RIP, Jack Vettriano, prints of whose works, incuding "The Singing Butler" [above], are some of the best-selling in British history.
Another snippets post today, dear reader:
- Oscars news: The culmination of "the back-slapping season" has come and gone, and yet again a load of awards went to people we don't know or care about, and to a clutch of films I have not, and will never see. Yawn.
- More art news: A Brueghel miniature painting has been rediscovered, 50 years after it was stolen.
- Weirdest carnival ever? In La Paz, Bolivia, there is an annual cucumber parade (Farándula de los Pepinos) in the carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras (which is today). I wouldn't want that with my pancakes!
- Thick as a plank news: An 18-year-old woman in Florida was arrested after vandalising the car of her ex-boyfriend's neighbour, rather than his. And Americans wonder why we sneer at their education system?
- Happy British Pie Week! Yes, unbelievably, the beloved comfort food of varying quality meat encased in pastry does indeed have its own "awareness week". Who am I to argue? Yum, yum.
- And finally: Happy 80th birthday today to Dieter Meier, brainchild behind the Swiss oddball synth pioneers Yello! By way of a tribute, these masterpieces...
...and one of my all-time favourite songs, ever!
Utter perfection.
And the weather? Spring, Spring, Spring!!
I was going to say Yello is not for me, but then I played Oh Yeah and, oh yeah, I remember that and I loved it. I have loved that Vettriano painting. The Florida education system! And it’s only getting worse.
ReplyDeleteI loved Yello, even before their collaboration with Dame Shirl resulted in the "best Bond theme never to have been a Bond theme"..!
DeleteVettriano got a lot of stick from the snooty art critics, but as he said: "I am popular and it grieves me that some people associate popularity with trash. It’s a terribly snobbish view." Hear, hear. Jx
another high note, bassey has a cd set coming out in a couple months with a bunch of unreleased and rare goodies from her golden years. can't wait!
ReplyDeleteWow! It's been a long time in the making too, according to the DSB blog.
DeleteI've pre-ordered it as we speak! Thanks for the heads-up, sweetie. Jx
I had The Singing Butler slapped on my wall in the early 2000s - many people did. There's something about his paintings that resonate - somebody wrote in a review that they capture a past that never really was - a past that we're all nostalgic for. I think that's true, and that's why he's popular.
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My sister still has it in her hallway. His work emerged (I believe) during one of those regular "Art Deco crazes" (thanks to Poirot, The House of Eliott and stuff like that) - and yes, the misty nostalgia helped gain it a place in the nation's hearts. Jx
DeleteI could listen to 'Rhythm Divine' on a loop.
ReplyDeleteI used to! Jx
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