R. I. P BERNIE WRIGHTSON 1948 - 2017

 

He not only created the Swamp Thing, but he created nightmares.

'Alien' artist H.R. Giger dies at 74

'Alien' artist H.R. Giger dies at 74

Giger also created the cover for Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery LP.

Mr. Clean artist Richard Black dies at 92

Mr. Clean artist Richard Black of Ohio dies at 92: Associated Press

Silver Age DC artist Nick Cardy dead at 93

Revered Silver Age DC artist Nick Cardy passes away at 93

WORST FRAKENSTEIN BOOK COVER EVER!

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is in public domain, so their are many copies from many publishers. I'm not sure where I got this one, but this has to be the worst attempt at trying to create a monster that looks like the Universal version without being sued for copyright infringement.

He looks more like Milton the Monster than Boris Karloff as the monster.

FUN WITH AMERICAN GOTHIC

It has been rare in the world of art for a painting to become some famous that it spawns parodies. DaVinci's Mona Lisa and Munch's The Scream have been parodied, but the one that seems to lend itself to parodies is Grant Wood's American Gothic. Maybe it is the subject matter of the farmer and his spinster daughter (Not his wife as many believe) that people find funny, which was what Wood wanted in the first place. This brings to mind the old question of "Can You Parody a Parody?" I wonder if possibly American Gothic is the most parodied and referenced painting in history.

I began thinking about this thanks to Pam at Go Retro. She posted this ad for Nabisco, on her Facebook sight, that featured an American Gothic couple. So, I decided to do a little research into this. If found some more than I needed, but two of my favorites are available for use. The Music Man number "Iowa Stubborn" and The Rocky Horror Picture Show number "Dammit Janet" feature chorus members dressed as the American Gothic duo. Unfortunately, these are unavailable on You Tube. However, You Tube does have the 60s commercials for General Mills Country Corn Flakes, both in black and white and color, as well as the opening to Green Acres. Also check out his great skit from Saturday Night Live about the painting of American Gothic.

Not long after American Gothic was first presented to the public, photographer Gordon Parks created this photo version. Here are a few others:

An 80s slasher movie staring two Hollywood legends.

This a ad for Viagra. Click to enlarge (Pardon the pun) for the full effect.

The Simple Life ad reminded me of something. On the original Desdinova blog, I made jokes about how I was going to marry Paris Hilton. Apparently this would upset a former radio personality, here in Springfield, that was one of my favorite targets.  According to a person, who worked in the same building, he especially got upset when I said that he should go to jail instead of Paris Hilton. Rumor has it he cried. Really? A grown man cried over THAT! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Like I said, I only touch the surface of this subject. If you Google "American Gothic parodies," you find whole blog dedicated to the subject.  

THAT PICTURE OF JESUS YOU ALWAYS SEE

Not sure how readers will take this post. It may seem unusual discussing a religion on this blog, but I feel this is appropriate, because this is Easter Sunday. I feel it will fit in with my general theme on this blog, which is pop culture.

It is a painting we have all seen. As a matter of fact, The New York Times said it was probably the most recognized American paintings of the 20th Century. It has been seen on calenders, bookmarks, hand fans, notebooks and other things given away by funeral homes and churches. It has even been features on greeting cards, T-shirts, lamps, coins, stamps and, oddly enough, a toilet seat cover (Sold through a mail order company).  You probably didn't know it had a name nor did you know the name of the man who painted it, but in the back of your mind it was "That-picture-of-Jesus-you-always-see."

The painting is called The Head of Christ and it was painted by a commercial artist named Warner Sallman in 1940. Sallman originally created a charcoal version in the 1920s which he called Son of Man. He made the first oil version in 1935. He was asked to create another version in 1940, which attracted the attention of the owners of Gospel Trumpet Publishing. They were so impressed, they created a company just to sell Sallman's other paintings of Jesus Christ. The Head of Christ became popular immediately. Smaller versions were sent with American soldiers in World War II. Through this and his other paintings such as Christ At Heart's Door (A very symbolic painting showing Jesus in front of a house, knocking on a door without a knob or latch), Sallman created the modern image of Jesus Christ much the way artist Haddon Sundblom's Coca Cola ads created the modern image of Santa Claus. Sallman's Head of Christ portrait and Da Vinci's The Last Supper are two of the most famous paintings of Jesus Christ.

One theory on the popularity of Sallman's Head of Christ was that it looks like a yearbook photo or a personal portrait from a coin-operated photo booth. From the very beginning, there were critics who felt that Sallman's Jesus was not "manly" enough. One person called Sallman's Jesus "sissified." Later, some noticed that the painting looked like the Breck girl ads.  In the 60s, some conservatives began to despise Sallman's Jesus Christ, because of his shoulder length hair and beard was similar to that of many male members of the counter culture (After all, he is the Prince of Peace). Others have noted that Sallman's Jesus Christ is too white, middle American looking, especially noted is Sallman giving Jesus blue eyes.

As I mentioned before, I saw this picture for years, never giving its origins much thought until I viewed a TV documentary, narrated by Hal Holbrook, about the painting and Sallman a few years ago on TV. Unfortunately, I could not find it on You Tube, but I did find this old film short. It features Warner Sallman creating a charcoal in front of a church while a choir sings (Okay, there may have been some editing). There is also a little inspirational story here, similar to the Union Pacific/Jam Handy productions that turned up on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Look for Hope Summers, who played Aunt Bea's rival Clara on The Andy Griffith Show).