see some of our own personal favorites. And now for The Two Roys and Kris... WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 Roy Lichtenstein ~ Sweet Dreams Baby with Roy Orbison Earlier this week I mentioned Roy Lichtenstein's sense of humor and how it came into play with his choice of words for this image – Sweet Dreams Baby. Once I started to think of the usual endearing use of that phrase, it was extremely difficult not to hear Roy Orbison singing what some think of as his signature song, Sweet Dreams Baby. So although Roy Lichtenstein listened to classical music while painting in his studio, I'm certain he would enjoy the sight of Bruce Springsteen playing backup to Roy Orbison in the version of Sweet Dreams Baby posted below. More Words, Images and Music But wait, more music can be heard while looking at the prints in Word and Image/Word as Image. For example take a peek at William Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode. This engraving is from a set of four and concentrates on Squanderfield's bride. She's having her hair done while listening to the lawyer Silvertongue (you have to love the choice of names). Just in case there's any doubt about the affair between those two, Hogarth has placed a black servant boy playing with a broken horned statue in front of them – Squanderfield should know at this point that she's "fooling around". There's a great deal to see in this engraving, including Silvertongue's portrait on the far right wall. Hogarth did the faces and heads but had Simon Francois Ravanet complete the background because of its technical demands. While taking in Silvertongue and the rest of Squanderfield's friends, listen to Kris Kristofferson singing Silver Tongued Devil and I.

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