The Blues Sound A Little Bluer Today With The Passing Of Award-Winning Singer Etta James

Etta James – Tuesday 25 January 1938 Los Angeles, California to Friday 20 January 2012 Riverside, California

At work KKJZ is our radio station of choice and on this day of her death, the station played a number of Etta James’ songs in tribute to her life. I never had the pleasure of seeing her in concert, but I have always felt deeply for her song “At Last”. The song resonates with me and gives me hope in the possibility that my love will eventually find me. Thank you Etta for all the music!



Images:
Left: Etta James from the website newsone.com
Center: Etta James from the website afrobella.com
Right: Etta James from the website yaare.com

Monday Morning Museum: Thomas Cole

Self-Portrait, 1836 by Thomas Cole

Thomas Cole – Sunday 1 February 1801 Bolton, Lancashire, England to Friday 11 February 1848 Catskill, New York

English-born American Hudson River School Painter

The Titan’s Goblet, 1833

"The massive, vegetation encrusted goblet around whose rim are found classical ruins, and on whose glassy surface boats sail, has been linked to Norse legend and Greek mythology. Theophilus Stringfellow, Jr. described it as a self-contained, microcosmic human world in the midst of vast nature, while Falconer linked the monumental stem of the goblet to the trunk of the Norse world-tree; he likened the cup to "the ramifying branches . . . which spread out and hold between them an ocean dotted with sails, surrounded by dense forests and plains." Other theories tie the fantastic forms to J. M. W. Turner's "Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus" (National Gallery, London), to Italian architecture and geological formations, or to the golden goblet of the sun-god Helios. The elevation and remove of the cup, rimmed with classical remnants, suggests the disassociation of the present, embodied in the surrounding landscape, from the pinnacle of creation which nourished its culture. Cole serves as intermediary, a role open only to the artist or poet, transcending the strictues of the immediate world to unite past and present." - Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Frederick Childe Hassam
Next Monday’s Artist – Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Frederick Childe Hassam

Self Portrait, 1914 by Frederick Childe Hassam

Frederick Childe Hassam – Monday 17 October 1859 Dorchester, Massachusetts to Tuesday 27 August 1935 East Hampton, New York

American Impressionist Painter

Surf, Isles of Shoals, 1913

“Hassam's summer sojourns on the Isles of Shoals, ten miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, were among the most fruitful of his long career, inspiring almost ten percent of his works. This painting in oil on canvas is a particularly fine example. It presents a broad view of a tidal pool—rendered with great chromatic variety and inventiveness—embraced by rocks and punctuated by spray; distant islands appear on the horizon.” – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Michelangelo Merisi da Catavaggio
Next Monday’s Artist – Thomas Cole

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Monday Morning Museum: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Portrait of Caravaggio, 1621 by Ottavio Leoni

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio – Saturday 29 September 1571 Milan, Italy to Wednesday 18 July 1610 Porto Ercole, Italy

Italian Baroque Era Painter

The Musicians, circa 1595

“This picture dates from about 1595 and was painted for his first great patron, Cardinal Francesco del Monte. Although it was described by contemporaries as "una musica" (a music piece), it is an allegory of music. Cupid, "who is always in the company of music" (Vasari), is shown at left with a bunch of grapes, "because music was invented to keep spirits happy, as does wine" (Ripa). The costumes have a vaguely classical look.

The surface of the picture is worn and there are extensive losses in the back of the right-hand figure and in the still life of music and the violin. The upturned page of music is a reconstruction based on an old copy of the picture.”
- Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Edward Hopper
Next Monday’s Artist - Frederick Childe Hassam

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Happy New Year 2012!

Please, Twenty Twelve, please,
Bring a better life for all.
Welcome Twenty Twelve!

- Adrean Darce Brent
Sunday 1 January 2012

"Happy New Year! 2012" graphic created by Adrean Darce Brent