Popular Posts

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Art is an Industrial Process

Breakfast - Fernand Léger
The Legendary Léger
allegedly taking the cream
from cakes Picasso baked.

His own, machine turned,
milled, moulded pressed or rolled,
were streamlined into curves.

He took the sharp edged things of life,
smoothing them into lozenge shapes,
and turning his back on cream.

From some industrial furnace
rivers of long, black, molten hair
stark against the light.

Breakfast coincides
with his white period,
finds echoes of a lab':

technicians (robots), cylinders,
flasks, bottles, jars -
reflections unexpected

as those on petri plates -
all part of his dynamic world
of curvilinear shapes.

The image as prompt was provided by Willow at The Mag

21 comments:

Brian Miller said...

i could def see the scientific shapes....and wondered at that considering the title....wonder if it was just because of the way he was seeing things at the time....curvilinear, is that a real word? either way its cool...

Mary said...

A very creative take on the picture, Dave.

Elephant's Child said...

A fascinating new perspective. Thanks Dave.

Jinksy said...

Molten hair and curvilinear shapes of lab technicians is a brilliant interpretation...

kaykuala said...

Cubism and scientific shapes in abstracts. You've gathered substantial background info on this accomplished artist! Great tribute Dave!

Hank

Carl said...

Whenever you write about a piece of art I always see the art in a whole new way. Seeing the art thru the lens of your words.

Magaly Guerrero said...

I admire anyone who takes "the sharp edged things of life" and makes them into art. I also enjoy reading poetry that does the same things with words: taking the solid concepts of science and smoothing them out until the can be nibbled and enjoyed ;-)

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Very creative Dave.

Anna :o]

Helen said...

Aahhh, now the lines and curves make perfect sense!

Jenny Woolf said...

Hadn't seen Leger like that before, but you are right, Dave! So, illuminating, as is so often the case.

Cloudia said...

Modern, when that was a modern word!

Creamy-streamlining
Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=

> < } } ( ° >

Silent Otto said...

Thanks for taking this piece of reality and making it even more real and alive for me, Poet- Smith !

Unspoken said...

Yes, a clean lined lab works well for this experiment in shapes and stark meets molten hair.

Dave King said...

Brian
Basically he was portraying an industrial world from the shapes he found in machinery and the geometric forms behind them: cylinders, cones, spheres, cogs, chains, pistons and their shiny surfaces. Along with these he developed block-like figures. I have always had a fancy, though, that durng his white period his canvases resembled laboritories more than factories. Just my whimsey though, I'm afraid.

Mary
Thanks, much appreciated.

The Elephant's Child
Good to hear you thought that. Thanks.

Jinksy
Thanks Jinksy. Much appreciated.

Hank
I've always had a fascination for his work. I'm inclined to think he was/is undervalued.

Carl
Thanks Carl. Sometimes in the writing I come to see a new angle also.

Magaly
Hi, a warm welcome to you. Thank you very much for taking the trouble to comment. Your thoughts are very much valued.

Helen
Thank yo so much for these kind words.

Jenny
As always you do me more than justice, but many thanks.

Cloudia
Wow, what a good question! Shall have to look it up!

Kutamun
Hi, Good to have you visitng and many thanks for your comment. Your thoughts are much appreciated.

She Writes
Hi, good to have you aboard and to hear your thoughts on the post. Thanks for making the trip.








Ygraine said...

So THAT'S what Leger has been trying to say all this time!!!
Facinating :)

Janine Bollée said...

You really are a craftsman as well as an artist at this poetry lark. Competent and grown-up. This strikes me each time I read something here.

Christine said...

abstract art is always fun, even better when someone can explain it to me, the first stanza is amazing, love how you drew me in

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave - thanks for this. Doesn't Leger also work more in blues and greys - I don't really like this white period so much - it is like a lab - so antiseptic - and a bit too obviously experimental - I, at least, find less empathy than Picasso or Braques - or less emotion.

Thanks for the hair - I had not focused on that. I knew it wasn't really a muffler, but I hadn't actually figured out what it was, but I sort of just used the image as a jumping off point as it was not one of my favorites.

Yours is very well done and a wonderful explanation. k.

Sreeja said...

This is really interesting and quite from the artistic view point......I loved this.....

Tess Kincaid said...

Excellent, intelligent write, Dave.

Dave King said...

Ygraine
Quite possibly, yes! But then again...

aprille
Thank you very much for your kind words. They are much appreciated.

Christine
Thanks. So glad you liked it. Good to hear from you.

manicddaily
I think Leger's whire period was quite a short one. There are far more works in blues and greys, you are quite right.

sreeja
Hi, a warm welcome to you. Thanks for the comment. Good to know you liked it.

Tess
Thanks Tess.